You Think You Know Baseball: Baserunning
This blog is all about improving your Baseball IQ. Improving your Baseball IQ will make you a better player, a better coach and as a fan you will enjoy the game more. We accept different points of view, and everyone is welcome to let me know their view on the subject being discussed. As you already know, not everyone agrees on everything in baseball.
Some baseball myths will be dismantled, and the subtleties of baseball actions will be explained. This blog is not about who batted in the most runs or golden-glove awards, etc. This is about being smart in playing the game of baseball and becoming a better baseball player, coach, baseball player parent and even a more knowledgeable fan.
Let me start with a topic that particularly annoys me when watching a baseball game – baserunning. When you watch an MLB game and see baserunning errors by star players that cost the team a win then there is a problem. You don’t expect the highest paid second baseman ever in the MLB, Jose Altuve, of the Houston Astros to make a baserunning error. When you pay someone somewhere over $300 million in his career you don’t expect rookie mistakes. Altuve did just that. He didn’t step on second base when returning to first on a fly ball that was caught. The defense tagged second and he was out. There are many examples of bad baserunning in MLB games and at the high school level baserunning is atrocious. So, let’s talk about baserunning and what young players, coaches, spectators and yes even umpires should know about baserunning.
To keep the topic focused let’s break the discussion down into the specifics of running from each of the bases separately. Let’s begin with first base where it all starts when it comes to base running. First base is where most base running opportunities take place.
To fully understand base running, we should have a basic understanding of what the base runner’s job is. As I see it the base runner has three main responsibilities:
- He should not get picked off and cancel out his success in getting on base with the potential for scoring a run.
- He should do everything he can to harass and distract the pitcher to the point he makes a pitching mistake to the at bat hitter. and
- Reach second safely in order to take the double play opportunity away either by stealing second or beating a fielder’s throw on a hit ball.
Not getting picked off and stealing second should be a skill learned by every baseball player early in his career. So why is it that you can go to a high school baseball game and see base runners picked off at first and thrown out at second on a steal?
Well, there are a number of reasons.
- The runner doesn’t understand how to take his lead off.
- The runner doesn’t understand how to return to the base.
- The runner has not determined the pitcher’s tempo for his release.
- The runner does not recognize the pitcher’s pick off moves.
- The runner is not focused on the play situation.
- The runner has not properly evaluated the throwing capability of the catcher.
- The runner is not coached properly by the first base coach.
What I wonder about is why aren’t these players being trained to steal bases or defeat the double play opportunity? Someone isn’t doing their job is what I have concluded. Granted some of the players just don’t listen but those who play for a varsity high school team should be seasoned and know how to run bases.
The knowledge about base running is not rocket science. How to take a leadoff of first base has been documented ad nauseam on the internet so why don’t players know how to do it?
How to take your leadoff from first base will depend to some degree on the physical size of the player. The base runner must be able to make a crossover step followed by a dive back to first base to the rear side of the bag. A shorter player will need to take a shorter lead than a taller player. A primary lead will usually vary between 11 and 13 feet from first base. Where a number of base runners make a mistake is in the placement of their feet once they have taken their lead off. The left foot should be slightly behind the right foot when in your stance. This is to make sure you don’t tangle your feet when you make your crossover to return to first when the pitcher throws his pick. If your feet are parallel, there is the chance that you will trip over your left foot when you make your crossover. That sounds like a trivial point, but successful base runners know that it is important and when faced with a potential pickoff throw, bad things happen if you don’t pay attention to details.
Knowing how to take your initial lead off and a secondary lead (a couple of shuffle steps toward second) once the pitcher goes into his delivery motion is crucial is successfully stealing second base. The two steps of the secondary lead will put you closer to second base cutting down the distance and time to get there.
Taking the proper lead is only a piece of the puzzle in stealing second base. The base runner needs to be able to read the pitcher just like the pitcher is trying to read the base runner. Stealing second base starts before the first pitch is thrown. Stealing second begins when a player arrives at the ballfield with his game head fully operational. He starts collecting information on the opposition as soon as he sees them.
What should a potential base runner be looking for even before the game starts? Here are some key observations that he needs to make:
- Is the pitcher right or left-handed?
- What is his physical make-up (tall vs short/arm length, etc.) Tall pitchers will usually have a shorter pitch time to home than shorter pitchers because the distance is shorter due to the length of the stride to the plate. (microseconds matter)
- During the opposing pitcher’s warm-up throws from the mound determine his pitching tempo. [a,b,c,d etc. at the release time]
- Determine the pitcher’s arm slot. [below 75-degree he cannot throw a curve it will be a slider]
- Get a sense of his velocity.
- Study the pitcher’s mechanics.
- Where are his feet placed in the set position? Parallel to home plate or offset toward first base? Offset gives him a time advantage in making a pick throw to first.
- How high does he lift his leg? You need to determine how high it is lifted because in many cases you can start your run at the top of the lift. At that point he has to go home with the pitch he can’t change and make a pick. [see the balk rules]
- Is he centered on the pitcher’s rubber?
- Does he tend to lean back toward first or third when preparing to throw? If he is leaning back. it may be he has a balance problem and with a balance problem there is more chance of a control problem and maybe a pass ball. Check for balls in the dirt during his warmup.
- Does he throw from a traditional posture, or does he use a stiff leg landing? [control issues]
- Where are his hands in the set position? Are they close to his body or away from his body? [a change of hand position is a sign of a pick throw]
- How does he break his hands from the set position?
- Does he hide the ball after he breaks his hands?
- What is the overall speed of his delivery? Is he quicker than what you have been seeing or similar to what you are used to?
Once the game begins you will want to re-evaluate what you have observed about the pitcher during the warmup.
You will also want to observe the catcher during warm-ups and the game.
- Does the catcher make throws to second base from the crouch or pop-up position? The pop-up position gives the runner an additional 1.2 seconds for stealing second.
- What is the catcher’s arm strength?
- Does the catcher use the traditional catcher’s position? If not does he use the one knee on the ground, or the leg stretched out position? There could be an additional time advantage to the base runner depending on the catcher’s ability.
All right, you have some idea of where this blog is going when it comes to improving your Baseball IQ, improving baseball players’ development, and about learning things about baseball you didn’t know.
Our next episode of base running will delve into some of the specifics of the points made in this blog – STAY Tuned.
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