Expert: Brian Flaspohler - 4/5/2011

Question
My son plays little league baseball, but it's the 13 and up age group and they go by the high school rules. When he played JV baseball I noticed that he would tag up each time the pitcher started a new pitch. But in little league I noticed a player that stayed off the bag the whole time. He was stealing from second and he never went back to the bag on a strike or a ball. I don't recall the batter hitting the ball before he was struck out. But does the runner have to tag up before each play or is that something they did in high school just to be cautious?

Answer
Carolyn,

There is no rule in high school about retouching the base, unless the ball has been declared dead by the umpire (such as on a foul ball).

It could be a rule at the little league level, but I'm not sure about that.

Hope this helps!

Brian