SAN FRANCISCO • There were many times during batting practice that David Eckstein, like a handful of his contemporary Cardinals, could be found pounding the basepaths. He’d watch his teammates hit, and he’d run. He’d track the flight of their looping liners, monitor their flares, memorize the caroms off the wall, and see what kind of swing it took to reach the gap.
Each time he’d take a lead off the base, plant his toe and — if he had a read on the ball — he’d break into a run. This was how he practiced taking the extra base, by getting to know his teammates as well as the ballpark.