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Yankees’ Brett Gardner eyes improvement on basepaths in 2016

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TAMPA – Returning to the field Wednesday night was step one for Brett Gardner. Now the outfielder is hoping to find the form that made him one of the league’s most feared baserunners five years ago.

The past three seasons haven’t been as productive as Gardner would have liked, primarily due to sluggish second-half performances. But after stealing 47 bases in 2010 and leading the AL with 49 steals in 2011, Gardner – who played only 16 games in 2012 – has averaged about 22 steals per season over the past three years.

It’s not that he’s getting caught more often – his 78% success rate the past three years is only slightly down from his 81% in 2010-11 – but he’s attempted 32, 26 and 26 steals over the past three years, a stark drop from his two big seasons on the bases.

“I can’t necessarily pinpoint what it is, but obviously I was a little less aggressive,” Gardner said. “You can’t steal 40-something bases if you don’t try to steal 40-something bases. I think all that starts with getting on base more often, trying to get my OBP north of .350 and doing a good job of being consistent and setting the table for these guys at the heart of the order.

“It’s not like I’ve tried to go 50 times and only been successful half of them. My percentage has still been pretty high, I think. You want to stay around 80 percent. I think for the most part I’ve done a good job of trying to do that and being smart about when we run, but we’re always looking for ways to improve.”

The Yankees ranked 13th out of 15 American League teams in steals last season, a huge drop from their No.-3 ranking in 2014 and No.-5 finish in 2013. Gardner’s numbers were steady in all three seasons, so it’s hard to peg him as the primary culprit. Jacoby Ellsbury stole only 21 bags last year after cashing in for 39 during his first year in pinstripes, but Ellsbury’s bum knee likely played a part in that drop.

Gardner knows he may have lost a half-step at the age of 32, but he believes he can still be an effective baserunner. Thursday, he plans to work at the Yankees’ minor-league complex with baserunning coach Reggie Willits and some of the organization’s young speedsters to exchange ideas and see if he can figure out why he’s been hesitant compared to his two big stolen-base seasons.

“One of the things clubs have done, clubs are paying more attention,” Joe Girardi said. “It’s not as easy to run as it was maybe four or five years ago, so you pick your spots. The stolen base is important. I want him to get as many as he can get.”

Gardner wasn’t lamenting the decrease in his stolen base numbers nearly as much as the rest of his stats after the All-Star break last season. An All-Star for the first time following a first half that saw him hit .302/.377/.484 with 15 steals, Gardner hit .206/.300/.292 in the second half, attempting only seven stolen bases, five of them successful.

“For a while there, I wasn’t getting on base very often,” Gardner said. “I think that plays a part in it. I’d love to get on base more often, have more opportunities to run.”

With the deep bone bruise in his left wrist finally healed – he suffered the injury in last October’s AL wild card game and was brought along slowly this spring – Gardner made his debut Wednesday night against the Blue Jays. He doesn’t think the late start will impact his ability to be ready for the April 4 opener, as he’ll have nearly three weeks of games to get his at-bats.

“I think Jacoby and I are both capable of stealing a lot of bases and doing a lot of things for our lineup and helping out our teammates and getting into scoring position,” Gardner said. “I think that’s something we need to continue to work on.”

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