Jon Berti has had the green light from the Miami Marlins throughout all of spring training and not just because he led the Majors with 41 stolen bases last season.
Other than pitchers, no one has been more affected by MLB’s series of offseason rule changers more than base runners and particularly those who, like Berti, make their living largely based on what they can do on the base paths.
“They have a green light because I want them to get used to it,” manager Skip Schumaker said back on March 1. “There’s a lot of stuff that factors in.”
With just about a week until the regular season begins March 30, Berti is still figuring out how exactly to get all the rules to play to his advantage, but he does feel confident about this:
“It’ll definitely be an advantage for us,” he said.
Timing and pick-off changes
There are three big changes, with regards to baserunning, among the new rules and two are regarding pace of play.
When runners are on base, pitchers have 20 seconds to throw a pitch and hitters have until eight seconds are left on the clock to get in the batter’s box. Pitchers are also limited two to times stepping off the mound, with a third needing to lead to a successful pick-off or a balk is called.
The physical clock gives him an exact timer for when he can take off without any risk and keeping track of the step-offs lets him know when he can take a riskier lead.
“We’re all still kind of playing around a little bit,” said Berti, 32. “It’s kind of all going into this thing that we’re still figuring out exactly how we can hopefully take advantage of it and just being able to be maybe a little bit more aggressive in some situations.”
Right now, there’s quite a bit of experimenting and Berti has attempted five steals — and been successful thrice — in 17 times on base in Grapefruit League play. The utility man is also already watching film from the spring to study the timing of when it’s advantageous to go and learn the tendencies pitchers are starting to develop with the new rules in place.
“Film definitely helps. ... Obviously, it’s pitcher dependent, on what their move is like and stuff,” Berti said. “Hopefully as the season goes on, we kind of pick up more on tendencies that a team might do and what they might like to do or not like to do, and help bring up a game plan for us.”
There are challenges to go along with it, too.
The clock isn’t just a timer on pitchers and hitters, but base runners, as well. When he’s on first or second base, Berti is almost like a quarterback working with a play clock, trying to dissect more variables than ever under brand-new constraints.
“When you’re on base, you have to process a lot more information a lot quicker,” Berti said.
Where to keep his eyes
One component he hasn’t quite figured out yet is what he should be watching.
In previous seasons, this part was easy: Once Berti checked to see whether he had the green light to attempt a steal, all he had to watch was the pitcher, trying to time up his delivery to get the best jump possible.
If he wanted to, Berti could still just keep his eyes on the pitcher, throwing out the clock to just read and react like he always would have.
This would be wasting a potentially big edge, though. Berti’s still searching for the best way to make sure he’s paying attention to the pitcher while also keeping an eye on the clock.
“I’ve got to have eyes on the pitcher, obviously,” Berti said. “If he picks and I’m staring at the clock, my read’s not going to be as good, so I’m still trying to work through that and, again, we’ll have a little more information on certain pitchers, and what they like to do and don’t like to do.
“A guy with a good move, you can’t really necessarily do that, but someone who we think doesn’t have as good of a move or he doesn’t like to pick, maybe we can take advantage of it that way.”
The bigger bases do matter
The larger bases — now 18 square inches, up from 15 — are perhaps the least immediately noticeable of the changes, but Berti believes they make a big difference, too.
“We scrimmaged Team Israel a few weeks ago, so we had the old bases,” he said. “They looked tiny.”
The time from first to second is quicker than ever, not even factoring in the better jumps he expects to get once he’s used to all the new rules.
“The bigger bases it makes it a little easier just because it cuts down the distance,” Berti said. “My mind has already gotten used to the bigger look of the base and the bigger feel of them, so I like them.”
This and that
—Trevor Rogers bounced back from his worst start of the preseason by giving up just three hits and no runs on 71 pitches across five innings Wednesday in a 0-0 tie with the St. Louis Cardinals at Roger Dean Stadium. The starting pitcher also struck out four and walked only one. After he had issues with his mechanics and gave up seven runs to the Cardinals in his last start Friday, Rogers was much smoother this time, with his fastball velocity hovering around 92 mph, and his four-seam fastball and changeup each getting six swinging strikes.
— With spring training wrapping up Sunday, the Marlins are planning to hold an intrasquad game Monday to keep pitchers, including potentially Rogers, on schedule for Opening Day.
— Relief pitchers Chargois and Okert did not make scheduled appearances due to some minor injuries. Chargois had a stiff neck, so the Marlins pushed him back to Friday. Okert has an adductor injury and will be reevaluated after Miami’s day off Thursday.
— A day after he was scratched from a start, starting pitcher Johnny Cueto threw a bullpen session on a back field in Jupiter on Wednesday and “everything is good to go,” Schumaker said.
— Jazz Chisholm Jr. and catcher Nick Fortes both took a handful of at-bats on back fields, too. Fortes hasn’t played in a Grapefruit game since Friday as he’s dealing with right knee tendinitis, but did a full workout Wednesday.
— The Marlins made another round of cuts Wednesday, optioning outfielder Peyton Burdick to Triple A Jacksonville and re-assigning catcher Austin Allen, infielder CJ Hinojosa and outfielder Brian Miller to minor league camp.
