| has gloss | eng: A hit and run is a play in baseball in which the baserunners are in motion before the ball is hit and the batter attempts to make contact with the pitch. If the ball is unhittable, such as if it is thrown in the dirt or high above the batter's head, and the batter will be unable to make contact, he does not have to swing (as nothing would be gained by it). The hit and run is usually employed when a good contact hitter—one skilled at making contact even when the pitch is hard to hit—is at the plate. Often, on a hit-and-run play the batter will try to "hit behind the runner" by hitting the ball to right field, making it more likely that the runner will be able to go from first to third on a single or even score from first on a double. The primary goal of the hit and run is to open holes in the infield for the batter to hit the ball through, since either the shortstop or the second baseman will have to cover second base when they see the runner moving. You say hit first because the hit is more important and the run is secondary to the hit. |