Doing the Frog Jump in San Juan

[MikeB]

They call it the frog jump. And it refers to the jump San Juan’s base stealers are getting.

The Coqui have smashed the Imperial League record for stolen bases in a season, now at 334 and counting. They are just one short of the PEBA mark set by Crystal Lake Lake last season. The Sandgnats have 304 this season. Kentucky is the only other team to hit the 300 mark previously, the Thoroughbreds living up to their name having swiped 306 in 2026 and 300 in 2028.

For San Juan, Roberto Salazar has led the way with 85 steals in 109 attempts. Fudd Martinez (77/89), José 'Box Car' Gonzáles (48/60), Jack Speed (40/42) and Kelvin McDonald (20/20) follow.

“It’s been a concerted effort to build a team that plays some elements of small ball and is aggressive on the basepaths,” says General Manager Mike Best. “It’s a focus all the way down the organization to push potential base stealers to run.”

The San Juan coaches have done their job teaching the frog jump. The team has been caught just 64 times, an 84 percent success rate. And the ability goes down lineup. After the top aforementioned guys, the success rate is 82 percent among those who have stolen at least two bases.

It was Manager Jesús Gilbert who first set the team running wild on the basepaths in 2025. San Juan had one of its best seasons at 86-76 but Gilbert retired after just one year at the helm. When Sergio Manetti was hired, his reputation was more of a pitching-and-three-run-homer type of guy. Manetti’s London teams, including a championship in 2018, often flirted with the 200 home run mark. But it was a condition of his employment when he was hired in San Juan that he be willing to have the team run more.

The team stole just 92 bases in Manetti’s first year (although at a respectable 74 percent). But in 2027 the number jumped to 196, stayed solid at 177 in 2028 and jumped to 230 last season. And this will be the third straight year the team has averaged at least an 80 percent success rate.

However, the man getting the most accolades for the improvement in the frog jump is new bench coach Tae-Geum Kim who was hired in the offseason. When he was manager of Scottish in 2027, the Claymores stole 222 bases and that got him hired in San Juan.

San Juan has 24 games left to expand on its record. And bad news is on the horizon for opposing catchers. Phenom Wally Glasser appears ready for the PEBA and is starting in center field this week while McDonald is out. Glasser went 53-for-59 on steals in the minors this year.

[Borealis]

Its crazy the SB rates in the League right now - and these numbers are amazing...

[Arroyos]

Its crazy the SB rates in the League right now - and these numbers are amazing...

Yup. Amazin'!