Ë®¹ûÅÉAV

After breaking a major league record, Locastro will be recognized by the museum. 

The Hall of Fame requested the cleats worn by the Auburn native and Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder during the game against the Cincinnati Reds Saturday. In the sixth inning, he stole second to set a major league record for consecutive stolen bases to start a career without being caught. He has 28 straight stolen bases, besting the old record held by Hall of Famer Tim Raines, who had 27 consecutive stolen bases to start his career without being caught. 

Locastro, who also had a career-high four hits in the Diamondbacks' 8-3 win, told Ë®¹ûÅÉAV that he tried not to think about the record. But that became more difficult as he was on the verge of breaking the 40-year-old mark. 

"It's not something you envision when you start playing baseball, and then it sort of happens," he said. "A lot of people have been talking about it to me, especially this offseason."

He continued, "The other night when I stole the first one to tie it, then I will say it started to creep into my mind a little bit. I was being a little more timid on the bases and wanted to be 100%. I'm glad now, moving forward, it can be easier." 

Locastro, who made his major league debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2017, has established himself as one of the game's premier base runners. He has led the majors in sprint speed — defined by MLB's Statcast as "feet per second in a player's fastest one-second window" — over the past two seasons. 

After stealing five bases in parts of two seasons with the Dodgers, he was acquired by the Diamondbacks and finished second on the team with 17 stolen bases in 2019. He stole four more in the shortened 2020 season. Through four major league seasons, he had 26 successful stolen base attempts and was never caught stealing.

He entered the 2021 season needing two steals without being caught to break Raines' record. He tied the record in the Diamondbacks' second game of the season against the San Diego Padres. 

When he was asked about the possibility of setting a new major league record, Locastro had the same response: "Knock on wood." But it was speed, not luck, that made the difference. 

The Reds sought to contain Locastro when he was on base. First baseman Joey Votto played close to the bag and there were several pickoff attempts, including a successful one in the first.

But after a lead-off single in the sixth inning, Locastro took off for second. Reds catcher Tucker Barnhart, a two-time Gold Glove Award winner, mishandled the pitch and couldn't make a throw. Locastro slid safely into second base — and into the MLB record book.

After the game, the base was at his locker. The grounds crew removed it from the field and it was brought to the clubhouse. 

The Diamondbacks of Locastro with the base. He posed for a photo with his mother, Colleen, who attended the game. Locastro said the base will be stored in the basement of his parents' Auburn home with other mementos from his baseball career. 

"That's the same basement I was painting when I got called up (in 2017)," he said. "So that basement has got a little mystique down there." 

The cleats are heading to another baseball shrine in central New York. 

Locastro remembers those trips to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. That's where he saw the Hall of Fame plaques and exhibits commemorating key moments in MLB history. 

Now, he is in the record books. And the cleats he used are going to the Hall, two hours away from his hometown. 

"It will be cool to go there someday and see those," Locastro said.