Base Running Errors

The chart that follows shows the number of base running (I can find no definitive source that tells me whether the term is correctly written as “base running,” “base-running” or “baserunning”—I’ve chosen what I’ve chosen) miscues, which can be grouped by:

1.       Being thrown out trying to advance

2.       Any fielder’s choice

3.       Force outs are NOT included—a runner on 1^st isn’t responsible that the hitter drilled one right at the shortstop

4.       Base stealing and pickoffs are also NOT included—this table only shows how many times a team had miscues on the base paths.

It’s surprising how few outliers (definitely the Angels on the high side and perhaps the A’s and Giants on the low side) there are. The White Sox sit firmly in the middle—there’s no doubt that in this period (or at least in 2010-2011) that the Sox were a bit more aggressive on the base paths in terms of stealing attempts and bunts, but as far as basic base running goes, they were pretty run-of-the mill. The take-home message is that a base running miscue will occur about once every three games—the question is whether that is a large number or small one.