Contact play

The contact play is a base running play in the sport of baseball. It usually refers to a runner on third base breaking for home (but occasionally refers to a runner at second base breaking for third). Similar to the safety-squeeze play, the runner at third breaks for home as soon as he sees that the batted ball is on a downward plane for a ground ball. If there is a runner at second base, he will also break for third if the batted ball is on the first base side of second. The play can backfire if the ball is hit directly at the third baseman or the pitcher as a putout will naturally be made at home plate to prevent the run from scoring. In this situation, the baserunner may freeze and return to third. At this point the runner at third's objective changes from scoring to getting in a rundown in order to provide an opportunity for the batter to end up at second base. The main advantage to breaking for home on contact is that it reduces the amount of time an infielder will have to make a play at home and, thus, increases the likelihood of the runner scoring. A secondary advantage is that the possibility of a contact play will often cause the defensive infielders to "play in," meaning closer to home plate, giving them less time to react to a hit ball and a greater likelihood of not being able to field it cleanly.