Shohei Ohtani leads the Dodgers with 9 stolen bases in 9 makes an attempt this season, whereas Mookie Betts is correct behind him with eight steals, simply as soon as caught. They’re on tempo for 36 and 32 steals, respectively this season.
The final time the Dodgers had two gamers steal 30 bases in a season was in 2009, when Matt Kemp stole 34 and Juan Pierre swiped 30. The crew hasn't even had two gamers steal 20 bases in the identical season since 2014, when Dee. Unusual-Gordon led the Nationwide League with 64 stolen bases and Carl Crawford additionally stole 23.
For Betts, his eight steals are already greater than half of his whole for your complete final season (14), and he averaged 12 steals within the earlier three seasons.
Invoice Plunkett on the Orange County Register wrote concerning the Dodgers double stealing threats, together with this one from Betts on why he steals extra bases this 12 months:
“I don't know. I actually don't know,” Betts mentioned when requested why he's been extra aggressive this 12 months. “I imply, I'm simply making an attempt to be the very best Mookie that I might be. I acquired harm in '21 with my hip or no matter. Since then, I've simply shut it down. I don't have a particular purpose why different than simply making an attempt to remain wholesome. I wasn't being the very best Mookie I might be.
After almost two full seasons sidelined with shoulder accidents, it wasn't the shoulder that bothered Blake Treinen this season, however relatively damaged ribs and a burned lung after taking a line drive from the chest in a spring coaching recreation .
However he's again within the Dodgers' bullpen now, and he's pitched into the eighth inning in all three appearances thus far, retiring all 9 batters confronted. Jack Harris on the Los Angeles Instances wrote about Treinen's return:
“His stuff is in an amazing place proper now,” normal supervisor Brandon Gomes mentioned in March. “There's loads of outcomes the place he's an elite pitcher, whether or not he's in 2021 kind or not.”
JJ Cooper at Baseball America wrote about how MLB's present mannequin of limiting the usage of pitchers within the minors in an effort to guard weapons has not, in reality, resulted in fewer accidents:
The intention is admirable. However we're now greater than a decade into the period of pitcher safety, and I battle to give you examples of fastidiously dealt with pitchers who’ve turn into paradigms of sturdiness.
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Pitcher abuse has been eradicated, however it's onerous to search out proof that dramatically decreasing pitchers' workloads helps. Essentially the most charitable view of present pitching improvement practices is that it probably prevented the elbow damage downside from getting worse. However do we actually know that it’s helpful?
