In a way, no one should be surprised about Carl Crawford’s hot 2009 start. After all, this is a guy who has led the American League in stolen bases four out of the past six years. Still, there’s nothing more exciting than a player making a run at a 100 stolen base season, even if he is on the disappointing Tampa Bay Rays.
The 100-stolen base mark has only been reached twenty times in the history of the game, last accomplished over twenty years ago by Vince Coleman. It should be noted that Crawford has never stolen more than 59 bases in his previous seven years in the Majors.
Carl Crawford’s two most popular rookie cards come in the form of a 1999 Bowman Chrome and a much more sought after 1999 Topps Traded certified autograph. On eBay, the non-graded cards have been selling as high as $40 dollars and sometimes as low as under $30.
Do you think Carl Crawford will steal 100 bases this season?
I think it is feasible he can steal 100 bases if he has a few games with 4-6 SBs… Carl Crawford is a best… dont sleep on him
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If he does, the Rays manager should be fired. Even if Crawford’s talent pushes the probability numbers, sabermetrics are skeptical of the value of stolen bases. Can a manager justify sending Crawford 100+ times in a season? I don’t think so!
Of course, if the Rays season becomes lost, why not give Crawford a green light? The spectacle might fill the stands – this is an entertainment business after all.
As long as he keeps getting on base he should be able to make a run at 100. Especially with the amount of games they play against boston (Varitek is only throwing out about 25% of would be base stealers) and baltimore (Zaun is also at 25%).
He has two impressive hitters behind him in Longoria and Pena so pitchers can’t afford to waste too many pitches on pitchouts. Plus Crawford has the speed to swipe the bag even if the other team does pitchout.
When they play 40 games againt the Yankees/Red Sox, he can make a push at 100 steals. Posada and Varitek can not throw guys out, so all base runners have the green light on them.
He hasn’t stolen 100 bases if you combine totals from 2007, 2008, and 2009 (to date).
It’d be cool to see, but no way. If he steals more than 70 I’ll be shocked.
re: the value of SB. It depends on success rate below 80% don’t run, above 80% run away.
I’d love to see it, but I don’t think it’ll happen. Crawford is batting #2 in the Rays lineup behind B.J. Upton. So far, Upton has hardly ever gotten on base this year, so every time Crawford gets on base, there’s no one in front of him. Once B.J. heats up, he’ll be reaching base and stealing more, and Crawford will be driving him in. I’d like to see Crawford and Upton each get 50 steals.
Couldn’t resist that old stab, could you Mario? Maybe another year of dominating the East will get rid of the ‘disappointing’ tag.
With how hot he is now, he’s running every time he gets on and unless he gets thrown out more than a few times I don’t see that confidence getting shot. Certainly not when Joe is giving him a green light all the time. He had a down year last season with his bat as well, so if he gets back on track with that he’ll be on a lot more and I think he could have the talent to swipe 100. Dave’s right though, opportunities will be the key and they are probably limited batting 2nd behind BJ. But I certainly hope he does, it would be great for my fantasy team if nothing else!
I only used “disappointing” because they are currently just above the gutter-dwelling Baltimore Orioles not because of what happened last year.
In the end, I expect the Rays to win 10-15 more games then the hopeless Marlins.
There is no doubt about it – the 2009 Rays have been VERY disappointing so far. But I think there’s light at the end of the tunnel. Once Upton starts hitting and Kazmir starts pitching well, the Rays will jump back into contention – if it’s not already too late.
I was just kidding around, Mario. Sorry if it sounded bitter. And I certainly wouldn’t call the Fish hopeless. Streaky maybe, but far from hopeless.
I think we’ve only been disappointing because of how high our expectations are after last year but we started slow then as well. Bossman WILL hit, he’s starting to show some life the last few days even, and the pitching is turning the corner also. Frankly I’m surprised we haven’t ridden Longoria’s and Pena’s hot streaks better. I just hope they’re still hot when everyone else catches up like they’re starting to.
I think he has a pretty good shot at 100 stolen bases, especially if he’s deliberately targeting that, as opposed to just accumulating stolen bases situationally.
I would put his chances at about 60%. Even if he has 1/4 of the total so far, 100 is a very long way to go over the course of a season. He has been on the DL before, and durability is probably the biggest question mark in my mind. Once he starts getting close to 75, and add up the times he gets caught, it can start to wear him down, I imagine.
Rickey was a machine, and perfectly built for the job. Crawford is 6’2″, which is not a giant, but smaller size lends itself to more base stealing durability, I think (Rickey 5’10″, and Coleman 6’0″). Canseco famously reached 40/40 first, but getting those stolen bases were hard on his massive frame.
If Crawford can stay off the DL, the goal of 100 is certainly not impossible. Interesting how the game has changed in the “Testing Era”. It’s starting to resemble 1968 or 1985 more and more…
I think 60 is a much more reachable goal for Crawford. 100 is tough, very tough. I would not put any player in today’s game on the same level with Coleman, Raines, or Henderson.
It turns out that Crawford is also good at hitting game winning home runs in the 9th inning against Mariano Rivera!
well he’s at 20 now so, 1/5 there. i wish his exquisite autos would kick up a bit in price. http://cgi.ebay.com/07-Exquisite-Carl-Crawford-Signature-Materials-30-50_W0QQitemZ220399395402QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_SM_Sports_Cards?hash=item3350d3e24a&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66:2|65:16|39:1|240:1318|301:1|293:1|294:50
Anyway, ellsbury also has a decent chance at 100….
Nothing sweeter than that!
I forgot to mention before about what I heard of CC’s offseason training. Apparently he trained on actual grass last winter instead of synthetic and he says he’s come off it with his legs feeling a hell of a lot better than they ever have. Whether that’s just typical Spring Training talk or not is debatable, but the results so far seem to indicate it’s not.
well he got his 21st keep goin!