It’s been a long time since speed was a big part of the Baltimore Orioles’ game. Back in 2007, they led the American League in stolen bases with 144. In subsequent years, they finished 17th, 22nd, 23rd, and 25th, respectively, before bottoming out last season. The 2012 O’s were 30th in MLB with just 58 swipes.
So far in 2013 though, the Baltimore Orioles lead the American League in steals with 47 (San Diego leads MLB with 48). Per Roch Kubatko, as a team, they’ve stolen 17 straight since last being caught on May 18. Nine players have stolen at least one base, but leading the charge has been leadoff man Nate McLouth. McLouth is currently tied for the AL lead in steals with Boston’s Jacoby Ellsbury. Both McLouth and Ellsbury have stolen 21 bases, but Ellsbury has been caught twice to McLouth’s once (note: McLouth hasn’t really been thrown out stealing at all this year in the traditional sense. He was caught attempting to steal home back on April 20 on a failed squeeze play. – Thanks to OPACY announcer Ryan Wagner (@rwags614) and Sean Foy (@foy) on Twitter for the info.)
Nate’s speed was on full display in the opener in Houston last night. With the Birds holding a slim 2-1 lead in the top of the eighth inning, McLouth singled on a line drive to center field. He then swiped second base and pulled up a bit lame, causing O’s fans to hold our collective breath for a second.
With Manny Machado unable to move him to third (the youngster struck out), Nate again took matters into his own hands – and eased our concern – stealing third base, and then coming home after the throw glanced off the Astros third baseman’s glove and into shallow left field.
McLouth had effectively manufactured a run all by himself (with an assist from the shoddy Houston defense).
McLouth is on pace for a career year, hitting .296/.370/.429 at the moment. Both average and OBP would be career bests. However, where he really seems to be peaking at age 31 is on the basepaths. Surprisingly, Nate’s career high in stolen bases is just 23, back in 2008 with Pittsburgh in 152 games. In only 50 games in 2013, he has 21. He has 33 in 35 attempts since joining the O’s. If he stays healthy, he should easily shatter his career high.
The first person I saw to point out the uncanny lookalike between McLouth and Dash from the movie The Incredibles was AM1090’s Casey Willet (@cdwill77), so all credit goes to him for the image. Keep on Dash’in around those bases, Nate.
