After two overturned calls on stolen bases, Royals are tweaking their slides
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Royals questioned MLB after two overturned stolen base calls in consecutive games.
- Players' sliding gloves offer protection but may hinder base contact on slides.
- Coaches urged runners to adjust slide form to maintain contact with the base.
The Royals contacted Major League Baseball earlier this month with a question:
What did you see?
During their 3-1 loss to the Mets on July 12, the Royals were surprised that a replay review of a stolen base by Bobby Witt Jr. was overturned and he was called out.
Witt was ruled to have come off the base at some point.
While it’s not unusual for the Royals to ask MLB for clarification on a call, this one surprised the KC front office and drew an angry response from Kansas City fans (the MLB office didn’t provide a specific answer).
That overturned call was the second in as many days for a Royals player who lost contact with the bag. It happened to Tyler Tolbert, too.
“One thing about those guys that came off the bag is they’re running so fast,” said Royals coach Damon Hollins, who works with the teams’ baserunners. “It’s just one of those things that you’ve got to just keep some type of body part on the bag.
“Obviously, you’re reaching for the bag and you beat the throw. But depending on where you are and how fast you are going, when you start to slide, your momentum is going to obviously take you a little bit past it (the base).
“So it’s really just about staying down, trying to keep some type of body part on the bag. I can’t fault those guys as part of it, you’ve just gotta work within the rules.”
Sliding gloves to blame?
Both Tolbert and Witt wear a glove on their hand when running the bases, one that was popularized by Whit Merrifield. It was colloquially known as an “oven mitt.”
“It’s for protection because guys are dropping legs down, feet, and it just protects your fingers sliding into the bag because you’re going in very hard and aggressive,” Tolbert said.
“That’s what happened to me. I try to, I guess, stop myself, kind of brace myself to come up a little bit. And that’s where they got me. I came off the bag for a little bit.”
The “oven mitt” gloves include pieces of metal that can lessen the damage if a player is stepped on by an infielder.
They don’t, however, make it easy to grip a base.
“You just kind of learn how to use it,” Witt said.
Tolbert, who began wearing the glove after being drafted by the Royals, has experienced far fewer injuries since he switched to the “oven mitt.”
“I’ve jammed a few of my fingers and thumb,” Tolbert said, “so it was great to find. It’s not great to play with a broken finger or sprained thumb. So you should make an adjustment — make sure you just stay on the bag.”
Generally speaking, the players who are caught in these situations are the fastest on the team. Witt reached a top speed of 29.3 feet per second on his caught stealing, while Tolbert was running 28.8 feet per second.
Hollins has advised the Royals’ runners to stay down. It’s a small tweak to how they usually slide.
“It’s a natural reaction to kind of bring your chest up because you’re trying to get up, but just keeping your chest flat through the slide,” Hollins explained. “You’re still looking for a throw that may get away in the center field. So you’re coming up.
“It’s just one of those things to where the defense can take advantage. Keep his tag on them. Now, with the replay here, they can go back and see if he came up. We’ve just got to make sure we stay down.”
Tolbert learned his lesson.
“The next time, I’m just gonna lay there,” he said, “just make sure we have something touching the bag as long as possible.”
