Contact Play - High School

We almost always do it when we have R2 and R3.

Not often when we have R3 only.

With R2 and R3, when it backfires, it doesn't deflate the team, or the 3BC.

It's a downer when R3-only contact play blows up.

I strongly believe that over the years the R2/R3 contact play has earned us a lot more runs than it has cost us.

Btw, very important, when this play "works", you (the 3BC) get no credit.  When it doesn't work--when R3 is out at the plate--everybody in the ballpark thinks that the 3BC and/or the R3 is an idiot.  There's no chance to be a hero; only a goat.  But I keep doing it.

Compare that to calling for a suicide, where at least you've got the chance to be a hero. 

We use it quite a bit assuming we if we are in spots 1,2,7,8,9 and there is average or better speed on 3b. yea you can look stupid but only to people to don't understand the game and they don't count for much anyway.

When the middle of lineup is batting it slows down quite a bit.

With slow speed on 3b, the contact play sometimes allows him to score on an infield groundball that he otherwise couldn't score on.  And, if he's out at the plate, you're re-loading 3b with r2 who maybe is a faster baserunner.  A consolation prize.

Example: No outs, a very slow R3 is out at the plate on the contact play,  now I've got one out and a faster r3 replacing him,  with better chances to score on both a gb, wp/pb,  and a sac fly.

We do it to make the defense have to work to get an out.  Even crappy teams can check the runner at 3rd and throw the ball to first and get an out. We do it with R2 and R3. Both runners are moving on a ground ball. If R3 is a dead out, then his job is to get in a rundown until the hitter can get to second. R2 moves up to 3rd, and the worse that happens is you were where you started, but much harder out for the defense to get.  Many times the coaches are yelling to run R3 back to the bag since it is now occupied.... When they do and R3 is safe back at 3rd, R2 takes off headed back to second. If R2 makes it back to second the hitter heads back to first.

Many times R3 scores with no throw to the plate, and then sometimes it looks like a cluster, but we wind up scoring more times than not. Then again if we don't score we still have runners at 2nd and 3rd, and the defense had to work to get that out.

d8,

On the contact play, we want our R2s to move on all groundballs except leftside groundballs in front of them (see it thru).   I assume it's the same with you.  Just want to clarify/confirm.

lol... Yes, if we just have R2, the runner at second stops and reads ground ball in front, and running on anything at or behind him.

I was referring to if we have runners at second and third.  We will call 2nd and 3rd offense and then both are running on any ground ball.  If we have runners at 2nd and 3rd and they try to get the R2 out we just scored. Now if they get R2 in a rundown and we score.... I will take that and we have the hitter on second in scoring position.

OK, so we do it differently.  When we run the R2/R3 contact play, our 2b stops and reads groundball in front, etc.   Now you've got me thinking....

Always more than one way to skin a cat.  I have found that it also screws with the defensive players and they will hesitate that half second it takes for the runner to be safe.  It can get strange. More than once we had the catcher chase our runner back to third, then take off after our runner going back to second, and then watch as our runner went back to first.  All the while this is going on, our runner at third is looking to score. 

As bad as I hate to admit it, I picked this up from a coach in CA (us TX guy don't like to admit that some of the west coast guys have it going on) several years back and we have been extremely successful doing it over the years.

d8,

I hear you.  I picked up the r2/r3 contact play from a girls' fastpitch HS coach about 15 years ago.

Forgive my ignorance...we are basically talking about a hit and run play?

coach Z,

Not talking about hit and run.  Hit and run is pro-active:  Batter must swing, runner must run.  Contact play is re-active:  If the batter happens to swing and happens to hit a groundball, R3 must run.

We use contact play a lot.  We will even use it with the infield in and Pitcher is in the wind up.  We practice it on a daily basis as well.

If this was not mentioned, the batter needs to be aware the contact play is on and plan to advance to 2nd base.  The runner from 3rd must stop and get in a rundown if he is meat at the dish.

Flin,

  Why does the batter need to know if the contact play is on?  They are up there to hit and the runner is the one going on contact.

Runner at 3rd is going on contact, if he is clearly beaten by throw he should stop and get in a run down to allow batter time to advance to 2nd.  Batter needs to anticipate this if throw is made home.

We run this play many times per season, over a period of many years.

The "R3 rundown/batter-runner advances to second"scenario you describe is infrequent to the degree that I'm not going to clutter my batter's brain about it during his at-bat.

Our 1b coach is very aware of this scenario.  It's his job to anticipate it...that same way that it's my job (as 3b coach) in this scenario to anticipate having two runners standing on third base.

Also, IME,  batter-runner advancing to second base (while R3 is in a rundown) is NOT a gimme, and often is NOT an easy read for batter-runner/1B coach.     Keep in mind, we run the r2/r3 contact play regardless of the speed or IQ of R3, which means that their ability to prolong a rundown (to allow B-R to gain second) is not necessarily top notch (understatement).

.

I agree with Freddy, If the hitter is doing his job and busting down the line the 1st base coach will get him going to 2nd.  The hitter does not need to be worrying if the runner is coming home. 

I'll be honest and say my batter / runner will stop at 1B barring a bad throw.  You have to figure that most HS teams can run a decent run down where its one, maybe two, throws and a tag.  Not possible to advance 180 feet even if busting butt out of the box. I already took a chance with my runner at third and it didn't work.  I really don't want to take another high risk chance on the same play with my guy going to first.

My thoughts exactly.