Veterans Rising: Fresh Start for Pro Prosiders
Former Washington Huskies star Braiden Ward has found a unique way into the MLB record books with the Boston Red Sox.
Former Washington Huskies star Braiden Ward has etched his name into MLB history. Well... sort of, as he made spring training history during his time in the Grapefruit League with the Boston Red Sox.
The former Washington speedster, who was originally selected by the Colorado Rockies in the 16th round of the 2021 MLB draft, set a new spring training record with 17 stolen bases. He surpassed Eugenio Velez, who had held the record since 2008, when he swiped 16 bags with the San Francisco Giants. "I had no idea about it until I had maybe about 13 bags and someone had mentioned it," Ward said on the To The Show Baseball Podcast.
"And then [Red Sox manager Alex Cora] brought it up and told me to go do it in front of everyone, and now kind of the whole team is kind of behind me; they want me to do it. They're trying to get me to Rickey Henderson it at the very end, you know, pick up the bag. Like anyone cares, but just kind of a fun thing for the team.
" BRAIDEN WARD HAS BROKEN THE STEALS RECORD FOR SPRING TRAINING ACKNOWLEDGE THE KING š pic. twitter. com/OWV4RQxbHS ā Tyler Milliken (@tylermilliken_) March 12, 2026 Much to the delight of the crowd, Ward did his best Rickey Henderson impersonation and held the second base bag up high over his head, another step in the major impression he's made on Cora and the Red Sox organization throughout camp.