Rundown

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This article is about the situation in baseball. For the practice in Scientology, see rundown (Scientology).

A rundown, also called a pickle or a hotbox, is a situation in the game of baseball that occurs when the baserunner is stranded between two bases and is in jeopardy. When the baserunner attempts to advance to the next base, he is cut off by the defensive player who has a live ball and attempts to return to his previous base before being tagged out. As he is doing this, the defenseman throws the ball past the baserunner to the previous base, forcing him to reverse directions again. This is repeated until the runner is put out or the defense commits an error and allows the runner to reach a base safely.