Editing Baseball (section)

=== Batting and baserunning ===
[[File:Mookie Betts hitting the ball (36478781664).jpg|thumb|[[Boston Red Sox]] player [[Mookie Betts]] hits a pitch by swinging his [[Baseball bat|bat]].]]
Several basic offensive tactics come into play with a runner on first base, including the fundamental choice of whether to attempt a steal of second base. The [[hit and run (baseball)|hit and run]] is sometimes employed, with a skillful [[contact hitter]], the runner takes off with the pitch, drawing the shortstop or second baseman over to second base, creating a gap in the infield for the batter to poke the ball through.<ref>Stallings and Bennett (2003), pp. 5, 46–47.</ref> The [[sacrifice bunt]], calls for the batter to focus on making soft contact with the ball, so that it rolls a short distance into the infield, allowing the runner to advance into [[scoring position]] as the batter is thrown out at first. A batter, particularly one who is a fast runner, may also attempt to [[bunt (baseball)|bunt]] for a hit. A sacrifice bunt employed with a runner on third base, aimed at bringing that runner home, is known as a [[squeeze play (baseball)|squeeze play]].<ref>Stallings and Bennett (2003), pp. 42–43, 47–48.</ref> With a runner on third and fewer than two outs, a batter may instead concentrate on hitting a fly ball that, even if it is caught, will be deep enough to allow the runner to tag up and score—a successful batter, in this case, gets credit for a [[sacrifice fly]].<ref name=SB45/> In order to increase the chance of advancing a batter to first base via a walk, the manager will sometimes signal a batter who is [[Glossary of baseball terms#ahead in the count|ahead in the count]] (i.e., has more balls than strikes) to [[Glossary of baseball terms#take sign|take]], or not swing at, the next pitch. The batter's potential reward of reaching base (via a walk) exceeds the disadvantage if the next pitch is a strike.<ref>Stallings and Bennett (2003), p. 186.</ref>