Base Running and Stealing in Baseball

Question

I love baseball, but I’ve never understood the rules for when you can and cannot run and steal bases.

I figure the rules have to be simple enough for the players to follow and react to instantly, but I just don’t get it.

One specific area of confusion for me is when you can safely leave the base you’re on to return to a previous base:

I remember making it to first base as a kid, the next batter got a hit that was caught, so I had to return to first base, but the outfielder tagged me with the ball on my way back to first, so I was told I was out. The exact same situation happened again a game later, so I stayed on second, and the outfielder took the ball to first and I was told I was out. It made no sense and I was so terrified of it happening a third time that I started waiting at first base to see the result of the play before I would run to second. That didn’t go over well either. I got fed up and stopped playing shortly after.

What gives?

In: Other

Answer 1

The simplest way I can think to explain it:

You’re only allowed to run to the next base: 1) if the ball ISN’T caught in the air; or 2) if it is caught in the air, only AFTER it’s caught. If you leave before 1) or 2) happens, the fielding team can get an “out” by throwing the ball to your original base before you get back to it.

That’s it, that’s the rule. All the rest of it is strategy in how you make decisions based on the rule.

So, the simplest strategy decisions are, if it’s a ground ball, you know you can run right away. If it’s a fly ball, though, you have to wait and see if it’s caught before you know when you can run.

That said, you can also make some educated guesses to gain a little more advantage. If a fly ball goes straight to a fielder, you might as well stay at your base, because he’ll almost certainly catch it. If it’s a fly ball into the corner of the field furthest from any fielder, you might feel safe starting early, because there’s no way anyone is going to catch it. For all other fly balls, the most common strategy is to run part of the way toward the next base while it’s in the air, but leave yourself time to get back in case the fielder catches it.