Of all the baseball skills, running the bases is the simplest to master. Yet, its teaching and practice is often sorely neglected among amateurs.

As with many other aspects of baseball, the situation that develops after the ball is hit tells the runner what to do. If, for example, he is trying to beat out an infield roller, the runner’s only concern is to get to 1st ahead of the throw. If the ball goes through the infield for a single, the runner wants to make a turn at the base. If the batter drives a pitch over the outfielder’s head for a sure double he uses one running pattern; if it’s a triple, he uses another. And if it looks like an inside-the-park homer, he might use still a different pattern.

Here are the techniques involved, starting with the attempt to beat a throw to 1st.

As the right hand batter hits the ball, his weight is on his front foot. To get started to 1st, he should drive off that foot, taking the first step with the right.

The left-hand hitter’s weight is also on his front foot. He can usually cross over with his left to start toward 1st.

To read more, go to the Baseball-Training website by clicking on this link.