: Skills & Drills: Offense

Tagging Up (Tag Up)
This allows a runner to advance to the next base on a fly ball, as soon as it is caught. This will generally be on deep fly balls, away from the runner’s next base. For instance, a ball deep to right field is perfect to advance from second to third. However, a ball to left field would probably be disasterous. Any deep ball can advance a runner home. Balls hit to extreme left and right field can advance a runner from first to second. Here’s the basics.

1. To tag up, a runner must return to his last base while the ball is in the air.
2. They should prepare to sprint hard, and be prepared to slide into the base.
3. As soon as the ball is caught the footrace begins.

Some tips for tagging up:

1. With very young teams, have the player advance half way to the base, as the ball will as often as not be dropped.
2. The player needs to think about the player fielding the ball, and judge their throwing abilities.
3. They should judge the depth of the ball, as well as how far it will be from the base they are running to.