SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Who’s the fastest Giant? It’s a two-man race between Tyler Fitzgerald and Grant McCray, with each believing he can outpace the other because that’s the mentality every elite base-stealer should exhibit.
“Yeah. McCray’s quicker than me and, to be honest, probably a little bit better at base-stealing,” Fitzgerald said. “But when I hit a double, I’d get to second before him. Once I get going, I’m faster. But he’s quicker.”
McCray’s take: “Apparently, they say he’s faster. The numbers say he’s faster. But I don’t know. I don’t know if he’d beat me in a 100. When I get to top-end speed, I don’t think he could get me.”
That’s the beauty and reality of sprinters. You’re equal parts bold and brash. You trust you’ll succeed or else you’ll likely fail. That goes for stealing bases, racing first to third, or dashing home on a base hit.
The Giants haven’t had much of a running game for a long time — even in the past two years, with Major League Baseball changing rules to encourage stolen bases, they ranked 29th in steals last year and 30th in 2023. As they pursue ways to improve the offense, the Giants would like to ramp up their running, and they finally have a couple of speedsters able to help them do just that. Fitzgerald played his way into the lineup in late July and stole 17 bases in 96 games, and McCray made his big-league debut in mid-August and swiped five bags in 37 games.
Are the Warriors playoff bound?
Be the first to know when we publish a story about the Warriors, Giants, 49ers, and more.
Thursday at Scottsdale Stadium, in a 7-3 Giants exhibition win over the White Sox, Fitzgerald beat out a bunt single by scurrying up the line so rapidly that third baseman Brandon Drury made no throw. McCray stole second and third in the same inning.
“For me, I really want to help this team and change that narrative,” said McCray, who stole 43 bases in the minors in 2022 and 52 in 2023. “I want to cause chaos on the basepaths. I’ve always been a fast guy. If you’ve got the tool, use it. I love getting dirty. I love swiping a bag. I love talking crap to the pitcher and catcher afterwards.”
The question for McCray is whether he’ll make the Opening Day roster. If he starts the season in the minors, Fitzgerald will be the undisputed fastest player on the team — he already has a roster spot locked up, and his focus is transitioning from shortstop to second base and becoming new shortstop Willy Adames’ double-play partner.
For Fitzgerald, it’s not just about using his speed to steal bases. It’s about turning singles into doubles by busting out of the batter’s box and catching an outfielder off guard. Or scoring easily from first base on a gapper. Or sprinting into shallow right-center to glove a shallow fly ball.
Fitzgerald, who has a rare blend of speed and power, hit 15 home runs to accompany his 17 steals. Seven homers came during an eight-game Bondsian stretch in July. The assumption is that a 20-homers, 20-steals season is within reach; the Giants haven’t had a 20-20 man since Hunter Pence in 2013.
“I think I’ll get 20 bases,” Fitzgerald said. “Twenty homers, it just depends. If I have a year like last year, then yeah. It would definitely be a dream, 20-20, but I’m not going to sit here and guarantee it.”
What about getting greedy and going for 30-30?
“No, no, no,” he said. “That’s a lot. We haven’t had a 30-homer guy in a long time (Barry Bonds in 2004). If I even have 20, I’ll be super happy.”
According to Statcast, the technological tool that measures players’ movements and abilities, Fitzgerald was the fastest Giant in 2024, tied for third in the majors in sprint speed — based on “competitive” plays — at 30 feet per second, behind Kansas City’s Bobby Witt Jr. (30.5) and Philadelphia’s Johan Rojas (30.1). McCray, in a much smaller sample size, checked in at 29.2 feet per second.
McCray had a better home-to-first average (4.25 seconds) than Fitzgerald (4.30), but both were slower to first base than teammate Jung Hoo Lee (4.15). Lee’s sprint speed, however, was a couple of ticks behind the others at 28.4.
Manager Bob Melvin anticipates the overall running game to improve. He figures to call hit-and-run plays for Lee, because of his elite bat-to-ball skills, and Melvin expects the center fielder to steal more bases than he did in Korea (13 was his high). In addition, the expectation is for more of the same from Matt Chapman, who ranked third among Giants in sprint speed (28.7 feet per second) and stole 15 bases, second to Fitzgerald’s team-high 17.
“We need to be able to score runs in different ways,” Melvin said. “We’re probably not going to hit the most home runs this year, and in our ballpark, it’s tough to hit home runs. So we’re going to have to play a little differently, and the running game is going to have to be part of it.
“Look at Cleveland and Milwaukee and other teams that pushed the envelope last year; they make you a little nervous defensively. You have to pick up the ball cleanly. They’re running around stealing bases, and there’s a little anxiety with that on the other side.”
The Giants don’t have major concerns with Fitzgerald moving across the infield and manning second base, a position he played 90 games in the minors and six last season in San Francisco, when the Giants initially tried him in a super-utility role and put him at six positions, including pitcher.
Once the Giants signed Adames in December, Buster Posey texted Fitzgerald to ask to talk, and Fitzgerald rushed upstairs in his Kentucky home to phone the new president of baseball operations. The news of the position change didn’t alarm Fitzgerald, it comforted him. Last summer, he became a more consistent hitter once he settled in at one position.
Fitzgerald was so eager to get going that he arrived in Arizona in January and began taking grounders alongside Adames and Chapman but was sidetracked when camp opened because of lower back tightness. He’s fine now and seems stoked about playing second.
“The speed of turning double plays will probably be my biggest adjustment, and it’s something I’m working on,” Fitzgerald said. “Some are harder than others. Like the chopper to the right side or when (Chapman) goes to a backhand and I’m pulled over for a lefty and have to run all the way across the diamond.”
Chapman, who won his fifth Gold Glove in his first season with the Giants, said he’s confident Fitzgerald will make a smooth transition, noting his quick feet, soft hands and strong arm.
“I think second base is a lot easier than shortstop, and playing the same position every day will be huge for him,” Chapman said. “He won’t have to rotate between second and short and the outfield. He can get more comfortable with more reps and can get into a groove. The plays aren’t going to be as demanding, and that’s going to allow him to shine.”
Fitzgerald agrees with the degree of difficulty at shortstop: “There’s just no room for error at short. At third or second, if you get a hard grounder and bobble it, you can still get ‘em. You bobble at short, he’s safe every time.”
While Fitzgerald will have his ups and downs on offense and defense, speed doesn’t slump. He could be an asset on any given day. Same with McCray, who learned early in life the benefit of the running game. His father, Rodney, stole 365 bases in the minors and nine more in parts of three seasons in the majors.
“It’s exciting. It’s like a lost art. It’s fun, it’s exciting, it changes the game,” McCray said. “My father taught me at a young age, you play the game the right way in all aspects. You’ve got to bunt, steal, play good defense. I’ve always been keen to it. With speed on the bases, a lot of things could go wrong for them, a lot of things could go right for you.”