There have been many occasions this season when Cubs players have seemed determined to be aggressive on the base paths, only to be easily thrown out. To help correct this, players pooled their baserunning notes and made a crib sheet for all to study. Here is a glimpse:
— Players cannot call time out while sliding into third.
— The pitcher’s mound is not a fourth base. Nor is it women’s second.
— No cartwheels.
— Runners should not collapse to the ground and cry during run-downs.
— If you are thrown out, you cannot take your ball and go home. It is not your ball.
— Double steals are awesome. Triple steals are confusing. Not everyone on our team knows what “quadruple” means.
— Players can touch the base with any part of their body. Disrobing is strongly discouraged, however.
— Running with batting gloves in your hands is fine. Running with two handfuls of sunflower seeds to eat along the way is frowned upon.
— “But Tony Campana did it!” is not an argument.
— The phrase “righty-tighty,” does not — in any way, ever — apply to anything you should be doing while running.
— Signs from the coaches: two hands raised skyward does not mean “high-five.” Whirling one arm around never means “Hendriiiiiix!”
— Note from Coach Q: Whoever keeps putting in the clubhouse suggestion box that the base coaches should hold spittoons, please stop.
— If you’re reading this and you’re currently on the base paths, stop! (The reading, not the running, moron!)
By Dan Bradley
