Rundown
Encyclopedia
A rundown, also called a pickle, is a situation in the game of baseball
Baseball
Baseball 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...

 that occurs when the baserunner is stranded between two bases and is in jeopardy
Tag 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...

. When the base runner attempts to advance to the next base, he is cut off by the defensive player who has a live ball
Live ball (baseball)
In baseball, when the ball is alive , the game can proceed. The pitcher may pitch the ball , the batter may attempt to hit such a pitch, baserunners may attempt to advance at their own risk, and the defense may attempt to put the batter or baserunners out.-Definition:The ball becomes live when the...

 and attempts to return to his previous base before being tagged out
Tag 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...

. As he is doing this, the defenseman throws the ball past the base runner to the previous base, forcing him to reverse directions again. This is repeated until the runner is put out or reaches a base safely. If the runner safely returns to his original base, the defense is not charged with an error
Error (baseball)
In baseball statistics, an error is the act, in the judgment of the official scorer, of a fielder misplaying a ball in a manner that allows a batter or baserunner to reach one or more additional bases, when such an advance would have been prevented given ordinary effort by the fielder.The term ...

. However, if the defense allows the runner to advance to the next base in order (e.g., second base to third base), then the defense is charged with an error.

A rundown can be escaped if either a fielder makes a throwing error, the runner manages to get around the fielder without running out of the baseline, or the runner manages to sneak by the fielder without the ball while the other fielder involved has the ball and there is no other fielder involved to cover at the runner's destination base.

The word rundown in sports broadcasting has been used far more frequently than pickle . Pickle is more-so used to describe the children's yard game where two fielders must tag the runner before he or she reaches a base, which is derived from the game of Baseball.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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