(670 The Score) Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner is having a breakout season on the basepaths.
Hoerner has 32 stolen bases, the seventh-most in MLB entering play Tuesday, in 115 games. While MLB’s new rules have created a stolen base-friendly environment by increasing the size of bases by three inches, implementing a pitch clock and limiting pickoff moves by pitchers, Hoerner still is surprised by his statistics in that department.
“It’s more of a skill than people realize,” Hoerner said on the Parkins & Spiegel Show on Tuesday afternoon. “It’s not just about your raw speed. It’s so much more that goes into it, and a lot of that is confidence and trust. If you would’ve asked me five or six years if I’d ever steal 30-plus bases in the big leagues, I don’t like putting ceilings on things, but I’d be hard-pressed to believe it. Just because I hadn’t really done it that much on a lot of different teams that I was on, whether it was just kind of team philosophy or where I was at. So it’s just really cool that I’ve been able to continue to develop in that area, and a lot of that credit is definitely due to (Cubs manager David Ross) and the rest of the staff. We kind of got on the front end of that (stolen base wave) last year, and then some of the rules changes help a little bit this year.”
Hoerner has been caught stealing five times, giving him an 86.5% success rate in 2023.
“There’s a ton that goes into it,” Hoerner said. “There’s definitely faster guys out there than me, but I think I’ve done a pretty good job of picking spots overall and just kind of having trust.”
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