Part Two:

Many baseball stat geeks scoff at baserunning, often citing that the number of outs created only very rarely warrants the marginal increase in bases stolen. Not that that matters really; there’s no base stealing in kickball. Nonetheless, it’s an important and underrated element of kickball, as intelligent baserunning is an incredibly effective means of disrupting the other team’s fielding.

As we were under the assumption in Part One that catching the ball could not be taken for granted, so must we here assume that not everybody knows the basics of smartly running the bases. Here they are:

1. When there’s two outs, run on everything.
2. When there’s a fly ball (and there’s less than two outs), only take 2-4 steps off the base and wait—whether you move forward will depend on how close the play is to you (if it’s closer, be less risky), whether you’re planning on tagging up (in which case, stay planted on the base), and whether or not you think the fielder will actually catch the ball (duh). Once the ball hits the ground, advance.
3. When there’s a ground ball and there’s a force, run.
4. When there’s no force, you can run if the next base is open, or not run if you think it will cause an out. Use judgment. Smart teams will put one of the smarter players who’s not up soon in the lineup as a third base coach who can aid in decision making.

Got it? Good. Now that we’ve established the basics of competent baserunning, we can step it up a notch: The actual goal of the baserunner in kickball is to create as much havoc as possible for the opposing team’s defense. Cause throwing errors, generate hesitation. Especially when it leads to other runners advancing, and super-especially, when it leads to the batter getting on base instead of getting out.

Here’s a common example: You’re on second base, and the batter kicks a ground ball to third. You don’t want to run to third; this creates an out. But you do want to advance a few steps. At the very least, the fielder hesitates and gives the batter an extra second to get to first. At best, she hesitates, throws to first anyway, and you’re a few steps down the line to advance to third (take it now, it’s open!). By taking a lead and creating hesitation, you went from a guy on second and an out to runners on first and third with no outs.

Here’s a second common example: You’re on third base, there’s a runner on first, and there’s a ball kicked to the outfield. You know (whether the ball is caught or not) that you’re going to score on this play. Your goal is to generate a throw to home plate (without, of course, risking getting out yourself). This is typically a long, slow throw that’s headed for the other team’s worst fielder. Take off when the ball’s caught, and make it at least half-way while the outfielder still has it. As soon as he throws it, go home. Meanwhile, the intelligent runner on first base is looking at taking second base. She’ll take it as soon she can tell that the ball isn’t headed to the shortstop or the pitcher. If it’s a particularly bad throw (and keeping in mind that the catcher is a horrific fielder), she could even threaten to take third base.

As alluded to above, if you’re not the lead runner, it’s still important to keep an eye on the goings-on elsewhere on the field. Take bases that are open, and even create confusion when they’re not.

Again, and above all else: Create havoc, not outs. Create errors, cause runs.