香港三级片

JUPITER, Fla. 鈥� It鈥檚 been several years since he pulled off the baserunning feat that piqued the curiosity of Ichiro Suzuki, inspired copycats throughout the game and now has drawn Major League Baseball鈥檚 scrutiny, so Nolan Gorman can finally, like a magician demystifying an old trick, admit something.

He had no idea it was possible until he did it.

鈥淚鈥檓 not going to lie,鈥� the Cardinals infielder said at his locker this spring. 鈥淭he first time I ever heard a first base coach say, 鈥楬ey, run through the bag,鈥� was that play.鈥�

That play avoided a force-out, generated a run, disrupted a routine play and prompted compliments for its 鈥渉eads-up鈥� savvy from opposing managers and baseball intelligentsia, like Suzuki. It also has prompted a rule, new for 2025, that legislates against ingenuity mostly for the sake of technology 鈥� unless teams can devise another way around it.

One Cardinal attempted an idea in a game this spring.

鈥淓very run matters,鈥� Ivan Herrera said. 鈥淪o I tried.鈥�

But before going there with Herrera at second base in a spring game, it鈥檚 important to retrace the steps Gorman took to bring the game here, and that begins when coach Stubby Clapp leaned in with instructions at first base.

In the first game of a doubleheader on June 14, 2022, more famous for Miles Mikolas coming one out away from a no-hitter against Pittsburgh, Gorman took a fourth-inning walk that loaded the bases with two outs. Clapp told him to sprint through second base on a ground ball 鈥� don鈥檛 slide, just dash. Gorman immediately understood the tactic. If he could beat any force play at second by going full speed, then the Cardinals had a chance, albeit slim, to score the run from third, cause a rundown and see if chaos ensued.

Sure enough, Paul Goldschmidt chopped a grounder to shortstop, and because he didn鈥檛 slide, Gorman beat the shortstop's flip to second base and continued right past the bag. Yadier Molina scored. Rundowns commenced.

鈥淚 was moving on his swing, and everything worked out completely perfectly to make that happen,鈥� Gorman said. 鈥淓verything has to line up. It鈥檚 a good play. If I beat that throw at second base, we鈥檙e stealing a run, and then maybe we鈥檙e able to add on. But you steal a freaking run.鈥�

Pirates manager Derek Shelton called it 鈥渙ne of the most heads-up baseball plays you鈥檒l ever see.鈥�

Other teams took note.

So too has MLB.

And the game might not see it again.

One of the rule changes for the upcoming regular season attempts to ban the run-through at second base to help clarify replay reviews on plays where that happens. Per MLB鈥檚 official language, an 鈥渁dvancing runner (who) makes no bona fide attempt to hold the base or to advance to the next base鈥� will be ruled 鈥渟afe, but subsequently out for abandonment.鈥� The run scoring from third with two outs will depend on the 鈥渢ime that the runner passed鈥� the back edge of base.

In the wake of Gorman鈥檚 successful run, several players sprinted through second base and ended up strides closer to left field. This new rule is set to address that.

While the potential for injury brought attention to this play, a pressing concern for MLB was how teams could benefit from this play via replay.

If a team challenged that the runner from third scored before the out, then unwinding the play became difficult. The offense could end up with a run by replay and a runner placed at second base 鈥� even though that runner finished the play speeding toward left field.

鈥淚鈥檝e seen a lot of them were they鈥檙e running straight through,鈥� Gorman said.

Just as the strategy of running through second in specific situations was discussed in past spring camps, coaches are exploring MLB鈥檚 new rule and its application in conversations this spring 鈥� always as instructions to know and sometimes as a riddle to solve, an edge to find.

If the steps past the base trigger a violation, then brainstorming ways to still pull off the Gorman trick involve sharp, hard turns at the base, like a wide receiver鈥檚 route in football. A suggestion offered several Cardinals coaches was running to the base, crossing it and then sliding to avoid those steps. Then the runner pops up and heads to third. In theory, that could work better than in practice at full speed, and it鈥檚 likely to work once before MLB clamps down on it, too.

Asked if he had any suggestions, Gorman described how a hard turn into the shortstop鈥檚 glove would spoil the play too. And then he smiled.

鈥淚f you publish it, maybe other teams are going to take it from us,鈥� he said.

Herrera鈥檚 turn

In an exhibition game this spring, Herrera stood at first base with two outs and a runner at third. That situation and a ground ball gave the young catcher a chance to try something 鈥� a run-through that was more of a run-to.

Instead of sliding, he raced to the base and then made a tight left.

鈥淭hey say you can鈥檛 run through any more, and I鈥檓 trying to practice it,鈥� Herrera said Sunday. 鈥淚 tried to take a sharp turn so if I can get there before a flip to second then that run scores. I felt fine. We鈥檙e trying to get that run scored 鈥� and also force another play. If I get in that rundown maybe they miss the throw and that鈥檚 another run.

鈥淒etails,鈥� he added. 鈥淒etails matter.鈥�

What gave manager Oliver Marmol a pause this past week when asked about plotting a new way to pull off the run-through was the risk of injury with sharp turns, he said.

That makes the scheme, because it鈥檚 so rare, less appealing.

Rewinding to the play that brought attention to all of this, Gorman recalled how Molina shouted at him to go back to second as the Pirates tried to figure out what happened. Pittsburgh executed the rundown for the final out at the plate, but Gorman said there was a moment when it appeared they would all have been safe and the inning kept going.

Jumping on bandwagon

That possibility invited other teams to try in the months that followed Gorman’s run, and labeled it “a growing trend” and that the Cardinals were “in large part responsible.”

The teams that attempted it included the Cubs, Marlins, Rays and Dodgers, where former Cardinal Jason Heyward took the chance to do it. The Yankees tried it often in 2023 with varying success and several runners headed out to left. But just the threat of it once confounded Boston to keep an inning alive ahead of a grand slam from Aaron Judge.

Cardinals rivals the Brewers also attempted the run-through to snag the run, and then-manager Craig Counsell told : “That’s why it’s hard to have secrets — because it gets picked up.”

Marlins speedster Jon Berti tried it with the bases loaded and ground ball to second, and he just ended up striding toward left field.

Gorman crosses paths with his play every so often on social media, and as he described it again this spring, he considered through the lens of the new rule.

鈥淚 think maybe just figuring out a way to round the bag,鈥� Gorman said. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e going to have to try and make an effort toward third base. I think if you go back and look at mine, you can see I鈥檓 kind of making a left turn after I hit the bag. Umpire鈥檚 discretion would take over in that situation. I feel like I did turn.鈥�

He did. A replay check reveals that.

That means the play that popularized the move, spurred other teams to try it more often and led to MLB limiting its effectiveness, also is the trick that may be still possible to pull off.

Presto.