Gary Matthews Jr., Jacoby Ellsbury Bring Back the Exhilirating Steal of Home

With his team ahead by one with two-out in the fourth inning, Los Angeles Angels’ center fielder Gary Matthews Jr. took a comfortable lead off third base. Arizona Diamondbacks right-handed pitcher Max Sherzer was in the midst of his delivery when the alarm was sounded by the home crowd.

Matthews, once Sherzer started his windup, broke for home. Sherzer realized this, and threw the pitch outside. Catcher Miguel Montero caught the pitch, but it was too late. Matthews flew in, sliding gracefully across the plate to score the fourth Angels’ run. Nonchalantly, he popped up, then jogged back to the dugout downplaying the significance. The Diamondbacks and their fans were left in disbelief.

It was the third time a straight steal of home has been accomplished this season. Boston Red Sox center-fielder Jacoby Ellsbury did so against the New York Yankees in late April. Demarlo Hale, the third-base coach, watched Ellsbury study Andy Pettitte’s delivery, then witnessed a rarity. Talking about the feat after the game, Ellsbury said “I joke around with DeMarlo all the time about how I can steal home…when I saw Andy in his windup on the previous pitch, I was thinking, ‘I can make it.’” With two out ahead by one against their hated rival, Ellsbury had the guts few have in this era of baseball.

As Ted Keith of Sports Illustrated documents in his article, The art of stealing home: Studying baseball’s most exciting play, some players dislike the idea of stealing home. The Florida Marlins’ Hanley Ramirez has stolen 148 bases during his four year career. Yet, despite his success, he has not only never attempted the gutsy and dangerous play, but he has never contemplated doing so.

The New York Mets’ speedster Jose Reyes–who averaged 65 stolen bases during the 2005-2008 seasons–has stated the opposite, but has yet to back up his excitement.

The Toronto Blue Jays’ Aaron Hill, who swiped home off Pettitte in 2007, said that he’s “never experienced anything like it.” I am sure, if asked, that a majority of stolen base threats would adopt Reyes’ thinking, and feel as invigorated as Hill did. So why is this such a rare feat?

Keith, by making an example of Ramirez, basically said that many aspire to, but don’t have the ability, or courage to follow through. This skittish mindset doesn’t just pertain to current base-stealers, however. Hall of Famer Lou Brock, who compiled 938 stolen bases in his 19-year career, including 118 in 1974 as a 35-year old, never stole home, let alone make an attempt.

When a team is threatening and has a pitcher on the ropes, this may be too risky and downright bone-headed to try. In baseball, there are many unwritten rules. One of them is presumably taught to all hitters: Never make the final out of an inning at third base. The final out at home, however, especially during a relatively harmless situation, can lead to new-found respect for the brave soul by his manager, his teammates, and the fans. As Matthews said after his successful steal: “I figured I could give it a shot.” Clearly, the steal of home can cement a player into baseball lore, and is worth trying. It is a moment, Ellsbury said, “I’ll never forget.”

Prior to his steal of home, Ellsbury was already amongst the best base-stealers in the major leagues. In 2007, he jumped onto the scene after a mid-season call-up. During his stint, he made a name for himself by scoring from second base on a wild pitch against the Texas Rangers. He continued to electrify the Fenway crowds, and because of his energy, started all four World Series games. In 2008, he stole 50 bases–good for a Red Sox rookie record–and nearly broke the record for any Red Sox player, a title that is held by Tommy Harper’s 54 set in 1973. There is no doubt that he will surpass the mark this year, as he already has swiped 33 bags this season.

Now, after he slid past Jorge Posada’s tag, the opposition not only has to pay attention to him at first and second base, but third as well. Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston echoed this, saying “I’m sure the whole league will be careful with him [on third].” Stealing home is an art: to succeed, you have to focus on both the pitcher and the catcher, know their tendencies, then “have the courage to go”, in the words of Ellsbury. As Gaston says, “If it were that easy, teams would be doing it a lot.” Ellsbury made it look easy, as did Hill and Matthews, but “there is more risk than reward.”

Rod Carew, the former Minnesota Twins great, stole home seven times during the 1969 season alone. Most times, he would stretch his lead off third with the hard-hitting Harmon Killebrew at the plate. Killebrew, appropriately nicknamed “The Killer”, hit 573 career homers, and was a free-swinger. Carew took the chance anyway, knowing that Killebrew could swing, coinciding  with his slide. A Public Relations representative for the Twins cleverly thought up a poem signifying the possibility of a resulting injury: “Here lies Rod Carew, lined to left by Killebrew.”

Long gone are the days of the priceless one-liners and the regularity of the “dangerous, but fun”–as Carew described–steals of home. Yet, more base-runners are catching on. There’s Philadelphia Phillies’ Jayson Werth, who noticed Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Russell Martin was paying him no mind, so he sped down the line as Martin lobbed the pitch back to the pitcher, then beat the return throw. Then there’s Hill’s steal that depressed Pettitte for long after, Ellsbury’s that gave the Yankees pitcher more nightmares,and, most recently, Matthews that, like his predecessors, caught everyone but himself off guard.