Spring Training games don\u2019t count for much.<\/p>\n
Many of the players won\u2019t make the Opening Day roster. Several games are only available on the radio. Major League Baseball\u2019s Modern Era began in 1901, and the league only began tracking spring training stats in 2006.<\/p>\n
Which is what makes it the perfect time to, as Gen Z\u2019ers say, do something for the plot.<\/p>\n
Like outfielder Braiden Ward, who\u2019s been zipping around the Grapefruit League base paths like the Looney Tunes\u2019 Road Runner.<\/p>\n
In Thursday\u2019s 8-5 loss to the Minnesota Twins, the Red Sox non-roster invitee stole his 17th base, a new spring training record. And to celebrate, he pulled the second base bag out of the dirt and held it aloft, Rickey Henderson<\/a>-style.<\/p>\n Ward told reporters the Henderson tribute started off as a joke by teammate Marcelo Mayer, but the idea grew legs when manager Alex Cora didn\u2019t nix it.<\/p>\n \u201cI wasn\u2019t going to do that in general but they were all egging me on, egging me on,\u201d Ward told. \u201cAnd then AC didn\u2019t say no. \u2026 And then (Trevor) Story was like, \u2018Yeah, sure.\u2019 And then everyone was like, \u2018You\u2019ve got to do it. You\u2019ve got to do it.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n Henderson, who passed away last year, became MLB\u2019s stolen base king in 1991, just 14 years into his 25-year Hall of Fame career. Nicknamed \u201cMan of Steal,\u201d he swiped 1,406 bags in all, including eight with the 2002 Red Sox during his penultimate season.<\/p>\n Much like Cy Young\u2019s 749 complete games, Henderson\u2019s record is unlikely to be broken. The game is too different now. The league\u2019s active leader in career stolen bases is 36-year-old Starling Marte, who has 361 steals in 14 seasons and is one of just three active players to reach 300.<\/p>\n The Red Sox all-time leader is Harry Hooper, who stole exactly 300 bases in a 12-year Boston tenure that spanned the 1909-20 seasons. Hooper, Tris Speaker (1907-15) and Jacoby Ellsbury (2007-13) are the only players to steal more than 168 bases in a Red Sox uniform.<\/p>\n The Colorado Rockies selected Ward in the 16th round of the 2021 draft. He reached Triple-A last season, and has stolen 211 bases in 414 career minor league games. He\u2019s 17 for 18 in stolen base attempts in his first Red Sox camp.<\/p>\n \u201cI had no idea what the record was until someone had mentioned it on Twitter when I had 12,\u201d Ward said. \u201cAnd then I was like, \u2018Wait, 16\u2019s doable. 17\u2019s doable at the rate I was going.\u2019 AC was just like, \u2018Go out there and run. Do your thing.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s a good base runner,\u201d Cora told reporters. \u201cIt\u2019s not like he\u2019s out there just running for the hell of it.\u201d<\/p>\n Indeed, Ward is trying to crack a Red Sox roster overcrowded with All-Star and Gold Glove outfielders.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m trying to impress him, impress the team, find a role on this team,\u201d Ward said of Cora. \u201cAnd so I\u2019m just trying to do what I can do, and so hopefully we can get to 20, 25 and just keep going.\u201d<\/p>\n The chances of Ward, who turned 27 on Jan. 18 and has yet to make his major league debut, coming close to Henderson\u2019s career total are hair-thin, at best.<\/p>\n But that\u2019s not what spring training is about.<\/p>\n \u201cHow often do you get to do something like that?\u201d Ward said. \u201cIt\u2019s for the boys, you know what I mean? It was something for us and for us to celebrate a little bit during spring training. Spring training\u2019s supposed to be fun and laidback.\u201d<\/p>\n Red Sox game notes<\/p>\n Connelly Early<\/a> allowed one earned run and one unearned run on five hits, walked one and struck out one in his 3 2\/3-inning start. He threw 62 pitches, 41 for strikes.<\/p>\n The Red Sox were out-hit 12-11, went 4 for 16 with runners in scoring position, and left eight men on base. Trevor Story<\/a> and newcomer Caleb Durbin<\/a> contributed multiple hits and a triple apiece. Story also doubled and scored a run in his 3 for 4 day.<\/p>\n