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In just 114 games, Caleb Durbin stole an eye-popping 60 bases last season: 31 in 90 games in the Yankees' minor-league system during the regular season, then 29 in just 24 contests in the Arizona Fall League. He's singularly aggressive when he reaches base, which is no accident. For the last few years, the Yankees have been the state of the art in player development when it comes to getting big leads and stealing bases—both in terms of success rate and in terms of volume.
Durbin knows he's now joining the team who was most aggressive on the bases in the big leagues last year, and that the fit should be hand-in-glove—or foot-in-running shoe, as it were.
“The Yankees, especially in the minor leagues, take baserunning super seriously.," Durbin said Monday, at the Brewers' spring complex in Maryvale. "So when you have an organization that feeds into what you’re trying to get better at and [make] a big part of your game, that helps a lot. It definitely helped me refine a lot of my baserunning tools that I can use here.”
Milwaukee acquired Durbin as the crucial, team-controlled piece in this winter's Devin Williams trade, and now he's in camp, fighting for what are likely to be two open infield spots on the roster: one as the starting third baseman, and another as the utility infielder, roving and filling in for the starters. His speed will be a huge part of his case for one of those spots, though far from the only part. Durbin has come to camp ready to run himself, of course, but he's also doing his best to bring whatever expertise he acquired with him to his new team.
"Yeah, we’ve talked about it a little bit," he said of his conversations about the discipline of basestealing. "Our first-base coach, Julio Borbon, he was with the Yankees at one point. So I’ve talked to him a ton about it, and it’s definitely something that I’ve gotten comfortable with the last couple seasons, with mixing up my looks at first and second to try to keep the defense honest. That’s something that I continue to talk about with guys and coaches here."
The idea of using body language, varied rhythms when pacing out to one's lead, and the occasional bluff to confound opponents who might want to pick him off or anticipate a steal attempt is not talked about much, but it's easy to see how it would matter, once you think about it. Just as a runner wants to pick up tells as to when a pitcher will make a throw to their base, defenses want to know when a runner might take off. Throwing different looks at them makes that harder, and gives the runner an edge. Durbin also acknowledged that getting good information and knowing a pitcher or catcher in advance was essential to his success with the Yankees organization.
"It is a lot of work," he said of maintaining that edge. "It’s more preparation on the pitcher, scouting the pitcher, than people might think. There’s a lot of work with the techniques involved, and the preparation with scouting the pitcher and the defense goes a long way as well."
On that side of the ledger, Durbin has immediately brought value to the table for his new team. That exchange of valuable information goes both ways, though. As Durbin prepares for what he hopes will be his first taste of the big leagues, he can sense a new degree of granularity and aid in the coaching he's getting as a third baseman.
"The Brewers have helped me a ton already in practice, and getting comfortable with positioning, trusting my hands and putting myself in the best position to make a good throw," Durbin said of his work at the hot corner. "All the little things that go into playing a quality third base, they’ve really helped me with so far. I think I’m at a higher level here with the Brewers than I was with the Yankees, so the higher you go, the more specific details you’re gonna go into. I’ve definitely talked a lot with the staff here about really small details that go into playing third base."
That development will be the key to Durbin's roster hopes. The team already likes and trusts Oliver Dunn at third base, but Durbin could be a platoon partner for him. He's a good enough offensive weapon to make a fine complement to Dunn. The glove will determine his staying power, because the team will only hand him the keys if they believe he can man third base comfortably and sure-handedly, on a regular basis.
"I think they’re pretty set on me just being the same player that I’ve been—just trying to do it at a higher level," Dunn said, describing the feedback he's gotten from the team on his offense. "I think what I’m good at as a baseball player fits in really well with the identity of the Brewers from an offensive standpoint, especially with using your legs on the bases, trying to create some chaos there and putting the ball in play."
That's true, too, of Andruw Monasterio and Vinny Capra, when they're going well. The competition for that infield job is far from over. In it, however, Durbin has one big advantage: his speed, and all the value it can create when he leverages it well. His commitment to helping teammates tap into that value, too, might end up being one of the separators for him.
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