ould
hold the base until he has seen, beyond a doubt, that the hit is safe.
If safe, he will still have ample time to reach home, while if, by any
chance, it be caught, he will nevertheless get third or home, as the
case may be. A couple of seasons back a New York runner was on third,
with no one out, when the batter made what looked like a home-run hit.
The runner on third, instead of waiting to make sure, started home; the
ball was caught and, though he managed to return to third, he did not
score, as he otherwise might easily have done. The next two batters went
out, the score was left a tie, and we finally lost an important game.

Succeeding base-runners should have private signals so that they may
communicate their intentions without apprising the opposing players. A
runner on first who intends to steal second should inform the batter, so
that the batter may hit the ball, or at least strike at it. A runner on
second should notify a runner on first of his intention to steal third,
so that the other may at the same time steal second. When there are
runners on first and third each should understand perfectly what the
other purposes doing so they can help one another with the play.

In such a situation the runner on first will generally attempt to steal
second, and if the catcher throws down to catch him there are several
things which the runner on third may do. First, as soon as he sees the
throw to second he may start for home, and if he has previously decided
to do this, he should take plenty of ground front third base. Second, he
may not start for home on the throw, but if the runner from first gets
caught between first and second, it will then be necessary for him to
try to score. For this purpose he carefully takes as much ground from
third as possible, while the other player is being chased backward and
forward. Finally, when the ball is tossed by the second baseman to the
first baseman, he makes a dash for home. The idea of waiting until the
ball is thrown to the first baseman is because the latter has his back
to the plate, and not only cannot see the play so well but must turn
around to throw. Third, if the circumstances are such that he thinks
best not to try to score on the throw, he should, at least, on seeing
the throw to second, make a strong feint to run in order to draw the
second baseman in and allow the runner from first to reach second.

There is a pretty play by which one run may be scored when th