Kyle DeBarge hits 50 stolen bases for Cedar Rapids Kernels

CEDAR RAPIDS - He stole second base in the first inning Thursday night and eventually moved on to third via a wild pitch.

As Kyle DeBarge brushed off some dirt from his uniform, Cedar Rapids Kernels Manager Brian Meyer, also the team’s third-base coach, tapped him on the back and congratulated him. Then he gave him a quick message.

“Now go get 100.”

Hitting the century mark in stolen bases isn’t going to happen this season for DeBarge. But half a hundred ain’t bad.

The Kernels infielder hit the mark Thursday night against Fort Wayne. He’s one of 12 players in Cedar Rapids professional baseball history to reach that total, the first since Andrew Romine stole 62 in 2008.

He has added one more since, only been caught three times in 54 attempts. One of those was on a pickoff, another at third base when video and photo showed he actually was safe.

For your information, the Cedar Rapids club record for stolen bases is 98 by Ramon Sambo in 1988. He’s a coach in the Baltimore Orioles farm system now.

“I don’t like putting numbers on stuff,” DeBarge said. “Like how many home runs I want to get, stolen bases, all that type of stuff. I just like to play the game and let the numbers be what they are at the end.”

He still conceded accomplishing this feat was nice. He fired off a postgame text to his Glenn Cecchini, his high school coach in Lake Charles, La., to tell him what he’d accomplished.

“My senior year of high school, I had 49,” DeBarge said. “So I sent my high school coach a message and told him I’d gotten the 50 I was chasing my senior year.”

The 33rd-overall pick of the 2024 Major League Baseball Draft by the Minnesota Twins, DeBarge has had a good first full pro season, establishing himself as a legit prospect. He went into Saturday night’s game versus Fort Wayne at Veterans Memorial Stadium with a .254 batting average, 16 doubles, five triples, six home runs, 54 walks and RBIs.

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He has played center field, left field, shortstop and second base defensively, getting the most time by far at second.

“I think there have been ups and downs,” said about his season. “I’d say I’ve had a pretty good year, an average year. But like I said, the numbers are going to be what they are. I’m just trying to focus on getting better at baseball in every aspect every single day: defense, baserunning, hitting.”

The 22-year-old from the University of Louisiana also has been clutch. He is hitting over .300 with runners in scoring position and .289 in late/close situations.

DeBarge has three walk-off hits for the Kernels, including two this week. He had a two-run single Wednesday afternoon against Fort Wayne and a 10th-inning single Saturday night.

“I just let everything else (mentally) go out the window,” DeBarge said. “Just tell myself to compete, just compete as hard as possible. Just like with runners in scoring position, not taking strike one and just being really aggressive. Compete as hard as I can.”

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