CLEVELAND – Russell Martin’s seen the numbers. The Toronto Blue Jays catcher threw out 11 of 72 base stealers this year, a 15 per cent success rate that was the lowest in his career and ranked 25th out of the 27 catchers who caught more than 600 innings in 2016. And the Blue Jays as a team caught only 19 per cent of base-stealers this season, second-last in the American League.
The Cleveland Indians, meanwhile, led the AL with 134 steals and an 81 per cent success rate. Four of their players swiped 15 bags or more. It doesn’t take much of an advanced scout to suggest Cleveland may try to exploit that advantage in the American League Championship Series and run wild on the Blue Jays. And Martin would just love it if they did.
“That would be exciting for me. I like when people run. It gives me a challenge and I love challenges. I hope they run a lot,” Martin said Thursday on the eve of seven-game ALCS. “It’s what I love to do. We can talk about the numbers, but numbers lie. If they want to take their chance…”
Martin stopped there, choosing not to finish a thought that likely ended in his head with some variation of, “they’ll find out it’s a bad idea.” And that’s fair. Martin has one of the best arms from behind the plate in baseball and led the majors with a 44 per cent caught-stealing rate just last season. This year his numbers dropped off significantly, but it’s misguided to place the entire blame on the veteran catcher.
While the Blue Jays have made quickness to the plate a focus for their pitchers in spring training for two straight seasons, the team still features starters with deliberate deliveries. Marco Estrada, who starts Game 1 Friday night, has a slow wind-up and doesn’t throw any pitches harder than 89-mph; Game 2 starter J.A. Happ has a high leg kick and long stride. The Blue Jays caught just two of the 21 runners who tried to steal bases with Estrada and Happ on the mound this year, and only two of the 14 who ran on Aaron Sanchez.
Yet, when the quick-delivering Marcus Stroman was pitching, the Blue Jays nabbed five of 18 base stealers. And in the 169.2 innings when R.A. Dickey was on the mound, only three runners even attempted to run on him. Catchers can only work with what they’re given. Pitchers bear far more of the responsibility when it comes to controlling the running game.
“Really, unless you’ve got a catcher who can’t throw a lick, the majority of it is falls on the pitcher,” said Blue Jays manager John Gibbons. “No doubt, it’s something we need to focus on from a pitching standpoint.”
So, Martin’s right when he says the numbers lie. Any Blue Jays middle infielder will tell you about the force they feel in their mitts when they receive one of Martin’s throws from behind the plate – like Devon Travis, who describes it as a “scud missile.” And Martin himself is tremendously confident in his ability to throw out any Cleveland base runner if his pitcher gives him the opportunity to.
“I throw rockets to second base. I’m pretty quick and I’m pretty accurate and I’m pretty consistent. Most of my throws this year have been pretty good throws, but I can only control my side,” Martin said. “It’s what I’m best at in life – catching and throwing. I don’t want to sound overconfident, but it’s always been a good part of my game. For me, it’s a non-issue. It’s not something I’m worried about. They don’t have Usain Bolt on their team.”
Controlling the running game from the mound will be a focus in the Blue Jays’ pre-series pitcher’s meetings, as the club reminds its starters to do everything they can to nullify Cleveland’s team speed.
There are plenty of ways to do that. You can throw over to first base repeatedly to keep runners close. You can vary your cadence between pitches to mess with a runner’s timing. You can mix in slide steps or quick pitches to be faster to the plate. You can pitch out; you can step off; you can throw fastballs in breaking ball counts to try to give Martin more time to get the ball down to second. But you can also do too much.
“You don’t ever want to spend too much time overthinking runners because that takes away from the pitch,” said Stroman. “You don’t want to hold the ball for ten seconds and then that ends up affecting the quality of the pitch you’re making. You need to keep the same tempo while at the same time being conscious of those runners in your head.”
And that right there is the delicate balance. Rhythm and tempo can be very underrated factors to a pitcher’s success. When Happ cut a second off his time between pitches – he went from an average of 22.1 seconds in 2014 to 21.3 in 2015 and 21.2 this year – his numbers improved dramatically.
Pitchers will tell you about the grooves they can get into during a strong start, and how disruptive it can be to have to alter their patterns and change their delivery. You don’t want to do too much to try to limit the guy on first or second, and in turn sabotage what you’re trying to do to the guy at the plate.
“The first priority has to be making the pitch and staying in your game,” Blue Jays pitching coach Pete Walker said. “Controlling the running game is the next phase. It’s still a big part, but first and foremost you want to make the pitch that you need to make.”
So, there’s something to keep your eye on during this series. Or, maybe not. Cleveland attempted to steal just one base against the Blue Jays in the seven games the two teams played this year. It came in the bottom of the ninth on July 2 as Toronto was leading 9-6. With one out, Rajai Davis reached on a single against Roberto Osuna and took second on the closer’s very next pitch.
It was a close play, but video replay eventually confirmed Davis’ theft. On the mound, Osuna shrugged. Then he stepped on the rubber and retired the next two batters to end the game. In the grand scheme of things, the steal meant very little. And if you ask Martin, the entire conversation around Cleveland’s perceived advantage over the Blue Jays means the same.
“Honestly, I just feel like we never got taken advantage of this year when it comes to stealing bases. So, why is it a concern now? It really shouldn’t be,” Martin said. “And it’s not. But here I am answering questions about it. So, we’ll see. We’ll see how it plays out after the series. I would prefer to just play the game and then we can talk about it afterwards. It’s just not something I’m worried about.”
