In
baseballBaseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
, a
runnerIn baseball, baserunning is the act of running around the bases performed by members of the team at bat.In general, baserunning is a tactical part of the game with the goal of eventually reaching home to score a run. In fact, the goal of batting is generally to produce baserunners, or help move...
is charged, and the fielders involved are credited, with a time
caught stealing when the runner attempts to advance or
lead offIn baseball, the term lead off or lead-off has two distinct meanings:- On 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 he occupies. A "lead" can also refer to that distance. A typical...
from one base to another without the ball being batted and then is
tagged outIn baseball, a tag out, sometimes just called a tag, is a play in which a baserunner is out because he is touched by the fielder's hand or glove holding a live ball while the runner is in jeopardy...
by a fielder while making the attempt. A time caught stealing cannot be charged to a batter-runner, a runner who is still advancing as the direct result of reaching base.
More specifically, a time caught stealing is charged when:
- a runner, attempting a stolen base
In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a baserunner successfully advances to the next base while the pitcher is delivering the ball to home plate...
, is put out;
- a runner is caught in a rundown play while stealing, and is tagged out
In baseball, a tag out, sometimes just called a tag, is a play in which a baserunner is out because he is touched by the fielder's hand or glove holding a live ball while the runner is in jeopardy...
; or
- a runner, attempting a stolen base
In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a baserunner successfully advances to the next base while the pitcher is delivering the ball to home plate...
, is safe because a fielder is charged with an error on catching the ball, and in the judgment of the official scorer, the runner would have been out if the ball had been caught. (This official scoring is almost never made; an error is usually only charged if a bad throw or catch allows the runner to take an additional base, e.g., the runner attempts to steal second, the ball goes into the outfield, and the runner takes third as well. In such an instance the runner is credited with a steal of second, with the error accounting for the advance to third.)
Rickey HendersonRickey Henley Henderson is a former Major League Baseball left fielder who played for nine teams from 1979 to 2003, including four stints with his original team, the Oakland Athletics. Nicknamed The Man of Steal, he is widely regarded as the sport's greatest leadoff hitter and baserunner...
is the all-time leader in getting caught stealing (335 times). The current active leader is
Juan PierreJuan D'Vaughn Pierre is an outfielder in Major League Baseball who is currently a free agent. He bats and throws left-handed....
with 186 times caught (As of August 18, 2011)
Pickoffs
A baserunner is "
picked offIn baseball, a pickoff is an act by a pitcher or a catcher, throwing a live ball to a fielder so that the fielder can tag out a baserunner who is either leading off or about to begin stealing the next base....
" base when that runner takes a lead off his base and the
pitcherIn baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...
(or
catcherCatcher is a position for a baseball or softball player. When a batter takes his turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. This is a catcher's primary duty, but he is also called upon to master many other skills in order to...
) makes a quick throw to a fielder manning that base, resulting in the runner being
tagged outIn baseball statistics, a putout is given to a defensive player who records an out by one of the following methods:* Tagging a runner with the ball when he is not touching a base...
. In this circumstance, the baserunner is not considered to have been caught stealing. However, if, during the play, the runner made any feint or motion toward the next base, then the runner is caught stealing, even if he is eventually caught trying to re-assume the base which he originally occupied.
Wild Pitch/Passed Ball
If a runner is making no attempt to advance to the next base until there is a
wild pitchIn baseball, a wild pitch is charged against a pitcher when his pitch is too high, too short, or too wide of home plate for the catcher to control with ordinary effort, thereby allowing a baserunner, perhaps even the batter-runner on strike three or ball four, to advance.A wild pitch usually...
or
passed ballIn baseball, a catcher is charged with a passed ball when he fails to hold or control a legally pitched ball that, with ordinary effort, should have been maintained under his control. When, as a result of this loss of control, the batter or a runner on base advances, the catcher is thereby charged...
, and is then put out trying to advance to the next base, this runner is not caught stealing. The runner is put out on a
fielder's choiceIn baseball, fielder's choice is a term used to refer to a variety of plays involving an offensive player reaching a base due to the defense's attempt to put out another baserunner, or the defensive team's indifference to his advance...
, and a wild pitch/passed ball would not be charged to the pitcher or catcher.