Rundown - Wikipedia

This article does not cite any sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
Find sources: "Rundown" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2009) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

A typical rundown situation in baseball showing a baserunner for the Texas Rangers as he attempts to evade the Chicago Cubs defense.

A rundown, informally known as a pickle or the hotbox, is a situation in the game of baseball that occurs when the baserunner is stranded between two bases, also known as no-man's land, and is in jeopardy of being tagged out. When the base runner attempts to advance to the next base, he is cut off by the defensive player who has a live ball and attempts to return to his previous base before being tagged out. As he is doing this, the defenseman throws the ball past the base runner to the previous base, forcing him to reverse directions again. This is repeated until the runner is put out or reaches a base safely.

A rundown can be escaped if a fielder makes an error, the runner gets around the fielder with the ball without running out of the baseline, a fielder throws the ball elsewhere (e.g., toward home plate if another runner is trying to score), or the runner manages to get by the fielder without the ball while there is no other fielder to cover the runner's destination base.

v t e Baseball and softball concepts
Outline · Glossary
Rules	Rules of baseball Ejections Ground rules Infield fly rule In flight Interference Pitch clock Protested game Strike zone Suspended game Unwritten rules Cheating Comparison of baseball and softball fastpitch softball 16-inch softball
Ballpark/field	Backstop Baseball diamond Batter's box Batter's eye Bullpen Dugout Foul pole Foul territory Infield On-deck circle Outfield Warning track
Equipment	Ball Bat Batting cage Batting glove Batting helmet Cap Doughnut Glove (defense) Pitching machine Protective cup Shin guard Stirrups Uniform Uniform number
Game process	Batting order Innings extra innings Out Positions Run Pace of play
Batting	At bat Baltimore chop Bat flip Batted ball Batting count Batting out of order Bunt sacrifice bunt slap bunt squeeze play Charging the mound Checked swing Cleanup hitter Designated hitter Double Double switch Foul ball Foul tip Golden sombrero Ground rule double Hat trick Hit Hit and run Hit by pitch Hitting for the cycle Home run Grand slam Inside-the-park Walk-off Moonshot Chinese Infield hit Leadoff hitter Lefty-righty switch Line drive Mendoza Line On-deck Plate appearance Platoon system Pull hitter Sacrifice fly Single Strikeout Strike zone Sweet spot Switch hitter Triple Walk
Pitching (softball)	Balk Beanball Breaking ball Brushback pitch Changeup Vulcan changeup Curveball Eephus Emery ball Fastball two-seam four-seam cutter sinker split-finger Full count Immaculate inning Inside pitching Intentional balk Intentional walk Knuckleball Maddux No-hitter Perfect game Pickoff Pitch count Pitching position Pitchout Quick pitch Screwball Shutout Slider Spitball Strikeout Strike zone Striking out the side Switch pitcher Time of pitch Wild pitch
Base running	Balk Bases loaded Caught stealing Hit and run Lead off Left on base Obstruction Rundown Safe Scoring position Slide Small ball Squeeze play Stolen base Tag up Tie goes to the runner
Fielding (positioning)	Appeal play Assist Blocking the plate Catch Caught stealing Covering a base Defensive indifference Double play Error Fielder's choice Fifth infielder Force play Fourth out Hidden ball trick In-between hop Infield fly rule Infield shift Interference Neighborhood play Passed ball Pickoff Putout Rundown Tag out Triple play unassisted Uncaught third strike Wall climb Wheel play
Related	Baseball card Baseball statistics Bench jockey Bench-clearing brawl Dead ball Doubleheader Jargon Injured list List of baseball films Pepper Scorekeeping Series Seventh-inning stretch Shagging Sign stealing Slump Streak losing winning Variations of baseball
Category Portal WikiProject