Baseball

“Agents tell players not to steal goals”
Félix Forget
“Agents tell players not to steal goals”
Credit: The Athletic

In modern baseball, base stealing is less frequent than in the past. There are, of course, a few exceptions, and the increase in the size of the bases has restored the image of stolen bases a little, but generally speaking, it's nowhere near what we've seen in the past.

The leader for stolen goals in the Majors this season, Jose Caballero, has just 41. That's nothing to sneeze at.

We know that the mentality of modern baseball isn't very conducive to stolen bases… but according to A.J. Pierzynski, who chatted to Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol, there's another factor at play: players' agents.

In fact, according to Marmol, players are advised by their agents not to steal goals.

The reason? To avoid losing money in salary arbitration.

https://twitter.com/FoulTerritoryTV/status/1959308168258814325

In fact, according to Marmol, agents explain all this by saying that teams, when it comes time to negotiate, look a lot at a player's success percentage in terms of stealing goals. Basically, a player who steals a lot but has a lower success percentage is likely to make less money than a player who steals little but has a high success percentage.

At least, that's what Marmol claims, going so far as to say that some players outright refuse to steal a goal when instructed to do so.

And to a certain extent, there's some truth in that. There's a lot of emphasis on the success rate, because that's worth something.

But to think that a player who steals a lot of goals will have a hard time getting paid for it is probably a bit of an exaggeration. Kyle Tucker, for example, would be better off not trying to steal goals this season, if Marmol is anything to go by… but his 25 larcenies in 2025 rank him 13th in the Majors.

Will a player like Chandler Simpson have a harder time hitting the jackpot than a slower but more complete player? Yes, probably. But that's not becausehe steals goals and gets screwed a lot, it's simply because he has fewer tools in his toolbox.

To me, that's the nuance. And I have the impression that we tend to lose it in a duel of mentalities. Because no, this debate isn't all black and white.

  • Three circuits tonight (for now, at least) for Kyle Schwarber.

  • Ryan Yarbrough in the bullpen?

  • Jonathan Loaisiga: season over.

This content was created with the help of AI.

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