Taking a Lead
Standing off the base before the pitch, which is free distance and the reason pickoffs exist.
What it actually is. A runner may stand off his base before the pitch is thrown. The primary lead is the distance he takes before the pitch, the secondary lead is the two or three shuffle steps he takes as the ball travels. He is live to be picked off the entire time, and if he is tagged off the base he is out.
What somebody who knows the game gets out of it. The lead is a negotiation, not a measurement. A runner takes exactly as much as the pitcher's move, the catcher's arm and the count allow him, and a good baserunner adjusts every pitch rather than standing in the same spot. The secondary lead is the part almost nobody watches and it is where most bases are actually gained: a runner already moving on contact reaches third from first on a single that would otherwise hold him. Since the pickoff limit rules came in, the primary lead has grown measurably, which is why stolen bases rose so sharply.
The numbers worth knowing. A typical major league primary lead from first is around eleven to thirteen feet, roughly three and a half body lengths, plus another eight to ten feet of secondary. A pitcher's time to the plate under 1.3 seconds makes stealing very hard; over 1.5 makes it easy almost regardless of the catcher.
What people get wrong about it. The lead is not what makes a runner fast, and the fastest man on a team is often not the best baserunner on it. Reading the pitcher's first move, knowing the count, and being in motion on contact are worth more than raw speed, which is why sprint speed and baserunning value do not line up nearly as closely as people expect.
At Little League and travel ball. In Little League Majors and below, runners may not leave the base until the pitch reaches the batter, which removes the lead entirely and changes the whole running game. Travel ball at USSSA generally allows leading at older ages, so a twelve year old moving between the two is learning two different sports on the bases. This is one of the plays the four rulebooks feature compares directly.
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