baseball 10-11 year olds; stealing home

Question
runner on third base, catcher in position, batter in position, pitcher pitches the ball, can the third base runner steal home before catcher has the ball.  If third baseman steals home in this situation and gets hit by the pitch is he out.  I see this as an extremely dangerous situation and need proof of illegal maneuver in order for it to stop

Answer
Hi Shelly,

I don't think this is an illegal strategy - unless your baseball league has ruled that this is not allowed.  Some in-house leagues can have rules in place that emphasize safety.

If this is not the case, then a runner on any base can steal when the ball is in 'play'. IF the runner is hit by the pitched ball, yes - he is automatically out.  The umpire would rule that he could have avoided the pitch by not stealing to home plate.  

Stealing on a pitch is common but very rare you see this from 3rd to home.  Catcher can get an easy out on these types of plays and even the batter can get called out 'out' if it looks like he interfered with the catcher.

Shelly, whenever a runner steals home on a pitch there is always a small chance of injury.  If you see that too many players are getting hurt, you have the right to approach your coach or baseball association and ask that this strategy be disallowed.

For myself, I would only advise my runners to steal home when there is a wild pitch, when the catcher has dropped the ball OR the ball has been thrown to another player AND the odds are that the lead runner can make the play to home.

Best of luck,

JohnMc