The Delayed Steal

One of the best-kept secrets in baseball is the delayed steal. It has a very high success rate and the runner does not need to be very fast. The play causes confusion on the opposing team, and usually can be used multiple times in the same game.

What is the delayed steal?

The delayed steal is a technique used to catch the defense off guard.  Normally in base stealing, speed is always better, but it's not super important with the delayed steal, nor is getting a good jump on the pitcher. The key is to watch the middle infielders, and if they're not checking their base (i.e. taking a few steps towards second base) after every pitch, the delayed steal works great!

When should the delayed steal be used?

The delayed steal can be used whenever the middle infielders are not consistently checking second base after every pitch.  Generally, the slower runners are going to be more successful, since the defense wouldn't pay as much attention to them as they would a faster runner.  Plus, a fast runner can normally steal second base with the conventional technique.

Delay technique

Technique is absolutely the most important aspect of the delayed steal. Trying to get a good jump quite often ruins your chances of success. The key is to take a secondary lead as you would for a pitch on which you're not stealing. For the purposes of this play, a secondary lead is two wide shuffles with the base runner's shoulders square to home plate. The minute you open the right shoulder to second base you will tip off the defense. It's important to note that always taking a good secondary lead helps set up the delayed steal for future use.

After the second full shuffle of the secondary lead is completely finished the runner takes off for second base. At this point in the delivery, the ball should just about have crossed home plate.  If all goes well, the first baseman has no idea that the runner is stealing, and by the time he figures it out, it's too late.

An alert catcher will see the runner stealing, but the middle infielder’s lack of checking second base means they'll get to the bag too late to make a play.