Stealing first base is technically still possible. Here's how. 

This exact thing happen to an opponent once; for some reason the first base coach for whatever reason decided to wait until after the next pitch to tell him it wasn’t foul

I did this once too lol. The funniest thing is that it was the opening game of the season and I was the first baserunner

@@tobyespinoza253 if I remember correctly my first base coach told him and the umpire allowed him to have second base. It was maybe the weirdest thing I’ve seen in a baseball game before

What did the batter do?

I did this before too in JV ball. Most embarrassing moment of my baseball life. It was a 1st and 3rd situation and I swear I heard a foul ball (we used metal bats, so the sound was very obvious). Maybe there was someone in the batting cage near us? Idk, but regardless I just started trotting back to 1st base, and was none the wiser. I tried stealing 2nd again the next pitch, this time is was _actually_ a foul ball. My manager then screamed "[NAME], STAY THERE!!!!!!" I literally had no idea why I was getting yelled at. I figured it out two pitches later when I asked the first basemen what had happened lol. From then on, I always forced the umpire to tell me to go back to first base.

Loved that book

Musta read that book 100 times as a kid. Great cartoon drawings inside.

Uhoh ... You've figured out Secret Base's source material!

You the author?

thanks for stating the source material

Man I’m just trying to watch a fun video, no need to call my miserable lifeless franchise out

absolutely brutal but fair

I used to go to pirates games all the time with my dad when i was a kid, and his boss had given us his box seats (looking back on it, I realize why he never wanted to go). We must've gone to like 20 games. I can't be sure, but i wouldnt be surprised if won none

Don't forget, in 2001 the Pirates manger DID steal first

​@@vjm212 I was born in 2001. I didn't know about that.

He's pretty much everybody's "favorite weird player" nowadays! Unfortunately he can't hit, but I mean you gotta love everything else about the guy though?

@@JWex-jy7sk i was sad because i loved him but then he went to the yankees but he redeemed himself by going to the red skx

Baseball bits

@@theforbiddensauce ah yes the red skx’s

He's an international art thief and MUST BE STOPPED!

Cue the Captain America “I understood that reference!”

Thank Summoning Salt for that fact 😀

@@bluntizard4481 lol I love this. Salt is goated btw.

A person of culture, I see

When he was in the Blue Jays minor league system my buddy used to call him 'Lean In' Locastro which is pure gold.

Yay another loophole !

Please tell me you’ve broken into the world of coaching over the past year. It is your duty to make this happen.

Thanks I was wondering about that

It has to be a dropped third strike for the runner to take first without putting the ball in play, which then is scored as both a strikeout (for batter and pitcher) and either a wild pitch or passed ball. Reaching first on a fielding error is just a regular error.

It's also called a strike out.

Thanks, buddy. Answered my question before I even finished typing it! 😁👍🏻

Why was this not brought up!?!?

“generally specific” is a beautifully confusing phrase. Thank you for that explanation though!

@@bernier42 I didn't catch that when I typed it...but I intended 'generally' in this case to mean "usually" rather than "non-specifically." I should have chosen my words more carefully. lol

That makes sense, as far as it goes, but I don't think the rule should exist at all. Why shouldn't a runner be permitted, under any circumstances (except after reaching home), to return to a previous base?

@@kqatsi Well, I supposed specifically to prevent runners from creating the scenario described in the video. Prior to that, it's likely no one considered the need for a rule to tell runners they can't go back to bases they'd previously occupied because no one could envision a reason any runner would _want_ to return to a previous base. I guess I envision it as similar to someone hitting the ball over the fence and deciding they'd rather just hold up at third base rather than running all the way around the bases to score a run. (Actually, I'm pretty sure the rules require the runner to touch all four bases and exit the field if they hit a fair ball out of play in the air as long as the ball has travelled at least 250' from home plate...but the idea is similar; doing something less productive for your team just because there isn't a rule that tells you not to.) But, yeah, returning to a previous base is almost always going to be a less optimal choice than advancing to the next base, so if a runner wants to do it, why not let them? As a player, I'd be all for an opponent wanting to run from second to first, giving my team another opportunity to throw them out.

@@frocat5163 Yeah, I hear you. Running backwards would generally not make any sense for the hitting team, so I don't see any reason not to let them. My guess is that the situation described in the video was just a nuisance. Perhaps the batting team felt they were more likely to score that runner from third if they baited a throw from the catcher on a steal than if they just tried to hit him home. That strategy just doesn't make any sense in the contemporary context, particularly because running back to first puts the back-stealing runner at a high risk of getting caught going back. Anyway, I'm generally in favor of a fewer-rules, wild-west approach (e.g., no infield fly rule, no infield shift ban, etc.) unless a rule is truly necessary to preserve some fundamental aspect of the game, and this seems like one that's just not necessary.

I mean players on base can take off whether the batter swings or not, so why not the batter too? Just take off as he is about to throw. It wouldn't work at all unless you confused the catcher enough to make him not catch the pitch. Which actually if you across him you might actually pull that off

@@The2ndGrimReaper or if the catcher breaks something while he is catching... or even if they decide to throw to 3rd instead

I think you're on to something.

Especially if your best hitter was up. Then you're dissuading an intentional walk and not confusing the defense.

@@ericarechiga9752 It only dissuades the intentional walk by giving the defense what they wanted in the first place (set up for a double play or at least a force-out on the lead runner) without needing to take the cost of adding an additional baserunner. If the batter is so superior that an intentional walk would have been a consideration, the defense can still take this option with a runner at first and they are no worse off than if the lead runner had just stayed at second the whole time. And if they do decide to pitch to the batter anyway, an RBI is less likely since the lead runner has retreated out of "scoring position." This "tactic" of retreating to first only gives the defense more options and advantages.

Weird Rules first got me into Secret Base, now I love all their content!

Also could happen if the runner in front of them gets in a run down and they go back to first to make space at second for them

@@CinemaDemocratica if he is going back because he thought there is a foul ball then he isn’t giving himself up. He isn’t conceding that he is out

Back in ‘93 my friend Hillary gave up second

It’s called a defensive indifference, and is not counted as a steal if it’s clear it was given up

How many children play in the MLB? I am pretty sure youth leagues have their own rulebooks.

I finally did the puberty! actually I think I turned off monitoring in my headphones for this episode and another one in the works and hearing myself that way had something to do with it (or at least that's my working theory that I came up with while editing and having a similar thought as you)

How old are you?

How literally?

Maybe if you were on the barry bonds SF Giants. Theres 0 or 1 outs runners on 1st and 3rd and the opponents probably walk him, but if you steal second maybe the opposition decides to pitch to him in that scenario since the sac fly is gone.

As long as the pitcher hasn't assumed his position and the decision to run back to second isn't made to confuse the defense or make a travesty of the game, yes, you could return to second from third. I can't think of a single scenario where doing so would be beneficial for your team, though. Doing so sets up additional double-play opportunities or the possibility of an infield fly (assuming there's no more than one out). And, as @InsaneisEpic points out, the only time it might make a little sense is if your team's next batter is an incredible homerun or deep-ball threat who's highly unlikely to hit into a double play or infield fly and is almost certain to be walked if there are only runners at the corners. Even then it wouldn't be a good baseball decision. It's almost always better to have the bases loaded with 0 or 1 out after an intentional walk than to have runners on 1st and 2nd with 0 or 1 out and a power hitter in the box who might be walked to load the bases.

I've seen a few teams intentionally balk a runner from 2nd to 3rd if they had a multi run lead so the runner wouldn't get a view if the catcher's signs so maybe that's a scenario where you would try it

Assuming the pitcher has not returned to pitching position, there is maybe one scenario. A runner successfully advances to third, but overslides a hook slide (a slide designed to avoid a tag). The fielder comes off the bag in the direction of home plate, perhaps to recover a bobbled ball. The runner, unable to beat the fielder back to third base, runs back to an unoccupied second base. I'm not convinced this scenario ever would happen where you wouldn't just take your chances crawl-diving back to third, or where you wouldn't be ruled as having failed to re-touch third after passing it, but maybe.