<\/p>\n
Jung Hoo Lee (51) beats the throw to first after hitting a swinging bunt in the eighth inning as the San Francisco Giants played the Washington Nationals at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Monday, June 8, 2026 in San Francisco.<\/p>\n
Carlos Avila Gonzalez\/S.F. Chronicle<\/p>\n
San Francisco Giants right fielder Jung Hoo Lee (51) singles against the Athletics in the 7th inning during an MLB game at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Wednesday, June 24, 2026.<\/p>\n
Santiago Mejia\/S.F. Chronicle<\/p>\n
San Francisco Giants center fielder Grant McCray (58) hits for a single against the Milwaukee Brewers in the 7th inning during an MLB game at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Tuesday, July 28, 2026.<\/p>\n
Santiago Mejia\/S.F. Chronicle<\/p>\n
Rafael Devers (16) steals second as Jeremy Pe\u00f1a (3) can’t apply the tag after leaping to catch the throw in the second inning as the San Francisco Giants played the Houston Astros at Oracle Park in San Francisco, on Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026.<\/p>\n
Carlos Avila Gonzalez\/S.F. Chronicle<\/p>\n
Rafael Devers (16) rounds second on a hit by Bryce Eldridge (8) in the eighth inning as the San Francisco Giants played the Arizona Diamondbacks at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026.<\/p>\n
Carlos Avila Gonzalez\/S.F. Chronicle<\/p>\n
Many teams talk about stealing more bases or just being more aggressive on the basepaths, especially during spring training, but never really put it into action. The San Francisco Giants<\/a>, though, are starting to run for real.\u00a0<\/p>\n The new-look Giants, post-trades and with many veterans on the IL, have the personnel to up the pace on the bases and they have the perfect ballpark in which to do so. Games at Oracle Park typically are lower scoring, so any little edge helps. When Buster Posey<\/a> took over the team\u2019s top baseball operations job before last season, he talked about pitching and defense as the emphasis for winning here, but he\u2019s now adding running to that mix\u00a0\u2014 for more than just the obvious reasons.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I think about base stealing or taking the extra base is that as much as it helps with run production, it sets a tone for me,\u201d Posey said. \u201cAnd gosh, I\u2019ve banged my head on the wall for two years because I want that tone set so much. You want to be the team that\u2019s on the front foot. You want to be the aggressor.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cI ultimately hope that we get to a place where we\u2019re a team that\u2019s constantly putting pressure on the opponent, where when we get on base, there\u2019s going to be havoc and chaos, and you\u2019re going to have to be clean with fielding the ball or we\u2019re going to take that extra base.\u201d<\/p>\n Speed, as they say, doesn\u2019t take a day off, but even slower players can be savvy enough to take extra bases: Rafael Devers<\/a> is the team\u2019s best going first to third, for example, doing so twice as often<\/a> as anyone else on the roster. He takes the extra base 45% of the time, tops on the team among those with at least 170 plate appearances.\u00a0<\/p>\n There is no reason that anyone but the slowest of the slow can\u2019t go first to third when the occasion arises. It\u2019s attention to detail. It\u2019s savvy, preparation and determination. Even catchers can steal a base now and then\u00a0\u2014 Posey had 23 of them, and he took the extra base 32% of the time in his career.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cWe need the veterans like that to set the tone. Rafi\u2019s done a nice job, Matt Chapman<\/a> does a great job of it, too,\u201d Posey said. \u201cTo me, being a great baserunner is one of the most selfless things that you can do because you\u2019re showing, \u2018Hey, I\u2019m locked in for the team right now.\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t have to have the best sprint speed to be a dynamic baserunner. Sometimes I get a little bit annoyed with, \u2018Well, personnel, personnel, personnel.\u2019 Yeah, to a certain extent. But we\u2019ve also seen the guys that don\u2019t have elite sprint speed can take extra bases and force the issue. It\u2019s a point of emphasis, for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n The flashy aspect of baserunning, certainly, is stealing bases, and the Giants have a tremendous option there: Rookie Jonah Cox has the speed and the feel to steal second and then third even when the other team is expecting it. He\u2019s in the top 1% when it comes to sprint speed, and he\u2019s fearless.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI put something like \u2018Gone in a flash,\u2019 in my report,\u201d one AL scout said. \u201cYou better try to keep him close.\u201d<\/p>\n The second half has seen the biggest shift for the Giants when it comes to running. The first three months, San Francisco stole 27 bases in 85 games; from July on, the team has 42 steals in 62 games.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n If pitchers are thinking about Cox or Grant McCray<\/a>, who\u2019s nearly as fast, when at first, they\u2019re not giving their full attention to the batter. The middle infielders and first basemen, too, have a degree of distraction.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been the talk of town for the last couple years and we haven\u2019t done it,\u201d said McCray, who\u2019s 5-for-5 on his stolen-base attempts. \u201cThis year we\u2019ve actually been able to run and it\u2019s paid dividends. Even when the bats are asleep, it\u2019s hard to put the wheels to sleep, and if we\u2019re running, causing chaos on the bases is just going to put more pressure on the defense.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou have to find more creative ways to score runs sometimes,\u201d Cox said. \u201cThere are a lot of free bases out there and if you can find them, it\u2019s a really good way to help the team win.\u201d<\/p>\n There are other good base stealers on the club. Casey Schmitt<\/a>, perhaps a bit surprisingly, is tied for third with nine steals and was only caught once before he landed on the IL with a torn meniscus. Christian Koss and Willy Adames<\/a> can pick up a steal now and then. Drew Gilbert is fast but isn\u2019t having great success on the bases this year, getting thrown out in 4 of 5 attempts; that\u2019s an area he could improve.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/a>
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