After more than 2,000 PAs, 'Agui Hamilton' finally swipes a bag!
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MIAMI -- There¡¯s a saying that every time you go to the ballpark, you¡¯ll witness something you haven¡¯t seen before. Such was the case on Tuesday night, when Marlins first baseman Jesús Aguilar stole a base for the first time in his MLB career during Miami's 2-1 win over Los Angeles.
Aguilar, who debuted on May 15, 2014, entered the game with 2,331 plate appearances without a steal -- the most among active big leaguers. Second was Brewers catcher Omar Narv¨¢ez at 1,963. Aguilar last stole a base during the 2014-15 Venezuelan Winter League.
¡°I was telling the umpire, ¡®You don't even have to call it,¡¯¡± Aguilar said. ¡°It was easy safe. Plenty of time to get there. Finally I got it after six years in The Show.¡±
After reaching on a throwing error that put runners at the corners with one out in the first inning, Aguilar bolted for second on Noah Syndergaard's 0-2 offering. Avisa¨ªl Garc¨ªa swung through the 84.8 mph slider, and Aguilar beat Max Stassi's 75.6 mph throw to the left of second base.
The Statcast numbers were as follows:
- 9.9 feet primary lead
- 23.7 feet secondary lead
- 25.6 ft/sec sprint speed
- First-to-second steal in 4.25 seconds
The 32-year-old Aguilar capitalized on Syndergaard¡¯s inability to hold runners. Entering Tuesday, he had allowed 159 stolen bases since 2015 (his first year), 30 more than any other pitcher.
¡°I was asking [first-base coach Keith Johnson], ¡®Let me go,¡¯ and he just said, ¡®Yes,¡¯¡± Aguilar said. ¡°¡®Are you serious?¡¯ And I just go. It was an offspeed pitch, it was a slow pitch. I think that's why I got it.¡±
Added manager Don Mattingly: ¡°[The light]¡¯s always a little yellow.¡±
Aguilar, who has since given himself the nickname ¡°Agui Hamilton,¡± in reference to speedy teammate Billy Hamilton, didn¡¯t plan on asking for the base as a keepsake.
¡°I don't need it,¡± Aguilar said. ¡°I think I'm going to go a couple more times.¡±