Articles tagged with baserunning

Pro Baseball Players Are "Almost Always Facing Left" During Games - The Structure of the Right-Handed Batter's Box / the First-Base Direction / Counterclockwise Running

When you look down on a professional baseball game from above, you notice that the "time spent facing left" by the players is overwhelmingly long. Right-handed batters take their stance facing left, runners run counterclockwise, and the fielding side also often faces left depending on the direction of the batted ball. Baseball is a "left-facing sport".

Analysis Estimated reading time: 3 min

Why Batters Run to First Base "With Their Backs Turned" - The Curious Act of Running Without Watching the Ball

When a batter hits a grounder and runs to first base, he sprints all out without checking where the ball went. Baseball is the only sport in which players run without watching where the ball they hit has gone. Why do batters run with their backs turned? There is a structural reason built into the design of the baseball field.

Rules & Systems Estimated reading time: 3 min

The "Furi-Nige" Is the World's Most Complicated Baseball Rule - A Complete Explanation of Its Maze of Conditions

The "furi-nige" (literally "swing and run," the uncaught third strike) is a strikeout that does not result in an out. Its formal name is "the batter-runner's right when the catcher fails to catch the third strike". The conditions of this rule are so complex that few people, even those with baseball experience, can explain them accurately. We fully unravel why such a rule exists, its historical origins and its conditions.

Rules & Systems Estimated reading time: 4 min