Eli5: why are baseball players allowed to run past first base and not be considered “off base”?
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It depends on which way they turn. If they turn left or advance toward second, they can be tagged out. If they turn right (outside the line) then they are just finishing the play.
The reason why you’re allowed to overrun first base is because you’re already at a disadvantage trying to get from the plate to first – other runners can take a lead off (leave their base before the pitch is thrown,) but the batter can’t leave home plate until he hits the ball. If he had to slow down in order to not overrun first base, it would be much harder to hit singles… which means less offence, fewer runs scored, less exciting.
Safety reasons. Players sprint towards first base because it’s not like they can return to home and be safe, right? So players will sprint and if they needed to stay on base, it can cause injury.
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Safety reasons, primarily. Having people slide into first is a risk to the runner and the first baseman. So long as you don’t make any move toward second, you can take your sweet time coming back.
Think about how long it would take each player to reach the next base. In a perfect world where every player has the same time for a 90-foot dash, each player will reach the next base at the exact same time. However, each spot has different advantages/ disadvantages.
A player on 1st or 2nd base (3rd base usually makes an exception to this) are typically able to lead off by 10 feet (I’m roughly approximating their jump and face slide being 2 feet for the movement and 8 feet for their body+arm length). The player at bat doesn’t have this option, though, as he needs to stay close to the home plate to hit the ball.
So 1st problem is the distance the runners/batter have to travel.
A player on 1st/2nd base also can start moving once the ball leaves the pitcher’s hand. So they start with some earlier momentum, so they can reach their max speed sooner. Meanwhile, the batter has to read the pitch, swing his bat, and get realigned to his destination (mostly an issue for right-handed batters), allowing his start down the baseline.
So 2nd problem is how acceleration affects the players.
To compensate for these two problems at the beginning, they require players going to 2nd/3rd to stop directly on the bag to try and balance out their teammates disadvantage. The ability to not have to slow down is compensation for not having the highest speed at the start.
3rd base, which I left out, has a similar practice as the batter but for different reasons. The biggest one is to avoid being picked off by the pitcher. Also, any sac fly they will stay on the bag instead of leading off to not have to run back to tag to earn a run if there’s only 0-1 outs, as they can run/slide across home plate. While some may lead off, this isn’t that great of an advantage.
It’s to make baseball less boring by helping the initial run get on base.
It lets them go full tilt all the way to the bag instead of having to slow to try and stop on the bag, so they can overcome the disadvantage of having to wait for their own hit to run.
Also, the rule is that they have to follow through the run outside of the foul line to stay safe. If they turn inward like they would if they were considering running on, then they are just like any other runner and can be tagged out.
To me it’s always been to ensure that a ball put in play can result in a hit.
Baseball and it was first created was not the game that it is today. There weren’t all these home runs and jacked athletes able to do what they do to the ball. There was very much a game of “small ball”
You’re at a disadvantage being the batter. You have to swing and stop yourself from spinning around after you make contact with the ball and then run 90 ft down the baseline. If the last few feet of that 90 ft you have to slow down again just like you started off slowly then the likelihood of you beating at the throw is even less than it already is.
Not to mention this could cause some issues with collisions and trying to occupy both bases at the same time. Most people when you’re running to second or third or home you don’t stop and stand up on that base while there’s a chance for a play at the base. You slide. It’s generally frowned upon to slide into first base mainly because it slows you down again. You would get to the base quicker if you knew you could run through it and not have to slow down until after you touch the bag. To slide you have to hesitate for a second to drop down and slide and then you hit the friction of the ground.
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