Washington Nationals Stealing More Bases To Start The Spring

It may only be four games, but the Nats are being more aggressive running the bases in spring training

Last season, the Washington Nationals were a team that relied mainly on the home run. Their offense was tied for eighth in the league in home runs and they were fifth in slugging percentage in the National League (.403). However, with Denard Span out of the lineup for the bulk of the year, the Nats didn’t pose as much of a threat when it came to stolen bases as they only stole 57 bases in 2015, which was the second fewest in the NL (Mets were the lowest with 51).

However, could that total go up drastically in 2016? While it may only be four exhibition games, the Nats have been racking up the stolen bases and have been aggressive when it comes to base running this spring. So far, their nine stolen bases are the most of any team in baseball.

When you look back to last spring, the Nationals as a team had 18 stolen bases, which was tenth in the NL (Ian Desmond had four of those). Through four games last spring under Matt Williams, the Nats did not steal one base. However, Span played in only one game last spring because of core muscle surgery.

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So far, nine different players have stolen a base, including Bryce Harper, and they have not been thrown out trying to steal. Back at his introductory press conference in November, Baker talked about how baserunning was going to be more of a priority for the Nationals in 2016:

"“We’re going to run the bases. I think that’s something that is last on the list for a lot of teams. Baserunning is probably the most overlooked part of baseball.” (h/t Chase Hughes, CSN Mid-Atlantic)"