Dodgers Team News

Dodgers: Could More Base Stealing Be in the Offensive Plan Moving Forward?

The Dodgers are known for many things, but stealing just isn’t one of them. That doesn’t mean they don’t have the speed or skill to accomplish base stealing, it’s just ahs not been an important part of their offense.

Very rarely do we see a stolen base and it’s even rarer to see a game with multiple Dodgers stolen bases. Granted, the team did have two stolen bases by Cody Bellinger and Mookie Betts on Friday night. But it’s still an infrequent thing to see in Los Angeles. 



This year, the Dodgers are tied for 24th in the league with 23 stolen bases. Also, take into consideration that they’ve allowed far more stolen bases against them at 63. When asked if the club plans on utilizing the stolen base more into the offense, Dave Roberts half-heartedly agreed. 

Yeah. I think that in the right spot it makes sense and just having that dynamic part of our game is important.

While Roberts’ words do offer a little optimism, it’s fair to wonder if his answer should have been a more clear yes. He of all people should know how important a stolen base can be. Just look at Cody Bellinger‘s stolen base in the second during Friday’s win against the Cubs. It resulted in him coming home on a Gavin Lux ground out. The Dodgers offense could certainly use another weapon to wield against opposing teams, especially with the struggles they have had. 

Dodgers Related: LA Owners Buy Large Share of the Lakers

Having guys like Bellinger, Mookie Betts, and Chris Taylor create havoc on base could allow for more offensive production. There is also no denying the impact it can have on the minds of opposing pitchers. Adding more base-stealing to this team may also create more of that intensity that has been lacking all season.

We’ll see what direction Doc wants to go moving forward. 

Dodgers Prospects: Dave Roberts Still Not Sure When Josiah Gray Will Be Ready

4 Comments

  1. All this team does is try to hit home runs. They absolutely need to do more of the small ball stuff. Bunt for hits, slap oppo, stolen bases, better baserunning, etc. Getting away from the all-or-nothing that is just not working could be the key to a great year. Right now, they are just blah…

  2. They don’t have the right athlete to do all that stuff. The only one that can do all that is Mookie, but his swing is getting into the launch angle nonsense, so he’s striking out more or those weakly sliced pop-ups. Belli w/ his speed is a candidate but he believes the team wants him to a big bopper. CT3 can also run but his swing is also locked in to launch. The current Dodgers’ hitting philosophy is run by the 2 computer geeks in the dugout, thus the personnel they got aren’t trained to oppo hit, athletic speed burners, and bunting is a foreign word ( even for the pitchers…that’s why they’re better @ swinging ). You can’t blame DR, he doesn’t have the right personnel to play that game the way he played it. Front office built this team to look for walks, go one base @ a time, and pray for a 3- run homer. That is why they’re lethargic, slow, and not exciting except when the rare homer occurs. That kind of baseball everyone is talking about is SD Padres, which DR had hoped to get the job instead of getting passed over.

  3. Today’s lineup has Bellinger batting 2nd while Beaty bats cleanup. Another example of how clueless Roberts is and this offense being sub par on many occasions.

  4. Albert won’t be stealing many bases, but his HR % has been impressive since joining the Blue. Based on his HR’s per AB, as a Dodger, he would hit 57 dongs if given 600 ABs.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back to top button