Could the SF Giants finally be joining the rest of baseball in key category?

Despite recent rule changes favoring baserunners, the SF Giants have been slow (no pun intended) to adjust. Could that narrative be starting to change in 2025?

Could the SF Giants finally be joining the rest of baseball in key category?

The Giants swiped four bases in four opportunities in Friday's win over the Seattle Mariners. So far, they have 10 steals in 10 chances, signaling a stark contrast to recent teams.

The Giants have nine steals in seven games this year. Do you remember how long it took for them to steal their first bag last season? They were not only the last team to record a stolen base, but they did not get in the stolen base column until the 13th game. The Giants did have a couple of unsuccessful attempts before that.

The Giants were last in stolen bases with 57 in 2023 followed by edging out the Los Angeles Angels (65) with 68 steals last year. In 2023, there were a couple of players who recorded more steals than the Giants did as a team.

That same season saw the introduction of some new rules, most notably limiting the number of disengagements and increasing the size of the base. Not surprisingly, stolen bases saw a 40 percent year-over-year increase in 2023. Importantly, the league's success rate increased from 75.4 percent to 80.2 percent.

Teams were stealing more bags, and were comparatively more successful doing it. That was the case for just about every team, with the Giants being one of the few exceptions.

Now, the prior regime did not necessarily put a lot of value into speed and stolen bases. They did not have the fastest group, resulting in few base-stealing opportunities despite a more favorable environment.

The Giants may never be the fleetest of foot, but they have assembled some speedy players. Jung Hoo Lee, Tyler Fitzgerald, Matt Chapman, and Heliot Ramos are all above-average runners.

Perhaps, Fitzgerald is the only player with high-volume running ability from that group, but they all have the speed to record double-digit steals. Even Willy Adames stole 21 bases in 25 chances last year.

Speed certainly helps when it comes to steals, but you need to have good instincts as well. Runners need to know the pitcher's moves, routines, and habits that day. For example, what pitch does he like to throw in which counts. Where has he been locating his offspeed pitches?

It is still very early, but this looks like one trend that could stick. At the very least, the Giants look to be much more aggressive than they have been in recent years, and they have already scored a few extra runs because of it.