DETROIT – Nasim Nuñez stole nine bases last year. He entered this season with a goal of 80. Along the way, he set the Nationals team record (2005-present) for the most stolen bases in a single season during the seventh inning of the Nats’ 4-2 win over the Tigers on Wednesday at Comerica Park.
Nuñez, the league-leader in stolen bases, entered the game tied with CJ Abrams’ mark of 47 set in 2023. Once he singled off reliever Jacob Waguespack in the seventh inning, Nuñez was in position to make history.
“It’s cool because a lot of people can’t really say they’ve held the Nats stolen base record,” Nuñez, 26, said. “It’s nice that trying to help the team win, you get to have your own accomplishments.”
With James Wood at the plate, Nuñez was ready to go. He dashed from first to second at an elite sprint speed of 30 feet per second (the league average for a competitive play is 27 feet per second).
Nuñez dusted himself off and eyed third base. His helmet flew off as he outstretched his arm and slid into the bag with a sprint speed of 28.7 feet per second. Nuñez was safe for stolen base No. 49. His speedy base running put him in position to score when Wood grounded out to first base.
"You talk about a fearless kid coming out of the Minor Leagues and getting to the big leagues and utilizing his skill set,” said Tigers manager AJ Hinch. “We knew he was a problem coming into the series in terms of his speed and how he can inject a little bit of energy. We talked about Max Clark in this way a couple weeks ago, as like a one-man rally. Now [Nuñez] needed a ball in play from Wood, but putting himself at third with less than two outs in the span of 15 or 20 seconds, that's a problem when you're trying to defend it."
The next-closest player in the league is the Rays Chandler Simpson (46). In the National League, the Cubs Pete Crow-Armstrong is second behind Nuñez with 39.
The Nationals saw the potential for a significant improvement this season. They just had to pair his athleticism with strategy. Nuñez worked with first-base coach Corey Ray and bench coach Michael Johns to combine the skills.
“I’m not surprised, but I think the thing that I'm most proud of with Nas is how much he's grown on the bases by not forcing the envelope,” said manager Blake Butera. “A lot of really fast guys, you see them every time they get on, they want to steal. And there was a little bit of that early on.
“But Corey, MJ, those guys have done a really good job with him of talking about some times where he went even when he was safe that weren't the right times to go, or times where he went and they weren't the right times and he gets thrown out. … Now, when he's on base, it's like, ‘Nas, it's all you.’ We trust him to take those shots in those situations.”
Nuñez agrees.
“[My decision-making] has gotten a lot better, but there have been some areas that I’ve had to work on,” he said. “I just told my coach and one of my friends: it’s like if you’re trying to steal candy out the candy store and the clerk is watching you, you can’t steal the candy. So you’ve got to be sneaky.
“I’m not telling any kids to steal candy.”
Nuñez has been dominant on the basepaths while still working on getting on the basepaths. Nuñez, a 2023 Rule 5 Draft pick, is in his third Major League season, but first with a starting role. He is batting .209 this season and has 40 more hits than stolen bases, including one home run. Defensively, Nuñez entered the game ranked in the 85th percentile in range and three outs above average.
“There are a couple other shortstops and middle infielders throughout the league that are on really good teams that maybe don't hit a ton, but they play really good defense, and when they get on base, they're able to make some things happen,” said Butera. “And I think Nas is able to do that. There's no doubt for him and for us, we'd love him to get on base more, and that's something that we're hoping he can continue to work on and get better at as he gets even more established in this league.
“But even with what he’s doing offensively, he brings so much value in terms of the defense and base running.”
So about that goal of 80 stolen bases?
“When I do get on base, I’m going to get my 80,” he said. “I’ve got some work to do this offseason. Real soon, we’ll get to swinging so we can get on base some more.”