The fastest and slowest runners on the Red Sox

[The Gray Eagle]

MLB's Baseball Savant page has Statcast data from the last 3 years on sprint speed.

"Sprint Speed
Sprint Speed is Statcast’s foot speed metric, defined as “feet per second in a player’s fastest one-second window.” The Major League average on a "max effort" play is 27 ft/sec, and the max effort range is roughly from 23 ft/sec (poor) to 30 ft/sec (elite). A player must have at least 10 max effort runs to qualify for this leaderboard. Read more about how Sprint Speed works here."

Benintendi ranks as the fastest sprinter on the Red Sox so far this year, at 28.3 feet per second. Xander is next at 28.0, followed closely by Mookie and Josh Rutledge at 27.9.

Pedroia is slower then everyone except the catchers, at 26.3 feet per second. Sandy Leon is one of the slowest runners in baseball, and is the only Sox regular who clocks in below 25 feet per second, at 24.6.

In all of baseball, Billy Hamilton ranks as the fastest, at 30.1 feet per second. Albert Pujols is the slowest, at 23.2, making Sandy Leon seem fleet in comparison.

 

[DJnVa]

In all of baseball, Billy Hamilton ranks as the fastest, at 30.1 feet per second. Albert Pujols is the slowest, at 23.2, making Sandy Leon seem fleet in comparison.

This came up briefly in another thread but there's as much difference in speed between Billy Hamilton and Usian Bolt as there is between Hamilton and Pujols.

Now, the circumstances are clearly different (track vs. ballfield) so that difference would close somewhat, but that's still amazing to me.

 

[Hank Scorpio]

This came up briefly in another thread but there's as much difference in speed between Billy Hamilton and Usian Bolt as there is between Hamilton and Pujols.

Now, the circumstances are clearly different (track vs. ballfield) so that difference would close somewhat, but that's still amazing to me.

I love stuff like this, it's always interesting to know.

I often wonder stuff like "what's the bigger difference in offensive talent, the average SoSH member and Craig Grebeck, or Craig Grebeck and Ted Williams?"

 

[Byrdbrain]

I don't think there is any doubt it is the former.

 

[wade boggs chicken dinner]

Benintendi ranks as the fastest sprinter on the Red Sox so far this year, at 28.3 feet per second. Xander is next at 28.0, followed closely by Mookie and Josh Rutledge at 27.9.

Benintendi may be fast but he pales in comparison to Panda, who is so fast he apparently wasn't measurable.

After all, Benintendi never ran 3.9 seconds to first . . . .

 

[DJnVa]

I love stuff like this, it's always interesting to know.

I often wonder stuff like "what's the bigger difference in offensive talent, the average SoSH member and Craig Grebeck, or Craig Grebeck and Ted Williams?"

If Grebeck played in your softball league he'd go something like 49-50 with 45 HRs. If he played in your adult baseball league he'd slash something like .750/.850./2.500

The dude homered off of Nolan Ryan.

 

[JimBoSox9]

I don't think there is any doubt it is the former.

Are you trying to tell me that the average SoSher isn't a former (or future!) .990 OPS hitter in D2 NCAA ball? What's happened to our membership standards around here, mannnnnnn?

 

[Savin Hillbilly]

Benintendi ranks as the fastest sprinter on the Red Sox so far this year, at 28.3 feet per second. Xander is next at 28.0, followed closely by Mookie and Josh Rutledge at 27.9.

This surprised me.

Remarkable how small the differences really are. That means that if you assume a 10-foot lead off first base, it would take Sandy Leon less than half a second longer than Benintendi to run to second base at top speed (80 feet/28.3 ft/sec = 2.83 sec; /24.6 ft/sec = 3.25 sec). That 0.4 seconds between bases is enough to differentiate a guy with good speed from one of the slowest guys in the game.

 

[grimshaw]

Benintendi may be fast but he pales in comparison to Panda, who is so fast he apparently wasn't measurable.

I think it's more that he's never reached first base. Which helps explain him "liking" all those women's photos while on the toilet during the game.

 

[pedro1918]

I'm sure the coaching staff has presented this information to Pedroia. I am also sure Pedroia doesn't believe it. It seems like he believes he is one of the faster players in MLB.

 

[pedro1918]

Benintendi may be fast but he pales in comparison to Panda, who is so fast he apparently wasn't measurable.

"A player must have at least 10 max effort runs to qualify for this leaderboard."

Panda has yet to achieve the minimum number of "max effort runs". Which isn't hard to believe.

 

[StupendousMan]

Remarkable how small the differences really are. That means that if you assume a 10-foot lead off first base, it would take Sandy Leon less than half a second longer than Benintendi to run to second base at top speed (80 feet/28.3 ft/sec = 2.83 sec; /24.6 ft/sec = 3.25 sec).

Well, your calculation assumes that every player can accelerate from zero to top speed instantaneously, then maintain that speed all the way to second base without overrunning the bag. If you make a more realistic model of a player's motion, the time required to go from first to second will increase significantly -- and the DIFFERENCE in time between a fast and slow player will also increase significantly.

But I agree with your basic point: the difference between a top base-stealer and failure on the basepaths isn't very large.

 

[Spelunker]

Well, your calculation assumes that every player can accelerate from zero to top speed instantaneously, then maintain that speed all the way to second base without overrunning the bag. If you make a more realistic model of a player's motion, the time required to go from first to second will increase significantly -- and the DIFFERENCE in time between a fast and slow player will also increase significantly.

But I agree with your basic point: the difference between a top base-stealer and failure on the basepaths isn't very large.

And certainly less than half a second.

 

[Red(s)HawksFan]

I'm sure the coaching staff has presented this information to Pedroia. I am also sure Pedroia doesn't believe it. It seems like he believes he is one of the faster players in MLB.

I remember one of the knocks on Pedroia when he first came up was that he wasn't that fleet of foot and his response to that was stealing 20+ bases four times in five seasons (the fifth being the year he broke his foot and missed half the year).

 

[Savin Hillbilly]

Well, your calculation assumes that every player can accelerate from zero to top speed instantaneously, then maintain that speed all the way to second base without overrunning the bag.

I'm assuming that the slide, like the lead, can be discounted as a differentiator -- though it's a good point that the slide should therefore be removed from the calculation as well. If the player goes into his slide about ten feet from the bag (I don't know exactly how far it is, but it's probably near there), then it's only a 70-foot sprint, and the difference grows even smaller -- about 0.37 seconds.

The acceleration factor also seems intuitively like a non-differentiator, or at least an uncertain differentiator, because the physiological factors that give a player a fast top speed presumably aren't identical to, and might even correlate negatively with, the factors that allow a player to accelerate quickly to his top speed. I would be interested in hearing from people who know more about that.

 

[foulkehampshire]

I remember one of the knocks on Pedroia when he first came up was that he wasn't that fleet of foot and his response to that was stealing 20+ bases four times in five seasons (the fifth being the year he broke his foot and missed half the year).

Unfortunately, the same traits that has enabled Dustin to have a great career (fearless, aggressive, unwilling to quit/give up) has caused him to age into one of the the worst baserunners in baseball.

 

[TheRooster]

Savin, I wouldn't expect a strong correlation in either direction in baseball. While shorter guys tend to come out of the blocks quicker at the olympic level where everyone is fast, MLB guys are more diverse in speed which masks such small advantages. In other words Mookie is both quicker out of the box AND has faster top-end speed than Moreland, who is five inches taller.

 

[charlieoscar]

One thing certainly has to be how well a player can read and react to potential pick-off throws. One who can react more quickly to a throw can take a longer lead; one who realizes more quickly that the pitcher is going home with the ball can get a better jump.

 

[Schnerres]

I'm assuming that the slide, like the lead, can be discounted as a differentiator -- though it's a good point that the slide should therefore be removed from the calculation as well. If the player goes into his slide about ten feet from the bag (I don't know exactly how far it is, but it's probably near there), then it's only a 70-foot sprint, and the difference grows even smaller -- about 0.37 seconds.

Then in that theory, you say that the 70feet way is run in a full speed mode by every runner. That is also not true. So a player like Mookie Betts is faster at full speed than Papi was due to their different acceleration. So even if the difference in full speed doesn´t seem to be so big, the difference grows as quicker players reach that higher speed even faster than the slow guys.

 

[dbn]

Jackie Bradley has league-average top speed. If he were fast I think he'd be able to catch any ball hit in the air, or on a line, anywhere in the ballpark.


edit: and thanks for finding this and starting the thread. Count me as one of the "love stuff like this" crowd.

 

[grimshaw]

Mookie and Xander are #1 and #2 in MLB in BsR, the all encompassing baserunning stat, since the start of 2016 and it's not even close. http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=bat&lg=all&qual=y&type=8&season=2017&month=0&season1=2016&ind=0&team=0&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0&sort=18,d

It obviously helps that they run well, but they are just supernaturally heads up on knowing when to take the extra base.

Edit: Billy Hamilton didn't have enough qualifying at bats when I sorted it, but he's actually #1, then Mookie, Rajai Davis, and X is tied with Dee Gordon for 4th.

 

[dbn]

Mookie and Xander are #1 and #2 in MLB in BsR, the all encompassing baserunning stat, since the start of 2016 and it's not even close. http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=bat&lg=all&qual=y&type=8&season=2017&month=0&season1=2016&ind=0&team=0&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0&sort=18,d

It obviously helps that they run well, but they are just supernaturally heads up on knowing when to take the extra base.

Edit: Billy Hamilton didn't have enough qualifying at bats when I sorted it, but he's actually #1, then Mookie, Rajai Davis, and X is tied with Dee Gordon for 4th.

Yeah, there are only 37 qualified players on your sorted link. The point still stands, though, that Mookie and Xander are great on the base paths by that metric. Interesting data.

 

[grimshaw]

Ya had too many PA's. Just redid it and they are both top 5 out of 1147 players.

 

[pantsparty]

It obviously helps that they run well, but they are just supernaturally heads up on knowing when to take the extra base.

Edit: Billy Hamilton didn't have enough qualifying at bats when I sorted it, but he's actually #1, then Mookie, Rajai Davis, and X is tied with Dee Gordon for 4th.

X has looked to me like simply getting faster and also getting better at the mental aspect of baserunning has been something he has focused on. His BsR by year has been 0.4, 0.8, 3.7, 6.1, 6.2. Mookie is just flat out fast, accelerates to top speed in an instant, and is completely aware of the things that should otherwise be impossible that allows him to do on the basepaths.

I also didn't realize Pedroia was so slow now. I remember him stealing double-digits bases... but yeah, that was 4 years ago now that I go and look at his stats.

 

[HriniakPosterChild]

Hmm. No data on Steven Wright?

 

[OfTheCarmen]

I absolutely love the hockey skills competition and would very much welcome a similar outing for baseball.

 

[Fred not Lynn]

Personally, I think an NFL 100m at the Pro Bowl would be an awesome spectacle. Much more than the actual Pro Bowl.

 

[Niastri]

Yeah, there are only 37 qualified players on your sorted link. The point still stands, though, that Mookie and Xander are great on the base paths by that metric. Interesting data.

Considering they both had all their professional coaching in the Red Sox system, do we think the system might have something to do with their base running excellence? Or is it a coincidence?

As an aside, I wonder if the focus on the Epstein/Cherington 100 million dollar development machine caused evolutions in coaching that allow excellence in previously undervalued skills like (non steal) base running.

I think Cherington reached the level of his incompetence as a GM, but damn could that guy develop a farm system!