stealing 2nd on a walk
Question
During a Little League 12U game, a player was walked and ran to first base. Without stopping, she rounded 1st and advanced to second safely. She was trying to draw the throw to score someone from third. The umpire called her out because she slowed down after rounding 1st and the pitcher already had the ball but was not paying attention. She never stopped. Is this a correct call? Thanks
Answer
Hi Christeen,
A bb is treated the same as a batted ball. If the pitcher has the ball in the circle the b-r may round 1st base, stop once and immediately advance or retreat. She may not "juke", "fake" etc.
Based only on the info in your question, the b-r did nothing illegal (the rule doesn't say how fast you have to advance) and should not have been called out.
Mark
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