The rundown. Conventional and not so conventional

The rundown is a fundamental teaching point among coaches. There are some basic fundamentals and some definite misconceptions. Let's first define what a rundown is and what it is not. A rundown is when a runner is not advancing towards a base at a high rate of speed. A rundown like we are going to present occurs when a base runner is "stuck."

The basic fundamentals of the rundown are:

a) player with the ball picks which side of the runner to execute the rundown on. You don't want throws sailing directly over the runner.
b) player with the ball gets arm up in throwing position and runs full speed at the runner. Ostensibly, this makes the runner go full speed too so he can avoid being tagged out.
c) when the receiving player wants the ball he demands the ball with his arms up and yells "ball." This is done moving in the direction of the runner. If the runner was full speed it will be very difficult to change direction and outrun the oncoming receiver.
d)arm fake early in the rundown only. Late arm fakes affect the oncoming defender. This could result in him overrunning the base runner.
e) it is very important that the ball is thrown chest high to the oncoming fielder. Rundowns break down when fielders have to stop their momentum to catch a ball rather than continuing at full speed.
f) if during a rundown a runner occupies the same base you are directing a runner to, run them both back and tag both players. At least one will be out.


Points worth debating:

1) Record the out as quickly as possible. Don't worry about direction that the base runner is going. Some coaches amend this principle when it comes to home plate.
2) If the rundown s occurring with other runners on base, you may not want to proceed at a sprint. Other runners might take advantage of your inability to redirect the ball quickly.
3) Some coaches don't like having the receiving player yell "ball" or "now". They believe it alerts the offense and the fundamentals can be done without the verbal.
4) Some coaches allow arm fakes and others don't.
5) Some coaches want the out immediately if there is a trail runner that has advanced. In other words, they don't the runner run back to occupy the bag with the other runner. They believe it could lead to a rundown between other bases. And, it could.