Who’s out when a runner passes another runner?
A runner who passes the runner ahead of him is out the moment it happens. It's the one who did the passing, not the one who got passed, and the ball stays live.
One runner passing another happens more than you’d think at the younger ages. Deep fly ball, runner on first. He goes halfway and stops to watch, and the batter, head down, sprints right past him. The ball lands over the fence — a home run, or so it seems.
Great, except the batter is out, and the home run just became a single, because first base is as far as he got before he passed him.
Any runner who passes the runner ahead of him, before that runner is out, is out right then. The umpire doesn’t wait for a tag or a throw. The ball stays live, so the other runners keep running.
It’s ALWAYS the trailing runner who’s out. The player who got passed did nothing wrong. He keeps going, and if he touches every base, he scores.
On young teams, it almost always happens on a ball in the air. The lead runner freezes to see if it’s caught, and the batter (who has been told to run hard) does exactly that. It also happens when a runner going back to tag up crosses one who didn’t. And it happens in a rundown, when the lead runner gets chased back past a trailing runner who kept coming.
What happens with two outs? Now it’s a timing play. If the batter passes a runner before the lead runner crosses the plate, that’s the third out. No run scores. Runs that crossed before the passing count. With the bases loaded and two outs, if the runners from third and second score and then the batter, who has touched first, passes the runner from first, your grand slam is two runs and an out. If he passes anyone before the lead runner scores, it’s nothing.
On a ball in the air with fewer than two outs, the lead runner goes halfway and stays there.
His job is to not get doubled off, and the player behind him will handle the rest. Meanwhile, I’d make sure the batter runs with his head up so he can see the runner ahead of him.
And on a home run, jog! No one has ever been thrown out on a ball that’s in the parking lot. Plenty of players have been called out for catching the guy in front of them.
Which rulebook? Official Baseball Rules 5.09(b)(9): a runner is out when he passes a preceding runner before that runner is out. NFHS 8-4-2m is the same, and it applies on awarded bases too, so the home run trot counts. The following runner is always the one who's out.
Bases loaded, two outs. Grand slam. The runners from third and second both touch home. Then, between second and third, the batter passes the runner from first. How many runs count?
Still have a question? Ask Coach Fungo.
“Keep your eyes up and watch the runner in front of you. Never pass him.”
Does the pitcher have to come set before a pickoff?
The stop is required before a pitch, not before a throw to a base. From the stretch, he can lift his hands and throw to first without ever stopping, as long as he steps toward the base.
“If he steps toward first before he throws, a quick pickoff without a stop is legal.”
Is the injured player’s spot an automatic out?
I almost always batted our whole lineup, and I understood the risk: In USSSA and a lot of Perfect Game events, an injury leaves a hole that's an automatic out. The umpire should announce it the moment the player leaves the game.
“I've been the bad guy, and it's no fun.”
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