Braves swipe coach from rival Mets to help them steal more bases

“The math doesn’t add up there,” Braves manager Walt Weiss said at the team’s spring training complex. “So, what was it? Well, a lot of it was Antoan.”

Richardson might help give the Braves an even bigger base-stealing boost.

The Braves ranked 29th for sprint speed as a team in 2025. But they had more speed among their everyday players than the Mets, whose speed numbers were elevated by some swift bench players.

Braves center fielder Michael Harris and third baseman Austin Riley ranked as the fastest regulars on the team in 2025. The most successful base-stealer, Ronald Acuña, was right behind them. Another fast runner is new infielder Mauricio Dubón, who is expected to fill in at shortstop for the first five weeks or so while Ha-Seong Kim recovers from a hand injury.

The Braves stole 82 bases (26th in MLB) in 2025 with a 76% success rate (20th). Richardson might be able to help some slower-footed Braves players have more success stealing bases.

Before I could even finish a question to Harris about that, he responded with a smile: “Thirty-eight bags.”

Richardson’s work with the Mets gained attention when outfielder Juan Soto finished with a career-high 38 stolen bases, which led the National League in 2025, while getting caught just four times. Soto had never swiped more than 12 bases in a year, and he ranked tied for 501st of 579 MLB players for sprint speed last season.

Clearly, there’s more to stealing bases than just speed.

“It’s always been said you don’t have to be fast to be a good base runner,” Richardson said. “I think about Tom Brady a lot when I’m thinking about base running. He talks about obsessively preparing. So, for me and our group, I hope we are going to out-prepare the opponent every single night and give us a competitive advantage.

“When we do have speed, it allows that skill to play a little bit higher than if we weren’t prepared. To me, it’s using instincts and speed and all those things, and then the intangible things like preparation to try to elevate performance.”

Weiss cited “attention to detail” as one of Richardson’s strengths. That was on display when Richardson worked with players on leading off first base during a recent batting practice at CoolToday Park.

Richardson was showing players how taking a small step away from the pitcher can give them a better angle to get back to the bag without being tagged on pick-off throws. That theoretically could allow runners to take a bit longer lead without increasing the risk of making an out.

“What we are trying to do is introduce concepts and give them things to think about,” Richardson said. “In my opinion, there is not one correct way to do it. I think these guys are all really unique. What I’ve learned is players have really unique abilities to do things that I can’t even coach.

“A lot of this is learning from them, as well.”

Adding value

The value of base running has come into sharper focus during MLB’s Statcast era. The Baserunning Run Value metric measures runs created and lost via stealing bases and taking extra bases. The Mets ranked second with 15 BRV last season. The Braves ranked tied for 23rd with minus-4 BRV.

Those numbers can add up.

“Base running, I don’t think it’s going to be a thing that wins you like 100 games,” Richardson said. “But it can be the thing that makes a difference in one game. Over the course of 162, if we get (enough) games where it does play a role, it’s the difference between the playoffs and not (making) the playoffs.”

The Braves and Mets had similar statistical success in 2025 with taking extra bases. Both teams had a net value of -5 BRV on those plays. The Mets created 25 runs with advances while losing 11 runs on throw outs and 19 on holds (not running when there was a high probability of advancing). The Braves created 25 runs while losing 10 on throw outs and 20 on holds.

Richardson might be able to help the collectively faster group of Braves players have success taking chances.

“The way I look at it is, if we are supposed to be on the next base, then I want to be there,” he said. “If the opposing team gives us an opportunity to be somewhere, we need to be there, and if not, we just wait. We’ve got a really talented team that can swing the bat, so we want to be responsible with those outs.”

As a player, Richardson stole 331 bases on 389 attempts (85%) over 12 seasons in the minor leagues. He made his big-league debut with the Braves in September 2011 for a possible postseason role, but they didn’t make it. Richardson stole one base in as many attempts for the Braves, then stole five bases without getting caught for the Yankees in 2014.

Richardson started coaching with the Giants organization in 2019. He was promoted to the staff of the big-league club later that year. Weiss said he didn’t know Richardson before the Braves hired him “but he’s building a reputation in the league, and it’s well deserved.”

Riley said players are already excited about what Richardson can add to the ballclub.

“I don’t want to give any secrets away, but we’re working on some stuff,” Riley said. “He’s really good. We’ve heard a lot of good things about him over there at first. If we can steal a run here or there to help us win a ballgame, and I think he’s going to be able to do that, then it puts us in a better spot.”