Donovan steals way to milestone

Crime may not pay, but thievery has made for a pretty good career for Midland's Todd Donovan.

The RockHounds' leadoff man passed the 300-steal plateau Tuesday, swiping two bases to give him a career total of 301 steals in his team's 8-4 win over the visiting Frisco RoughRiders.

"I'm really happy about it, it's a testament to the way I play the game," the 29-year-old center fielder said. "Actually, I didn't realize how many it was."

Donovan is just the 14th player in Minor League history to steal at least 300 bases.

He led off the bottom of the first inning with a single and promptly stole second to reach 300. He moved to third on a wild pitch and crossed the plate on Aaron Cunningham's groundout.

Donovan drew a walk to lead off the fourth and then stole his second base of the game.

The native of New London, Conn., gives much of the credit for his base-stealing prowess to Doug Dascenzo, the former Major Leaguer who was his base-running coach during his early years in the Padres organization.

"He was very patient with me as a young kid and taught me a lot," Donovan said. "He taught me you can't just be fast and steal bases. There's a lot more to it."

Donovan, who was selected by the Padres in the eighth round of the 1999 June Draft, learned that the most important component of base-stealing is research.

"It starts before you reach first base," he said. "I document everything I've seen on pitchers and what they do on certain counts. There's also a lot of trial and error involved and you've also got to be patient. Especially if you're facing a pitcher you've never seen before."

Donovan has been playing pro ball since 1999, but has only had about five full seasons due to injuries, which would give him an average of about 60 a year.

Last year, he was blinded in one eye in April after hitting the wall while playing for the Frisco RoughRiders. He was airlifted off the field and missed the rest of the season to recover and restore his sight.

He signed with the Oakland A's organization in the offseason.

"I'm grateful they've given me an opportunity," Donovan said. One of his goals is to pass along what he's learned about base-stealing with younger players.

"Now that I've finally mastered in my mind what I've learned from Doug Dascenzo, I want to share it with the kids coming up," he said.

Donovan went 2-for-3 and scored twice. The RockHounds (15-16) also benefited from two solo homers from Jon Zeringue.

Trevor Cahill (5-1) allowed three unearned runs on five hits, fanning six and walking four over five frames to pick up the win.

Michael Schlact (6-8) surrendered eight runs on eight hits, striking out three and walking three in five innings to take the loss for the RoughRiders (19-12).