Base runner

“ If the bunt is made the runner reaches third, but if the bunt does not succeed, the attempt draws the third baseman in close and leaves the base uncovered for the runner.
Without particularizing further, it will be seen that a base-runner must not only have some wits but he must have them always with him. Exactly the same combinations never conic up, new ones are continually being presented, and in every case he must decide for himself what is best. ”

“ At the same time he must cover his base to stop the base runner from advancing home. He will be obliged to stop hot liners with one hand and often while on the run to make an accurate throw to first base. ”

“ With a runner who is known to slide that way, I believe the baseman should stand back of the line; it demoralizes the runner when he looks up and finds the baseman in the path where he had expected to slide, and it forces him to go into the base in a way different from what he had intended and from that to which he is accustomed. ”

“ If a Fair Hit ball strike him before touching the Fielder, and in such case no base shall be run unless forced by the Batsman becoming a base runner, and no run shall be scored; or any other Base Runner put out. ”

“ A runner to first on a base hit or fly to the outfield should always turn first base and lead well down toward second, so that if the ball is fumbled or handled slowly or missed, he may be able to reach second. And by hurrying the out-fielder he increases the probability of an error.
A runner should always run at the top of his speed, except in the single case where he feels himself to be clearly within reach of his base and then slackens up in order to draw the throw. ”

“ The crowd cheers and proclaims McGraw a great manager and the stealer a great base runner. Maybe the next batter comes along with a hit, and the runner scores. It wins the game, and mention is made in the newspapers the next morning of the fast base running of the club. A man has covered ninety feet of ground while the ball is travelling from the pitcher to the catcher and back to the fielder who is guarding second base. It is the most important ninety feet in baseball. From second base just one hit scores the runner. ”

“ So you shall give your mite to the rest
⁠To bring the whole team through,
And then at the time of your single test
⁠They shall give their strength to you.
And these are the laws of the athlete,
⁠You can heed them or not, as you like,
But they make the code of the runner fleet,
⁠And they check a man when he'd strike.
They tell you how to lay your plan,
⁠And how to carry it through.
They help the man, who's done what he can,
⁠To bear his Waterloo.
"CASEY AT THE BAT"
BASE BALL.
By S. D. Richardson. ”

“ The time taken in turning around and reaching for the runner is often just enough to lose the play, whereas, standing back of the line, this time is saved, and, in addition, the baseman has the play and the runner's movements in front of him. ”

“ On nearly every ball club, there are some players who are known in the frank parlance of the profession as “hog wild runners.”
The expression means that these players are bitten by a sort of “bug” which causes them to lose their heads when once they get on the bases. They cannot be stopped, oftentimes fighting with a coacher to go on to the next base, when it is easy to see that if the attempt is made, the runner is doomed. ”

“ A very quick-witted runner, seeing himself caught in this way between the bases, will, of course, try by every means to extricate himself. He may, in turn, make a feint as if to return to second, and when the catcher throws there he will still go on to third ”

“ It would be a good investment for some clubs to employ a professional sprinter to teach their men how to stand, in order to start quickly, and how to put one foot in front of the other in the approved form.
An important aid also to successful base-running is the knack of sliding well. A player skillful in this respect will often save himself when he seems caught beyond escape. Every runner should know how to slide if he expects to accomplish anything at all, and every man will slide who has the proper interest in his work. ”

“ At present, I don’t believe there is a runner in the National League who would cut down another man if he had the opportunity. If one man does spike another accidentally, he is heartily sorry, and often such an event affects his own playing and his base running ability. ”

“ Illustrated with pictures showing how all the various curves and drops are thrown and portraits of leading players. Price 10 cents.
No. 223—How to Bat.
There is no better way of becoming a proficient batter than by reading this book and practising the directions. Numerous illustrations. Price 10 cents.
No. 232—How to Run the Bases.
This book gives clear and concise directions for excelling as a base runner; tells when to run and when not to do so; how and when to slide; team work on the bases; in fact, every point of the game is thoroughly explained. Illustrated. Price 10 cents. ”

“ SEC. 5. If he attempts to hinder the Catcher from fielding the ball, evidently without effort to make a fair hit.
SEC. 6. If, while the first base be occupied by a base runner, three strikes be called on him by the Umpire, except when two men are already out.
SEC. 7. If, while making the third strike, the ball hits his person or clothing.
SEC. 8. If, after two strikes have been called, the Batsman obviously attempts to make a foul hit, as in Section 3, Rule 41.
BASE RUNNING RULES. WHEN THE BATSMAN BECOMES A BASE RUNNER. RULE 44. The Batsman becomes a Base Runner:
SEC. 1. ”

“ Some runners make a mistake in jumping for the base with the last step. It not only loses time but makes the decision so plain to the umpire that the runner fails to receive his fair share of benefit from close plays. ”

“ If a catcher can get a pitchout on a hit and run sign he upsets the other team greatly. Take a fast man on first base and the batter signs him that he is going to hit the next ball. The runner gets his start and the ball comes up so wide that the batter could not half reach it with a ten-foot bat. The runner is caught easily at second base and it makes him look foolish. ”

“ When all were out but one, who was on one of the bases, the pitcher and catcher, approaching to within some thirty feet, tossed the ball to and fro, and the runner must "steal" his next base, while the two former watched his movements, ready to throw to the nearest fielder of their side, who in turn would hurl the ball at the remaining player. ”

“ Somebody running after him all the time, and then ... running on ahead? And, of course, on a broad pavement there would be plenty of room for this running gentleman to run round; but on an eight- or nine-inch kerb, such as that of the new road out Lewisham way ... but perhaps he was a jumping gentleman too, and could jump over a man's head. You'd think he'd have to get past some way, wouldn't you?... I remember vaguely wondering whether the name of that Runner was not Conscience; but Conscience isn't a matter of molecules and osmosis.... ”

“ When the trial is changed to a sprint race, where great speed is required and a severe temporary strain comes on heart and lungs, the pugilist would answer the purpose better, as condition is the great point in such a match, style being secondary.
For longer running contests up to twenty miles, where economy of strength is everything, style becomes a valuable adjunct; and here the professional runner is indicated as the proper trainer.
For twenty-four-hour walks and runs the professional pedestrian is also the man to employ, as such efforts are not above the capacity of men in fair condition. ”

“ There were races in which the runners were tied together in pairs, the left leg of one to the right leg of the other. There were equally funny races, the winning of which depended on the runner's ability not only to run, but to crawl, to climb, to vault, and to jump alternately. ”

“ According to its terms, one runner must not attempt to pass by another going in the same direction. Exceptions have been made, grudgingly, in favour of runners in private employ,—men selected for strength and speed, who are expected to use their physical powers to the utmost. ”

“ In the great relay-race of the world many athletes—men and women—have won great fame by the speed and skill and daring with which they carried forward the torch and, themselves dropping in their tracks, have passed the flame on to the next runner; Paul, Francis, Penn, Livingstone, Mackay, Florence Nightingale, and a host of others. And many who have run just as bravely and swiftly have won no fame at all though their work was just as great. ”

“ The runner received a pitcher, and the King's daughter one too, and they began to run at the same time, but in an instant, when the King's daughter had got a very little way, the people who were looking on could see no more of the runner, and it was just as if the wind had whistled by. ”

“ Ease up the practice in the last three days, merely working up pace for 100 yards or so. The same method of training will suit the half mile runner, with the exception of his spins being longer, and more attention paid to an equal pace of going. The quarter requires more speed than the half mile; consequently that point must be attended to. A steady, machine-like style of going pays best for the half mile runner. ”

“ Those who knew better saw that the good runners did not start at headlong pace. They held back in a bunch, and were saving their wind. In a run that covers five or ten miles it is the height of folly to make any effort at great speed at the start. By degrees experienced and knowing runners get into their stride, and in this fashion are able to finish strongly. ”

“ In the mornings I want every man, when it isn't raining, to go out and jog along the road, in running shoes and sweaters, for twenty minutes without a break; for thirty minutes, instead, on any morning when you can spare the time.
"Whenever you can do so, practice swift, short sprints. Many a nine, full of otherwise good men, loses a game or a season's record just because this important matter of speedy base running has been neglected. ”

“ You engage a good runner, whom you order to make all speed: he springs away splendidly, and keeps up the pace until he happens to overtake some weak or lazy puller, who seems to be moving as slowly as the gait permits. ”

“ The baseball score may show hits and errors against the same member of a winning team. The runner, on the other hand, enters the field alone, fights his brief battle unaided, and either fails his team wholly or makes an individual contribution to its success; he cannot be pushed on to victory by the efforts of another. ”

“ To get the proper sport into this game, the couples should run and twist and resort to any reasonable maneuver to elude the runner, who is liable at any time to lock arms with one of them and so make the other a runner.
For large numbers there should be more than one runner and chaser. ”

“ It was while we were stopping at the city of E—— on one of our rest billets that I first began my training as a company runner. These runners were formed after Neuve Chapelle. In that engagement disastrous results followed the cutting of all telephone communication, and it was suggested that men be trained to run with messages when other means could not be used. Being small, though not slight, and active, I was chosen for this duty and my training began. In such condition were we that in two weeks' time I could carry forty pounds comfortably at a jog trot for a distance of five miles. ”

“ In starting out for a walk, one should begin slowly, and gradually increase the pace, and in returning the same rule should be observed.
Running.—The force exerted in running is enormous. In running it is the length of the step more than anything else which increases the speed of the run; hence, the runner should learn to take long steps. But the greatest speed can only be kept up for a limited time ”

“ But it was permissible to put the same runner in as many times as necessary, and it so happened that, whenever one side would get a lead over the other, the best runners were called on to go in repeatedly. ”

“ While, to a certain extent, it is a natural gift, yet every man can improve himself greatly by practice, and if the spring training of players included more of this work, the result would certainly be an improvement in the base-running. ”

“ It is not unfair in a hundred yards' sprint to start a second before the pistol is fired if you know that the other runners are going to do likewise, but it is hard lines on the one runner who is compelled to wait for the proper signal. ”

“ Racing on foot is another diversion frequently resorted to by these active, restless Indians, and the women generally manage to carry off the palm, provided the distance is not too great. The officers at the post offered a number of prizes to be competed for, the fastest runner to take the prize apportioned to the distance for which it was offered. ”

“ By the time the runners reached the road over which they were to go for two and a half miles, they would be so far away from the crowd that no one could be certain which runner might be Fred, and whether he was pace-maker to the squad or not. ”

“ The latter, of course, never know what the runner's intention may be, whether to rush out at the apex, or through one of the sides, or to dodge out backwards and attempt a long run around the end. Consequently they cannot devote their entire force toward one point, and the possibilities of gaining ground are thus increased in the favor of the runner. ”

“ Occasionally a swift and agile runner would catch it in his bat, and making tremendous leaps hither and thither to avoid the attempts of his opponents to knock it out of his bat, or force him to throw it, he would make a sudden dodge past them, and choosing a clear track, run swiftly, urged on by the deafening shouts of his party and the by-standers, towards the stake of his adversaries, till his onward course was stopped by a swifter runner, or an advanced guard of the opposite party. ”