PHOENIX, A.Z.—Former Ithaca College baseball infielder Tim Locastro is proving himself to be an effective thief at the highest level, claiming the new record for most stolen bases to begin a career without being thrown out.
Locastro, now playing for the Arizona Diamondbacks, has stolen the first 28 bases of his career successfully, breaking Hall of Famer Tim Raines’ record of 27 set from 1979 to 1981. He swiped the record-breaking base on April 10 against the Cincinnati Reds. According to FanGraphs, Locastro’s cleats will be sent to Cooperstown, N.Y. and displayed in the Baseball Hall of Fame—near his hometown of Auburn, N.Y., where he also attended high school.
Locastro was drafted out of IC in the 2013 Major League Baseball draft, working his way through the minor leagues and making his debut with the Los Angeles Dodges in 2017. Since then, he has played somewhat sparingly, but has made a sizable impact on the basepaths when he’s gotten time, including stealing the aforementioned 28 bases without a caught stealing over five seasons and 156 games in the big leagues.
FanGraphs’ article points out that Locastro has the fastest sprint speed of any player with a minimum of 10 stolen base opportunities over the last 7 seasons, registering an average of 30.9 feet per second on stolen base attempts.
During his last season in college, Locastro’s speed was obvious, as he stole 40 bases in 48 games during the season and was only thrown out a single time.
For extra enrichment, here’s a video about why Tim Locastro should be your favorite baseball player, other than being a local, homegrown talent.