Lead off
Baseball term for baserunner positioning
In baseball and softball, a lead or lead off is the short distance that a player stands away from their current base.
01On the bases
In baseball, to lead off, or to take a lead, refers to the position a baserunner takes just prior to a pitch, a short distance away from the base the player occupies. A "lead" can also refer to that distance. A typical lead is six to ten feet (two to three meters) from the base. If the lead is too large, the runner risks being picked off. If the lead is too small, the runner has a disadvantage in reaching the next base, whether in a stolen base attempt or in connection with the next batted ball.
While in baseball a baserunner can lead off before a pitch is thrown, in most codes of softball, baserunners are not allowed to leave a base until the ball is released from the pitcher's hand.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Lead off”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Yandy Diaz (39633804400).jpg by Lincoln Ficek on Flickr, CC BY 2.0
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