Crawford off and running

The blue and white spikes Carl Crawford wore the afternoon he ran his way into the record books arrived at the Baseball Hall of Fame’s collection room the same day Rickey Henderson toured the building. How’s that for timing?

Henderson, baseball’s all-time leading base stealer who will be inducted to the Hall this summer, stole more than 100 bases in a season three times. Yet the man with 1,406 career steals never stole six in one game, which Crawford did May 3 against the Boston Red Sox.

Crawford’s success on the base paths this year — he has yet to be caught in 22 attempts — has rekindled memories of Henderson, Lou Brock and Vince Coleman, the only three players in baseball history to steal more than 100 bases in one season. Coleman, who did it twice, was the last to accomplish that trick when he stole 109 in 1987.

Given Crawford’s totals through 33 games, fans are wondering if the Tampa Bay Rays left fielder could turn that threesome into a foursome.

“It’s tough. You got to be running every time,” Crawford said. “If I stole 100 bags, I probably wouldn’t hit home runs. Your legs would probably be gone. Anything is possible. I’d never say what I can’t do, but it’s definitely tough to steal 100 bases nowadays.”

Sure, anything is possible. The Rays run to the World Series last October is proof of that.

But is a 100-steal season possible for Crawford?

Probably not, and mainly because Crawford doesn’t seem too excited about joining such an exclusive club.

A 100-steal season doesn’t just happen, Crawford said.

Stealing bases takes a conscious effort, not to mention a physical one. A six-steal game may appear out of nowhere because of the circumstances — five trips to the plate, four singles and a walk, and a bad day behind the plate by the opposing catcher. That’s more opportunity meeting, well, opportunity.

But 100 steals in one season? That has to be a goal from the day you report to training camp.

“You’d have to say I’m going to steal 100, and you’d have to check off every time you got on base,” Crawford said. “And that’s not even counting times you get thrown out. That’s a lot of running you’re talking about.”

And it’s the running that might eventually slow Crawford.

Chronically bad hamstrings were just one of Crawford’s many physical problems last season. They bothered Crawford so much he changed his offseason workouts. Crawford remained in his native Houston and worked with Lee Fiocchi, a strength and conditioning coach who specializes in hamstrings.

Feeling better than he has in a few years, Crawford does not want to jeopardize his biggest asset by trying to run himself into the record books.

“I just haven’t felt like this in a long time, and I’m excited about it,” Crawford said. “And just happy to be using my body again.”

A four-time stolen base champion, Crawford stole just 25 during his injury-shortened 2008 season. His goal this year, he said during spring training, was to get back into the 50s. Noting the players who hit behind him in the lineup — Evan Longoria and Carlos Peña — Crawford said he didn’t want to run too often this season because he didn’t want to get thrown out and take away RBI opportunities.

Crawford has stolen at least 50 bases in a season four times. Most of those were stolen with pure speed. He doesn’t take the biggest leads. He doesn’t get the best jumps.

But it is more than pure speed that has led to Crawford’s success this season.

“He’s already a pretty intelligent baseball player and he’s getting smarter every time he goes out there,” Rays closer Troy Percival said. “He picks and chooses when he thinks it’s time to go. He’s running a lot on breaking ball counts. They’re not even close to getting him.”

Smart and fast. Remind anyone of Henderson?

The popularity of the home run during the 1990s and the addition of the slide-step used by pitchers while pitching from the stretch have led to the decrease of stolen bases over the years. But steroid testing will actually aid in the revival of the stolen base.

Crawford should easily top his career-high 59 set in 2005. But by 41 more steals?

“I don’t know,” Crawford said. “If I was playing in the ’70s I’d have 100 stolen bases, easy.”