Baserunning Has Been Problem for Rangers Offense

The Texas Rangers have been a team that, in the past, has been much better because of its aggressive base running and willingness to take an extra base here and there.

So far this year, it's just been downright bad.

It all starts with Elvis Andrus, who was once one of the bigger catalysts in baseball once he got on base. Who can forget the plays he made with his feet in that 2010 playoff run? I sure can't. It was game-changing. Now, it's the same, but just in a far worse way if you're the Rangers.

Andrus is unbelievably 0-for-3 on stolen-base tries this year, which has put him at a 65.8 percent success rate dating back to 2014, according to our good friends at The Dallas Morning News.

Even Delino DeShields, arguably one of the fastest runners in baseball, is just 2-for-4. Rougned Odor, Shin-Soo Choo and Ian Desmond are all perfect in their lone attempts, making the Rangers 5-for-10 as a team.

But that's only the beginning of the issues. The Rangers are making outs on the bases elsewhere, not just on stolen-base attempts. They now have 13 outs on the bases, which is the most in the AL and second to only Pittsburgh (16).

"Making mistakes on the bases can lose you ballgames," said Rangers manager Jeff Banister in the Morning News, who happened to come here from Pittsburgh, ironically. "Base running is one of those skill sets that when you're really good at it, it's a difference-maker. They're game-winners."

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Andrus, for his part, said he's not going to change the way he is on the bases, regardless of the results.

"It's going to be all right," he said. "I'm going to stay aggressive, always."

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