2016’s most extreme Statcast baserunning moments

As we did with home runs and throws, we’re going to use Statcast™ to take a look at 2016’s most interesting moments on the basepaths. Why wouldn’t we? Now that we can measure lead distances and run times in ways we’ve never been able to before, the stories start to write themselves.

Immediately, however, there’s a complication: Billy Hamilton. In much the same way that you can’t write about pitch velocity without being overwhelmed by Aroldis Chapman data, this article could very easily be “20 ways in which Hamilton is the fastest man you’ve ever seen play baseball.” Hamilton’s speed is such that he has the fastest tracked times on…

• Home to first (non-bunt), 3.61 seconds • Home to second, 7.28 seconds • Home to third, 10.45 seconds • First to third, 5.24 seconds • First to home, 8.23 seconds

… plus probably about 10 other things, not to mention that he held the record for the fastest home-to-home on an over-the-wall home run, until Adam Rosales took that in the final week of the season, and he made what very possibly was the best catch of the year due to his blazing speed. So let’s just agree to agree that Hamilton is the baddest runner around, and do our best to find some non-Hamilton running feats. There are other players, you know.

SMALLEST LEAD ON SB of 2B: BILLY HAMILTON, 6.7 FEET, JULY 23

We said this wouldn’t be entirely about Hamilton. We did not say there wouldn’t be any Hamilton, and this one was too fun to not dive into. What’s the tiniest lead you can get and still be safe? “I bet it’s Billy Hamilton,” you’re thinking, and of course it is, “but it won’t be impressive if it’s just because the catcher airmailed the throw.”

A valid concern, but fortunately for us, Tuffy Gosewisch’s throw was actually on target. So: With a full 83.3 feet to go, and lefty Robbie Ray on the mound and a decent 77.2 mph accurate throw from the catcher, how did Hamilton make this happen? We’ll explain, but first, realize how small of a lead Hamilton had when Ray made his first move. He’s basically still chatting with Paul Goldschmidt:

If you watch the video, however, you can see that he’s not standing by first base for long. In part due to Ray’s slow delivery (he brought his knee all the way up to his chest), and because Hamilton is out of this world, he gained a full 12 feet between Ray’s first step and the ball being released. He could start in the dugout and be safe.

LARGEST LEAD ON CS of 2B: RYAN HOWARD, 19.2 FEET, AUG. 19

The obvious next question, then: If Hamilton had the shortest lead on a successful steal, who had the largest lead and still got tossed out? Just as it wasn’t surprising to see that it was Hamilton above, it’s probably not surprising to see Ryan Howard, who hadn’t even attempted a stolen base since 2011, here.

Stealing bases isn’t Howard’s job, and …

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