Ron Washington is Focused on Fixing Angels’ Base Running in 2024
As Ron Washington is taking over the reins on the Angels' bench, succeeding Phil Levin as the club's manager, it appears he already has a goal on one way the Angels can improve next season.
Countless times throughout the last two years, the Angels have been one of the worst baserunning teams in baseball, costing them multiple opportunities to score runs in critical moments of the game.
This was something Washington noticed immediately as he looked at the team's style of play last season.
“Baserunning and stealing bases are two different things,” Washington said. “We just want them to be good baserunners. When you can’t take a bag — which we like to call it, not steal a bag, let’s go take the bag — then you have to do it in other ways. You’ve got to pay attention to the counts, when they’re throwing off-speed. Mainly paying attention to dirt balls, and being able to read the ball before the ball hits the dirt. Those are the type of things that we will work on diligently in spring training. I just want to be a solid baserunning team.”
Ron Washington on MLB Hot Stove
As Washington pointed out the difference between stealing bases and being good baserunners, the Angels could certainly improve on both. They ranked 29th in Major League Baseball in stolen bases last season with 72, ahead of only the San Francisco Giants.
New restrictions on how many times a pitcher can throw to a base, combined with larger bases, led to a 45 percent increase in steals around the league. In 2022, the Angels stole 77 bases. In 2023, they only stole 72 — an indication they failed to capitalize on MLB's new rules.
With several above-average runners on the roster — Mike Trout, Mickey Moniak, Taylor Ward, Zach Neto, and Luis Rengifo — there should be no excuse for the Angels' lack of effort in stealing bases. Even without plus speed, a team can take extra bases simply by making good decisions.
Last season, the Atlanta Braves stole 132 bases with Washington as their third base coach. Ronald Acuña Jr., the eventual National League MVP, led the league with 73 stolen bases, becoming the first player to hit 40 home runs and steal 70 bases in a season.
Washington has a template for aggressive baserunning in his back pocket. Whether he can get the Angels to buy in remains to be seen.
