Baseball

PLAYER, TEAM	STOLEN BASES	ATTEMPTS	SUCCESS RATE
1. Mike Caruso , White Sox	4	10	40.0%
Sophomore jinx? Already gunned down as many limes this year (six) as he was in 28 attempts as a rookie
2. Ray Durham , White Sox	6	13	46.2%
At the start of 1999 his career rate of 77.5% placed him among the most efficient base runners. Not any more
3. Bobby Abreu , Phillies	5	10	50.0%
Outstanding speed has yet to translate to the base paths. However, it's only a matter of time
4. Quilvio Veras , Padres	7	13	53.8%
Led the National League in 1995 by getting caught 21 times; he also led in swipes that year, with 56
T5. Ellis Burks , Giants	6	11	54.5%
On pace to be caught more than 40% of the time for the fifth time in his 13-year career
T5. Quinton McCracken , Devil Rays	6	11	54.5%
Lost for the year after a May 24 knee injury; he stole 17 or more bases in each of his three full seasons
7. Jose Offer man, Red Sox	9	16	60.0%
Responsible for nearly a third of Boston 's running game: 9 of 29 team steals and 7 of 19 times caught
T8. Marvin Benard , Giants	8	13	61.5%
Career success rate until 1997 was 70.7%. In 1998 and 1999 combined, it s a paltry 52.1%.
T8. Andruw Jones , Braves	8	13	61.5%
Undeniably fast, but baserunning the one of his five tools that still needs polishing
10. Derek Jeter , Yankees	7	11	63.6%
1998 rate of 83.3% (30 for 36) fourth best in American League ; more slugger than speedster in '99

An A for Effort
The full-tilt play and hot bat of Garret Anderson have helped keep the injury-Plagued Angels out of a free-fall

Garret Anderson doesn't fit in the Angels ' clubhouse, which these days resembles an emergency room more than a major league dressing room. In his five-year career Anderson hasn't spent a day on the disabled list, and he's the only member of the Anaheim outfield who played at least 150 games each of the last three seasons. Over that span he averaged .294, nearly 12 home runs and 81 RBIs—numbers that, combined with his showing up every day, made him a cornerstone of this injury-ravaged team.

This season Anderson , 26, has increased his value. Through Sunday he had started in all 56 of the Angels ' games and hit .296, as usual, but he'd already homered 12 times, which put him on pace to double his career high of 16, and had driven in 32 runs, second on Anaheim to Mo Vaughn 's 39. Thanks largely to Anderson , the Angels , who were two games under .500 and 6� games behind the first-place Rangers in the American League West , hadn't tumbled out of the race. "I don't think I'm a different player," says Anderson , a comer outfielder who has played center every game this season in place of the injured Jim Edmonds . After rightfielder Tim Salmon went on the DL on May 4, Anderson was moved from his customary fifth and sixth spots in the order to cleanup, where he protects Vaughn . "I'm just getting more recognition because a couple of guys aren't in the lineup."

Ah, but he is different. The power surge is attributable in part to adjustments in his swing. Anderson has worked with hitting coach Rod Carew on keeping his hands and weight back, which has kept him from lunging and allowed him to drive the ball more. Also, for the first time Anderson , Anaheim 's fourth-round draft choice in 1990, who has been criticized throughout his career for a lackadaisical style, appears to be playing all out. "No one told him to, but I think Garret came in this year and said, 'I'm going to bust it,' " says Anaheim manager Terry Collins , who yanked Anderson from a game last September for not running hard after hitting a comebacker to the mound. "We time every hitter to first base on every play, and not once has he not run a ground ball out this year."

When Collins was trying to figure out how to cram Anderson , Edmonds , Salmon and Darin Erstad into three outfield spots in spring training, it was widely speculated that Anderson would be the one traded or given DH duty. Anderson went to Collins and asked if his reputation as a merely average defensive player was the reason; Collins responded that that wasn't the rap about which Anderson should be concerned. Soon, Angels coaches noticed Anderson hustling to first and chasing balls in the outfield with ferocity. When Edmonds went down before the season, Anderson took over in center. Now he's an untouchable on the roster, and Edmonds is the one likely to be shipped when he recovers.

Through Sunday, Anderson led American League outfielders in putouts with 175, and despite an aversion to circus plays—"Being 6'4", if I dive, all I'm going to do is get hurt," he says—he made a diving catch of a line drive by Jorge Posada to prevent a run from scoring at Yankee Stadium in a 2-0 Anaheim win in May. Anderson says he has always played hard. It's just that his smooth style has masked his effort. Well, there's no masking it any longer.

A-Rod 's Return
So Far, So (Very) Good

Mariners shortstop Alex Rodriguez (below) has a message that will surely terrify pitchers who saw the 437-foot rocket he launched at Qualcomm Stadium last Friday night. "I don't feel like I'm all the way back," says Rodriguez , who returned to the Seattle lineup on May 14 after nearly six weeks spent recovering from arthroscopic surgery on his left knee. "I don't feel like my explosion is there."

At week's end, Rodriguez had hit .370 with nine home runs in 21 games since returning to action, and before going hitless against the Padres on Sunday he had had a 13-game hitting streak, so it's more than a little scary to imagine his bat being any more potent. The fast start is especially impressive considering this was the first serious injury the 23-year-old Rodriguez had suffered and the longest stretch of games he's missed in four-plus years in the majors. "He was pretty bewildered when it happened," says Seattle manager Lou Piniella . "He's young, strong, virile, probably thought he was invincible. It bummed him out."

"I never thought I was invincible," says Rodriguez , who had helped the Mariners to a 13-8 record since his return. They were 15-17 without him. "I just never thought it would happen to me. To have a knee injury out of nowhere was very frustrating."