Rounding bases

There is a saying in baseball that goes “never round a base with the ball in the infield.”  It’s a general rule that good base runners live by so that the ball cannot be thrown behind them as they round a bag.  I believe runners should take that rule a step farther.  “Don’t round the bag with the ball in the infield OR when it’s being thrown towards the infield.”

This addition on my part protects a runner who is rounding the bag as the ball is arriving to a middle infielder acting as a cutoff from the outfield.  Some sharp middle infielders will already have a play worked out with the first baseman on base hits to the outfield that will have them catch the relay throw coming from the outfielder and immediately fire to first hoping to catch the runner off guard and/or catch him rounding the bag a little too aggressively.

Major league hitters are often seen coasting into second base on a stand up double.  Some may see this as a lack of hustle but in reality, they are putting this rule into effect.  They want to be able to stop at second base and not let their momentum carry them past the past and possibly get picked off as a result.