D3K & Leading off

[tcannizzo]

Originally Posted by richez

2) . . .The coach argued the BR must hit 1st before the ball is in the pitcher's possession in the circle. If that is true, then everyone leads off because we all steal 2nd from a walk with a runner on 3rd, and usually the pitcher has the ball before the BR touches 1st. He also stated the BR is not allowed one stop, before immediately going to 2nd or returning to 1st.

Both of your interps are correct.

The only thing that comes remotley close to this is that the LBR for any baserunners is not in effect until BR reaches 1st base. This means that the runners on 2nd or 3rd are free to do whatever they want - with the ball in the circle - prior to BR reaching 1st. This is one reason (of many) why plate mechanics include watching BR all the way to 1st.