MIAMI – Stolen bases have increased over the past three seasons due to the 2023 rule changes, so it’s only natural that clubs would try to strategize ways to contain the running game.
Two similar examples arose last week, including during the Marlins’ 5-3 victory over the Brewers on Sunday afternoon at loanDepot park.
With a runner at first in the second inning, right-hander Eury Pérez threw in the direction of the base, where Connor Norby caught the pickoff attempt away from the bag and saw Luis Rengifo already safely back at first.
Pérez got called for a balk, which led to an exchanging of words between Norby and first-base umpire Cory Blaser. Marlins manager Clayton McCullough came out of the dugout for a lengthy discussion, resulting in an ejection.
“He's been in that place, that spot, the entire season [and] it hasn't been called,” McCullough said postgame Sunday. “It's such a gray area where it's subjective to who the individual is. Corey is a great umpire. I like Corey lot. He felt like he was too far off and didn't make an attempt to tag him. My issue was, ‘How do we not know tomorrow that someone else over there interprets it differently? Where are we supposed to tell him to play?’”
Added Norby: “I haven't had an issue with an umpire all year. They've asked me before about why I'm playing where I am, and I've explained to them it's a shorter throw. It's where our pitchers are aiming. I'm still making efforts to tag the guy. I'm not blocking the lane, because I've asked the guy making sure I'm good beforehand with my back foot. And then it also puts me in a better fielding position after the pitch is thrown than to shuffle off two or three times and trying to get into that fielding position.”
This marked the second time that call was made in the last week. Mariners right-hander Bryan Woo received a balk on a pickoff attempt against the Padres on Tuesday.
Brewers manager Pat Murphy had addressed the positioning pregame Sunday, then postgame after it played a role in the finale.
“That’s something you will hear more about in the next two, three years because umpires didn’t call them for so long,” Murphy said. “They weren’t scrutinized as much as now with the running game becoming so important. I think you will see more balks called, and I think the umpires will have more on them. We have put a lot on them with obstruction and the pitch clock, now ABS. But I think balks are going to come into play.’’
Norby, who was introduced to the first-base position in Spring Training, has been playing off the bag to “hold” the runner – and understandably so. Entering Sunday, the Marlins had allowed an MLB-high 31 steals and the Brewers had stolen an MLB-high 32 bases. Pérez had permitted an MLB-high nine stolen bases, so the Marlins were looking for any way to slow down Milwaukee.
It’s similar to the way Major League catchers have been instructed to throw toward the feet of a runner rather than to the bag. Infield coach Blake Butler said the organization was already talking about it when he got hired in December.
“We started with everybody in spring, and we've kind of adjusted a little bit how far we've gone out, and kind of played with multiple things,” infield coach Blake Butler said. “Hadn't gotten anybody yet, hadn't really had a close one yet, but we're messing around seeing what the most optimal place to stand is to give us a chance to get runners out."
McCullough said pregame Monday that the Marlins reached out to MLB for clarity moving forward. It likely will continue to be a bit of a gray area as its a judgment call by the umpire. Miami plans to check with the umpiring crew before the game and adjust accordingly depending on its interpretation of the positioning.
“Teams are always looking to find what the next potential edge is or even what you feel maybe is a marginal advantage for your group, to try to push it as far as you can,” McCullough said. “Certainly, we like to do everything on the up and up and within what is allowable. That is one area where, trying to cut down the distance of the throw, get the throw and the tag more into the body area, where you just have seen over time, where more outs are collected in that way.
"... Certainly don't want to expose ourselves to be in that position where we lose 90 feet if we're not complying. I think we'll just try to find what that appropriate spot is game to game.”