In this case, the delayed theft may have been avoided in a number of ways. First, even if his back is turned, the first baseman must accept responsibility for the runner. This is difficult, but it can be as simple as looking back at the runner's secondary or, more typically, listening for the runner's feet. If the first baseman does not react quickly enough, the runner will usually take off anyway. The other way that this could have been prevented is if the pitcher had better control over his pitch. That is, he should have known when to give up the run and when to hold on to it. Pitching with control is important, because it gives your team the best chance of winning. If the pitcher lets go too early, this leaves him without anything close to a good defense behind him. On the other hand, if the pitcher waits too long, then the batter will often hit into another double play. Again, keeping control over your pitches is key to being successful in this situation. So, defensive strategies against a stolen base attempt include things like yelling "out" or using your glove as a stop sign. The idea is to get the attention of the baserunner so that he will stop what he is doing and return to the base he came from. However, these are all just strategies that can help prevent errors. There is no sure-fire way to stop every stolen base attempt, so coaches should not look for one either.