As baseball fans – we’re talking true, hardcore, dyed-in-the-wool, loyal, die-hard, unwavering baseball fans – it is frustrating beyond all belief when we see something that is so blatantly wrong with our beloved team, yet even when those directly responsible are questioned about it, they rarely (if ever) do anything to rectify it or even acknowledge that it is an issue at all. The most obvious reason for this, of course, is the general perception (and misconception) by those who are actually in the game that the average baseball fan is clueless about the intricacies and actual inner-workings of the game; a perception (and misconception) that is constantly manifested and magnified by local beat writers and even more so by the national media and so-called experts.

Having been blessed to cover the Dodgers up close and personal for the past five seasons, and make no mistake about it, it is a blessing that I thank the Lord for each and every day, I often get the opportunity to ask questions of those closest to and actually in the game; i.e. the manager, coaches, front office personnel and the players themselves about some of these perceived blatantly wrong issues. As you might expect, I do not always receive answers that make sense and occasionally receive answers that leave me with even more questions.

One such question that I asked new Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shortly after he embarked on his rookie season was: As a successful base runner and base stealer during your playing days, are you planning to bring back this element of the game that has been lacking significantly over the past several years? The answer that Roberts game me was both surprising and, quite frankly, shocking.

“No,” answered the Dodgers skipper bluntly. “I think that we can do a better job as far as our stolen base percentage, but we’re just not wired to steal a bunch of bases. We can pick our spots but I think then you start trying to force things and it just doesn’t make sense for our roster construction.”

The reason that Roberts’ answer surprised and shocked me is because I had asked his predecessor, former Dodgers manager Don Mattingly, this exact same question a year earlier and his answer was essentially identical to that of Dave Roberts.

“That’s not who we are anymore,” Mattingly answered in May of 2015. “We don’t have Dee [Gordon] so that’s not really our game now. We’ll still get a few from Jimmy [Rollins] and Carl [Crawford] and Joc, but we’re a different team this year.”

Do you see a pattern here? Do you see virtually the exact same answer from two very different Dodger managers? Could it be that the base running and base stealing decisions are/were coming from someone other than the actual Dodgers managers?

Enter 24-year-old utility outfielder Andrew Toles.

For those who may have been out of the country (or under a rock) for the past month, Toles was signed by the Dodgers on September 23, 2015 as a minor league free agent after a rather tumultuous beginning to his professional baseball career with the Tampa Bay Rays (a clue).

After a successful minor league spring training camp Toles began the 2016 season with the Advanced Single-A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes – this after having been completely out of the game in 2015. It was here that I personally set eyes on the (then) 23-year-old Decatur, Georgia native for the very first time and I was immediately impressed with him. In fact, I immediately sent an email to ThinkBlueLA’s resident minor leagues expert Harold Uhlman asking what he knew about this kid who not only hit the snot out of the ball and played a very good outfield but also had blazing speed. Although Uhlman also had never heard of Toles, he soon learned about him and wrote the above linked article on him.

In his 22 games with the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, Toles hit .370 with eight doubles and two triples. He also stole nine bases in 12 attempts. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

After seeing Toles play several games with the Quakes, I decided that I wanted to interview him to get a better understanding of this unique and very talented young man.

Too late.

When I arrived at LoanMart Field on May 5, 2016 to interview Toles, I learned that he had been promoted to the Double-A Tulsa Drillers the day before. Ironically (but not surprisingly), in his very first at-bat with the Drillers, Toles hit a home run and his meteoric rise through the Dodgers’ farm system was well on its way.

After only 22 games with the Quakes and 43 games with the Drillers, Toles was promoted to the Triple-A Oklahoma City Dodgers on June 30 … but not for long. Exactly eight days later, on July 8, 2016, Toles was called up to the Dodgers – this after posting a remarkable combined slash-line of .330 / .375 / .507 for an impressive .882 OPS at three minor league levels over a combined 73 total games. He also slugged 25 doubles, five triples and six home runs while driving in 37. The topper, however, were the 23 bases that he stole while being caught only nine times.

Less than three hours after arriving at the clubhouse at Dodger Stadium, Toles was in the starting lineup.

“I’m pretty tired,” Toles said, when asked if he was surprised to find his name in the starting lineup when he arrived. “I had a long flight, I had to get up at like eight o’clock, or six or something like that. I’m pretty surprised.”

He must not have been that tired because Toles doubled in his very first major league at-bat. And while this may have come as a surprise to many, there were two people for whom it did not – Andrew Toles and one other person:

On the first pitch of his first major league at-bat, Toles lined a double into the left-center field gap.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

Since his MLB debut on July 8, Toles kind of slowed down a little – understandable given that he went from being an everyday player in the minors to a bench player with the big club. However, all of that changed over the past three days during which he is 5 for 8 (.625) with a double and two runs scored – one of which occurred on Saturday evening after being caught in a rundown between home and third on a poor throw that he was able to slide under and score. And though Toles has stolen only one base since his promotion to the Dodgers, he has shown blazing speed and very good base running savvy.

Needles to say, the speed and base running skills – that blatantly missing element from the Dodgers’ game – that Toles brings to the team is a very welcomed sight for those of us who grew up watching Maury Wills, Davey Lopes, Willie Davis and even Steve Sax play the game.

The burning question is: Will Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and general manager Farhan Zaidi keep Andrew Toles on their 25-man roster, or will they put him into the revolving door between Los Angeles and Oklahoma City, for which they are famous for doing?

From this true, hardcore, dyed-in-the-wool, loyal, die-hard, unwavering Dodger fan’s perspective, they would be foolish, absolutely foolish to send Toles back down.