Our team lost a game in the fall on a play that had nothing to do with hitting or pitching: a runner on second didn't score on a clean single to right because his turn at third was wide and slow. He had never practiced a turn at third in his life. Neither had anyone else on the team, which is normal, because base running is the only skill in baseball that requires no equipment, no partner, and no field — and it still never gets practiced.
The Cheapest Skill In The Game
You need grass and maybe two cones. That's it. You can practice it in a driveway, on a sidewalk, in a park with no bases. And unlike hitting, the improvement shows up in game one, not after a winter of drills.
The reason nobody does it: coaches have limited practice time and base running doesn't look like work. Fifteen minutes of it, though, is worth more than most of what we spend practice time on.
The Three Things That Actually Matter
- The first step. Getting out of the box fast and in a straight line. Most young players' first two steps are wasted on a stutter or a look at the ball.
- The turn. Rounding a bag without losing speed — hitting the inside corner and pushing off it. This is the one that wins or loses runs.
- The read. Knowing before the pitch whether you're going on contact, and reading a pitcher's move on a lead.
Driveway Drills
First step and three-step time
Standing start, sprint three steps, time it. Then repeat from a hitting stance — after a swing — because that's the actual starting position. Kids love a stopwatch, and this is the one drill where a number is right in front of them.
The turn
Two cones as a bag. Approach at speed and hit the inside corner — the foot lands on the inside edge and pushes off, rather than stepping on top of the bag. Ten runs each direction. This drill shows its value in about two weeks and looks terrible for the first three days.
The lead and the read
Walk three steps off the bag, then react to a partner's movement — a step, a lift, a turn. Go on a movement toward the plate, get back on a movement toward the bag. Even without a partner, you can rehearse the body position and the first two steps back to the bag.
Where A Net Fits In
Base running connects to hitting in one place: the first step after contact. To train that, take a swing into the net and explode out of the box immediately — no watching the ball. Our $59.99 7x7ft net with the carry bag gets used for exactly this because it sets up in ninety seconds in any open space, and it means the swing-to-sprint transition is practiced together instead of separately. When the pitchers are working the same day, the $55.55 nine-hole pitching net gives them a scored target, and the $69.99 premium net with the adjustable tee handles the tee work for the hitters.
What It Won Us
Two games, in a short fall season, on plays where a runner went first to third on a single or scored from second on a hit to the outfield. None of that is talent — it's a turn around a bag practiced fifty times in a driveway while the neighbors wondered what we were doing.
It costs fifteen minutes and teaches itself. If your team's practice plan is full, this is the piece to move to the driveway.