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Basic base running is pretty simple and anyone who has played for very long understands how to run the bases. We have been taught since the earliest playing age to "watch the coach, not the ball" and how to run through first base or "turn and look". I will not spend much time talking about basics here, but there are a couple of things that I see not routinely done that are a part of basic base running.
The principles that I see most often not employed especially in younger leagues where they are allowed (9U/10U, etc.) are below:
- Take every base you can get - hustle to first and you may be able to get two on a wild pitch for a walk. Look for opportunities to take an extra base - no station to station baseball. We have drills in practice specifically working on taking every base you can get so that is second nature to runners during a game.
- Never turn your back on a live ball - even to talk/listen to your coach. If the ball is still in play the base runner should be watching the ball to prevent a pick-off. This is especially important in the younger age groups where children are taught to look at their parent when they are talking to them. Those rules are different in baseball and they need to learn that.
- You don't have to return to the base after every pitch. Many times a runner can steal a base on an overthrow if they still have a reasonable lead-off when the ball is thrown back to the pitcher from the catcher. See the above principle, though, if you are off the base, you are in jeopardy of being thrown out if you are not paying attention.
In this post I will provide some of the more nuanced base running techniques which can help take your base running to the next level.
Leadoffs
Lead-offs have a several purposes. First, it gets them closer to the next base so that when a ball is put into play or a runner is trying to steal a base, there is less ground to cover to get to the next base. Second, a runner with a sizable lead will help take the pitcher's focus off the batter possibly making him a bit less accurate - especially if he is really annoyed by the base runner. Third, it keeps the defensive player close to the base opening up bigger holes through the infield to allow more chances for a base hit.
Different coaches will have slightly different approaches to taking the lead off at first, I will discuss here the way I coach it.
Because of the discussion above about never taking your eye off a live ball, I never want a player to turn his back on the ball or get his feet into a situation where they can get "tied up". This means to take a lead off (from any base) I want them to stand facing the pitcher and then take sideways steps, not allowing the feet to cross. It's like skipping sideways - the right foot goes out first with the toes pointed at the pitcher, then the left foot moves up against the right foot and that is repeated until the desired distance is achieved.
I have seen a number of different stances from runners - some will lean back toward the base with their arm extended toward the base. Some will lean toward second, especially if they are going to try to steal (catchers love to see this - for more information see my blog post on Catcher Techniques). Some will just start walking toward second during the delivery.
I coach my players to maintain balance with their feet spread a little wider than shoulder width apart, both hands up and out over their feet, their shoulders equally balanced between their knees. This achieves several goals. First, it makes sure they are able to get back to first or break toward second without getting their feet tied up regardless of what the pitcher does. Second, it doesn't telegraph to the pitcher and/or catcher that they are going to steal or not. Third, it keeps them facing the ball and focused on the game.
One other thing that affects the leadoff is the location of the defensive player. If the defensive player is not holding on the runner, the runner can take a lead at least as far out as the defensive player is playing, he just needs to be able to make it back to the base first for a pick-off attempt.
Leading off from first base
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If the runner is a step or two toward the outfield from the base that can make it easier to get to the back corner without being tagged, but if he is too deep (toward the outfield) he is just giving himself more distance to cover to get safely to second base. Jack in the picture on the right shows us the way.
Leading off from second base
Lead-offs from second and first are pretty similar, but lead-offs from second are normally one or two steps further than from first. This is because it takes more time for a pitcher to spin around and make the throw to second, so the runner has more time to get back. Also, because most pitchers are not as comfortable picking off to second, most will not attempt it unless the runner has an extraordinarily large lead.
Don't let this further distance fool you into thinking you can swipe third, though, the throw from home to third is a lot shorter than the throw from home to second. If a runner is not being held on, though and can get a lead half way to third, a fast runner can normally take third before even a catcher with a good arm can get the ball down there.
Leading off from third base
When returning to the base after a pitch, the third base runner should come back to the base in bounds to make the throw from the catcher more difficult. By NFHS rules, a third base defensive player must have both feet in bounds. This means they are normally on the in bounds side of 3rd base when the ball is pitched and a throw from a catcher to the out-of-bounds side will be more difficult potentially causing the catcher to attempt to throw the ball over the base runner's head (and thus potentially into left field) and the runner could at least partially obstruct the vision of the 3rd base player trying to make a play on the ball. A ball thrown into left field is an easy score.
Sliding into a base
The vast majority of time I see a runner slide into a base at all age groups I see them sliding directly at the center of the base. Many times this has them sliding directly into a tag for an out. The rules say the runner has a distance of three feet on either side of the base line in which they can run. Interestingly, the base line is not a straight line between two bases. The base line is the line any reasonable runner would take between two bases and when running hard around second, that line could be eight or ten feet deeper than a straight line between second and third base.
This means the runner does not have to run directly toward the base and slide directly to the middle of the base. They can slide to either side of the base as much as an arms length away and then reach out with their hand and touch the bag. This has been the cause of much angst amongst our opponents over the years because on a ball that clearly beats the runner to the base the runner is called safe because the defensive player catches the ball and applies the tag to the middle of the base at the ground, but our runner was well to the outfield side of the base and sticking his hand in safely to avoid the tag. Aidan gives a great example of this technique below.
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Please note that my players never slide in head first, there are too many opportunities for injury. As you can see in the sequence below, the runner still slides feet first, but he slides later than he normally would when sliding directly into the base and slides to the outside of the bag reaching his hand in to avoid the tag.
Pick-off Attempts
The stepping-off fallacy
I have seen many coaches and even some umpires say that a pitcher must step off the rubber before they can attempt a pick-off or it is a balk. As a result, many coaches teach their players to watch the back foot (foot in contact with the rubber). In fact, the pitcher need not disengage with the rubber before attempting a pick-off (if you don't believe me, google it). There are a number of rules concerning pick-offs, but no rules under MLB or NFHS require a pitcher to disengage (step off) before attempting a pick-off.
What the rules do say, however, is that if the pitcher does not disengage from the rubber, they must deliver the ball in whichever direction the front foot moves. This means if the pitcher does not step off and steps toward home plate he must deliver the ball to home plate, if he steps toward first then he must deliver the ball to first and he cannot fake a throw (other than to second, see below).
The question then becomes: define "step toward first". The answer to that question is geometry. There is an imaginary line from the pitcher's rubber directly to home plate and another directly toward first base. Exactly in the center of these two lines is another imaginary line 45 degrees between home and first base (where that 45 degree point actually is is a judgement call by the umpire). If the pitcher's front foot moves toward the first base side of that 45 degree line he must deliver the ball to first, and if it moves to the home plate side then he must deliver the ball home.
I say "moves toward" because a pitcher is not allowed to lean one direction and throw another. This means he is not allow to initially lean toward home and then step to the first base side of that 45 degree line to make the throw. It is a balk if, in the judgement of the umpire, the foot moves in the direction of anywhere to the home plate side of that line and the ball is not delivered to home plate regardless of where the foot ultimately lands.
Another interesting aspect of the balk rules is the "feign to third, throw to first" rule. This has been illegal in MLB for quite some time now, but NFHS rules still allow it with the caveat that if the pitcher does not step off the rubber and they feign to third, they must deliver the ball to first. They cannot feign to third and then feign to first - that would be a balk. If the pitcher steps off the rubber, though, they are an infielder and not a pitcher and they can do whatever rules allow for normal infielders (including feigning a throw).
In all leagues, a pitcher is allowed to feign a throw to second base without disengaging the rubber.
One last nuance is the "jump throw" where both feet leave the ground at the same time. In all leagues, this is a legal move with the same rules applying for feigning a throw. This means that rather than step directly stepping toward a base to make a throw (without disengaging the rubber), a pitcher can jump in the air with both feet at the same time and turn in the air to make a throw. This is much more common for throws to second base and is legal. If, however, the front foot leaves the ground first and then the back foot leaves the ground, this is not a jump step and the ball must be delivered based on the same rules as a normal throw without disengaging the rubber.
Getting back
The last aspect of good base running technique I wanted to cover is getting back to a base on a pick-off attempt. The runner getting back to the base should be far enough off the base that a dive back to the base is required. If the runner can just walk back to the base standing up, as a general rule their lead is not big enough. When diving back to the base, the runner should attempt to get his hand to the back corner of the base - the back corner being the corner as far away from the baseball as possible.
So for a runner on first base, they want to jump to the side of the plate furthest away from home plate such that when the ball is thrown the defensive player must field the ball and move the glove as far as possible before being able to make a tag. A base is 15 inches square and a runner diving to the back side of the base is requiring the defensive player to catch the ball and move the glove sometimes 15 inches or more in order to make the tag for an out. Make him earn it by diving to the back side of the base and making it as hard on him as possible as Court demonstrates below.
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The Squeeze Play
One great way to score a run is a good execution of the squeeze play. This takes coordination between the batter and the runner at third base. The squeeze play is only a valid option with less than two outs, less than two strikes, a runner on third, and a good bunter up to bat. I normally only use it if I need a single run to either tie or win the game, but if it is executed correctly it is nearly impossible to defend.
To execute the squeeze, the batter squares around early to bunt letting everyone in the park know they are going to bunt (they are not trying to get on base, they are trying to sacrifice themselves to win the game). Normally, when the batter squares to bunt, the corner infielders will come way in to field the bunt. The third base runner can get as big a lead as the third baseman gets away from third base. The third base coach must be vigilant to watch for the wheel play used to defend against a bunt where the short stop comes over to cover third base when the third baseman moves up to field the bunt. If the third base runner is too far off the base and the wheel play is in effect, he can be easily picked off by the pitcher throwing the ball to the short stop who is covering third base.
Assuming the short stop is not covering third, and the third baseman is moved way in to field the bunt, the runner can move up even with the third baseman (sometimes as far as half way home).
There are two types of squeeze play, the safety squeeze and the suicide squeeze. In a safety squeeze, the runner waits to make sure the batter gets the bunt down and then as soon as contact is made, he takes off for home as fast as he can go hoping to be able to make it to the plate before the ball can be fielded and thrown to the catcher for the out. Ideally, the batter puts the ball down the third base line so that there is a runner between the fielder and the catcher making the throw more difficult (making sure to stay in the running lane so they aren't called out for interfering with the play).
In the suicide squeeze, the runner doesn't wait for contact. He assumes the batter will make contact. For this reason, this should only be attempted with a good bunter at the plate. Importantly, the batter MUST make contact with the ball no matter what. If they do not make contact on a ball which is catchable by the catcher, the runner will be out because all the catcher needs to do is catch the ball and apply the tag - the runner is committed either way. If the batter makes contact with the ball and bunts it in fair territory the play is almost impossible to defend. The runner from third will be heading home with a full head of steam before the batter makes contact with the ball and often will often touch home plate before the ball is even fielded. If it's the bottom of the last inning and the score is tied, this is a game winner as long as the bunter puts the ball in play, it's fair, and is not a pop-up for a double play which would be the worst case scenario.
Conclusion
Good base running skills are vital to playing competitive baseball and using good base running techniques can maximize your chances of scoring when a ball is put into play. It is often said that the team that does the basics the best will usually win and doing these things well will result in fewer outs and more opportunities to score.
This post is illuminated by the amazing camera work of Andrea Wlazlowski who is responsible for all of the photos in this post.
