Outfielders. To dive or not to dive.

There are many instances in the course of a season where an outfielder has to make a decision on whether he should dive or allow the ball to fall safely in front. The score, the outs, the inning, the flight of the ball all dictate this choice. Having said that, the primary factor in deciding if the dive is worth the risk or not is whether or not the runner gains a distinct advantage if he is on 2B and what is the likelihood that he would get to 2B- or beyond.

Let's take a closer look.

The flight of the ball is the obvious variable that should be taken into consideration. When the ball is off the bat you'll notice that the ball either is a line drive that could roll forever. Or, the ball has some lift to it and if it lands it will land softly. As a general rule- diving on the high lofted ball is a prudent decision.

With 2 outs it is generally a very bad time to dive at a ball hit into the outfield. Why? Well, if you dive and the ball lands safely the runner will get into scoring position with two outs. This is one of those games within the games. The defense is trying to prevent runners from getting into scoring position with two outs while the offense is trying to get into scoring position.

If the outfield moves into a no doubles defense you should not dive. The whole premise of the no doubles defense is to not allow a runner to move into scoring position. Don't even risk it.

There are certainly other variable involved but I'd hate to make an instinctive outfielder a robot with so many rules. These three are important general outfield guidelines when addressing the dive play vs. allowing it to land safely.

Next time you're watching sportscenter highlights see if you can see a play in which the outfielder may have dived. Hopefully you'll get enough of the game context to see if it actually was a good time to do so.