Hit and Run. How do you teach this?

[Gambler Bob]

Random question. When you played or when you coach, how did you expect a player to perform a hit and run play, or a bunt and run play?

Where you taught that you have to protect the runner regardless of pitch location (treat a hit and run more like a suicide bunt), or do you only protect the runner on a hittable pitch or strike? By protecting the runner, I mean you have to swing at the pitch.

When I played and coached I never taught batters to swing at poor pitches during a hit and run. Honestly not a big fan of the hit and run unless there is two outs. Too much potential for a double play if there is less than two outs.

 

[Fury_Mike]

For me, your describing more of a "run and hit". I've always coached my kids that every pitch is a "hit and run". teach the kids a proper lead-off keeping the shoulders square to the next base as long as possible, and really work on reading ball angle, and your defensive triangles. In a shorter explanation, it's a read and react to a hit ball.

 

[_MIA_]

For me, your describing more of a "run and hit". I've always coached my kids that every pitch is a "hit and run". teach the kids a proper lead-off keeping the shoulders square to the next base as long as possible, and really work on reading ball angle, and your defensive triangles. In a shorter explanation, it's a read and react to a hit ball.

What he is describing has been called hit and run for 150 years in baseball. It’s a play with signs. As a hitter they used to make us practice it in pre-game BP. Usually the idea was to hit the ball to the right side (as a RH hitter) and yes we were supposed to swing regardless of pitch location. I know as a coach I wouldn’t make a kid give him/herself up. In softball, where MI stay put on steals until the ball is hit, hit and run plays don’t make a lot of sense.

 

[benjey]

softball, where MI stay put on steals until the ball is hit, hit and run plays don’t make a lot of sense.

Agree in theory but I fairly regularly see MI vacating early even at the college level.

Still don't like hit and run in softball because it doesn't have one significant advantage the baseball version has, staying out of the DP which are relatively rare in softball.

 

[_MIA_]

Agree in theory but I fairly regularly see MI vacating early even at the college level.

I am a professor, I don’t deal in reality.

 

[Rolling Hard]

Conditions for calling hit and run:
1) We are winning
2) We already scored in this inning
3) 2 outs
4) Fast runner on 1st base
4) Good hitter in the box with favorable count (3 and 1).

So the stars have to align but the idea is even if the batter swings a misses, the runner has a good chance in stealing 2nd and if caught stealing then you still have a good hitter in the box to start next inning. The hope is that the runner on 1st base is going to score on a well hit ball.(even a long base hit)

 

[softballparent60]

Still don't like hit and run in softball because it doesn't have one significant advantage the baseball version has, staying out of the DP which are relatively rare in softball.

I've been watching college softball on TV the last few years but it seems like there has been a lot of 6-4-3, 4-6-3, and 1-6-3 DPs this year. Even my daughter's D3 team had a 6-4-3 DP yesterday.

 

[Rolling Hard]

I've been watching college softball on TV the last few years but it seems like there has been a lot of 6-4-3, 4-6-3, and 1-6-3 DPs this year. Even my daughter's D3 team had a 6-4-3 DP yesterday.

Approximately 1 DP per game in D1.

 

[Gambler Bob]

Approximately 1 DP per game in D1.

That is very similar to MLB. I expected MLB to turn twice as many double plays as NCAA softball. That is a surprising stat to me.

 

[_MIA_]

That is very similar to MLB. I expected MLB to turn twice as many double plays as NCAA softball. That is a surprising stat to me.

The shift effected that along with hitters trying to lift more balls nowadays.