When you set a spring stolen-base record, you obviously have to pull a Rickey

Rickey Henderson's all-time steals total is one of those baseball records that will in all likelihood never be broken. But for a brief moment this spring, there was a new stolen-base "record" getting its time in the sun, and The Man of Steal was on everybody's mind.

Speedy Red Sox Minor Leaguer Braiden Ward swiped his 17th base of Spring Training during Thursday's game against the Twins, a stolen base that might otherwise have been forgettable except that it set a record for the most steals in a single spring by any player in at least the past two decades. After sliding in safely, Ward reached down and pulled the base out of the ground in an homage to Rickey, who of course invented that move when he broke Lou Brock's all-time record with his 939th career stolen base.

Ward apparently had the gimmick in mind before this game, planted in his head by some of his teammates.

"I had no idea about it until I had maybe about 13 bags and someone had mentioned it," Ward said of the record on the To The Show Baseball Podcast. "And then [manager Alex Cora] brought it up and told me to go do it in front of everyone and now kind of the whole team is kind of behind me, they want me to do it.

"They're trying to get me to Rickey Henderson it at the very end, you know pick up the bag. Like anyone cares, but just kind of a fun thing for the team. So I might do it, if I get it."

Ward followed through, to a point, only half-heartedly holding up the bag to appease his teammates rather than hoisting it high above his head the way Rickey had in 1991 (for good reason, obviously).

• Remembering Rickey, all-time steals king and 1 of 1

It's certainly no Man of Steal feat, but the fleet-footed Ward's 17 stolen bags are 10 more than anyone else this spring -- Jared Oliva of the Giants is next on the list. The 27-year-old was only caught once and has had ample opportunities thanks to his .526 on-base percentage, which trails only Matt McLain's .667 and is tied with Max Muncy.

Over his five seasons in the Minors, Ward has topped out at 57 swipes twice in a single season, and has 211 for his career. Only 1,195 to go to catch Rickey, and then he can really pick that base up over his head.