This season, college baseball implemented the double first base rule.
There are now two bases at first. Under the new rule, the first baseman must use the white bag, while the runner uses the colored bag, usually green or orange, to help the umpires avoid confusion. This rule, called the double first base rule, is intended to reduce collisions and improve player safety.
The rule has two exceptions for when the first baseman or runners can use either base. The first exception is that on a dropped third strike, the first baseman is allowed to touch either bag after he catches the throw from the catcher.
The second exception is that if a ground ball takes the first baseman across the colored bag into foul territory, the base runner can use the other bag to avoid collision. First baseman Will Hodo talked about one of the exceptions.
“There was a dropped third strike, and [catcher Brady Neal] came to throw in front of home to throw to me across the bag, so I was touching the green one,” Hodo said. “I didn’t know what the rule was, but I knew I wasn’t going to stand on the white bag when the runner was running to the green bag. They still called him out, though, but it’s definitely weird.”
This rule was tested last season during the SEC tournament, and the teams were happy with the results, so the rest of college baseball has adopted it.
“Yeah, it’s weird,” Alabama head coach Rob Vaughn said. “It’s different, and I know it is very player safety-driven. There are some really weird nuances that, truth be told, we’re still working through. You talk to some umpires and get some varying things, because everyone is still trying to figure it out.”
Some players have faced season-ending injuries from collisions at first base. Vaughn talked about losing one of his college teammates to an injury caused by a collision at first base, which kept him out for the rest of the season.
“I had a first baseman in college when we were playing Chicago State,” Vaughn said. “Drew Barey, one of my best friends and my roommate, had a play take him up the line and had a collision that ended up fracturing his elbow, and we lost him for the rest of the year.”
This new first-base rule is optional for all teams, depending on what the home team decides to do. So far, the Crimson Tide has used it every game this season except last Tuesday when the team played UAB in Birmingham.
Some people were surprised that college baseball didn’t follow in the MLB’s footsteps and add bigger bases instead of a double first base.
“Anything that puts player safety first, I’m going to support,” Vaughn said. “I was a little intrigued to follow in what the big leagues did and go with the bigger bases. … But if it takes those collisions out of the game at first base, I will support that in a heartbeat.”
