Small ball (baseball)

Small ball is an informal term in the sport of baseball for an offensive strategy in which the batting team emphasizes placing runners on base and then advancing them into scoring position for a run in a deliberate way.

By playing small ball, the team trades the longer odds of a big inning for the increased chances of scoring a single run.

Specifically, small ball often requires the trading of an out to advance a runner and therefore historically reduced the number of batting opportunities that a team would have in a given inning.

Small ball was once the standard by which the game was played during the "dead-ball era" at the beginning of the 20th century, when both batting averages and home-run totals dropped to historic lows.

[7] When Paul Richards took over as the manager of the Chicago White Sox in 1951, his team had few power hitters, so he decided that he needed to manufacture runs by emphasizing speed as well as a strong defense.

Small ball has become less common because of the general trend toward smaller parks and more home runs, especially in the American League where the designated hitter rule further increases offensive power.

The general idea of playing small ball is much more widely accepted and used in Japan; good hitters will frequently be asked to lay down a sacrifice bunt in an attempt to advance the runner if the lead off batter reached first or second base.