Rundown (pickle)

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Baseball drill · Age 8 and up

Kids love a pickle, which is the problem. A runner caught between bases should be an easy out, and in youth baseball it turns into six throws, a dropped ball and the runner standing on second. The fix is to do less: run hard at the runner, drive them back towards the base they came from, and make one throw. This drill teaches the fielders to finish it fast, and teaches the runners what a rundown feels like from the other side.

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Time
10 minutes
Players
5 or more: two fielders at each base, a runner and a backup
Equipment
  • 2 bases, 60 to 90 ft apart
  • 1 ball, plus a spare
  • A batting helmet for the runner
  • Gloves for every fielder

Setup

  1. Put two fielders at first base and two at second, and a runner halfway between them, in a helmet.
  2. The fielder at second starts with the ball and runs straight at the runner, ball held up by the ear so the receiver can see it.
  3. The fielder at first steps a few strides up the line towards the runner, glove up, ready to take the throw.
  4. When the runner is driven back to within a few strides of first, the fielder throws and the receiver tags the runner.
  5. After throwing, the thrower goes to the back of the line at the base they threw to. Swap the runner every three reps.

Coaching points

  • Run the runner back towards the base they came from. If the out is not made, at least they have not gained a base.
  • Ball up and in the throwing hand. No fake throws: they fool your own fielder more than the runner.
  • Receiver: call 'Now!' when you want it, and step towards the runner as you catch, so the tag is quick.
  • Tag with the ball in the glove, gripped with the bare hand, and get out of the runner's path once you have thrown.

On the run sheet: Ball up in the throwing hand, run hard at the runner, drive them back to the base they came from, one throw, tag with the ball in the glove, then get out of the base path

Progressions

  1. Start the runner closer to second, so the fielders have to work them back further before the throw.
  2. Make it live: the runner can go either way, and the fielders have to keep them heading back.
  3. Run it between third and home, with the catcher and third baseman, where giving up the base gives up a run.

How it runs

The runner (R1) has been caught between first and second, and the shortstop (SS) has the ball at second. The shortstop runs straight at the runner with the ball held up, and the runner turns back towards first. The first baseman (1B) steps up the line to meet them, the second baseman (2B) fills in behind the shortstop at second, and the pitcher (P) runs to back up first. When the runner is a few strides from the first baseman, the shortstop makes one throw of about 40 ft and the first baseman catches it with the runner right in front of them, for the tag.

On a 60 ft diamond the whole thing happens in a space shorter than a tennis court, which is why one throw is enough. You can run the drill with two bases on the outfield grass while another group uses the infield.

The rule it is practising

The tag play, and obstruction. A runner in a rundown is not forced to either base, so the only way to get them out is to tag them with the ball. Tagging with an empty glove while the ball is in the other hand is not an out. A fielder who is not holding the ball and is not in the act of fielding it must not block the runner. If they do, it is obstruction, and the umpire can award the runner the base they were going to. That is why every fielder who throws gets out of the base path straight away.

The runner has a rule to respect as well. Once a tag attempt starts, a runner who runs more than 3 ft away from their base path to avoid it is out. Youth leagues usually play these rules as written, but check your league's rules on sliding and on contact at the bases, which vary by age group. In t-ball divisions that do not record outs, run it as a game of tag with a ball.

The mistakes to watch for

Throwing early, before the runner is committed, so they simply turn round. Faking a throw, so the receiver flinches and the next throw is dropped. Chasing the runner towards the base ahead of them. And the fielder who throws, then stands in the base path and gives the runner a free base for obstruction.

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