An additional base about 10 feet *behind* the traditional position of 2nd base. The runner gets to choose which base s/he runs to.
Because base 2.5 is a little farther, the decision to go for it is met with a bonus. If you steal to 2.5, or touch 2.5 on your way to 3rd, you're eligible for the bonus.
The bonus is fully redeemed when you make it to home plate. If you make it home and only touched base 2, you score a single run. If you touched base 2.5 though, you get 1.5 runs.
Cannot be redeemed when trotting around for homeruns. Makes pickles more interesting, and stealing more challenging (for the runner AND catcher).
Of course this will never happen in organized leagues, but it's an interesting add-on for those who occasionally play backyard ball and want to mix things up a bit.-- napoleonbag, May 20 2008 [+] I'll bun any idea that'll make baseball more interesting.-- jaksplat, May 20 2008 I think the disadvantages to the catcher would be greater during steals.
And 2nd would become obsolete during normal play. Just a guess, though. Might persuade GMs to pick up more athletic rookies, other than your run of the mill powerhouse. Neat idea, simple.-- daseva, May 20 2008 97.65625 ... 39.0625 ... 15.625 ... 6.25 ... 2.5
This would be a difficult base to count in.-- wagster, May 20 2008 I think it would actually be slightly easier for the catcher to throw out the base stealer [deseva]. It takes more time to run an extra 7 feet or so than it takes a ball to travel the extra 10 feet.-- bneal27, May 20 2008 [+]. Can runners be on 2nd and 2.5th at the same time? That would change everything.-- bneal27, May 20 2008 [bneal27]: I think that you're you confusing "Base 2.5" with "love".-- Jinbish, May 20 2008 // I think it would actually be slightly easier for the catcher to throw out the base stealer [deseva].//
With 2.5, the catcher has to decide which base to throw to. And since I'm assuming there's no extra 2nd baseman, he'll have to decide which base to cover. Huge advantage for the runner who can much more easily change his direction mid-flight than the ball can.-- Noexit, May 20 2008 Right. And have you seen a catcher throw someone out at second lately? It takes all their strength just to get the ball that far, that fast. Not to mention accuracy.-- daseva, May 20 2008 Were I a baseball manager, I would instruct my runners never to use the regular second base again.-- borisbarp, May 20 2008 //Were I a baseball manager, I would instruct my runners never to use the regular second base again.//
Bottom of the ninth. Two outs. Down by one. You really need to make something happen.
Your batter hits a dribbler to right field and speeds around first. The right fielder is slow in getting to the ball (their own mascot got in the way). Your player rounds 2.5th base and heads for third, hoping to stretch it into a triple. The right fielder guns it to third... the bounce... the slide... the tag.... he's OUT! Aww... he woulda made it if he had just rounded 2nd instead of 2.5! That mandatory extra 14.66 feet of distance cost him the game. :(-- napoleonbag, May 20 2008 I had hoped that this would be a novel hybrid of binary taking advantage of conventional 0,1 and a third (.5) superimposed quantum position. I actually spent a while pondering this before clicking. Much to my dismay. Nothing short of adding killer robots would make baseball "spicy" or "interesting".-- WcW, May 20 2008 Hmmmm... non-integer number systems. Interesting. I can't imagine how that would work, but at the same time, it seems possible in a Yellow Submarine kind of way.-- napoleonbag, May 20 2008 I cannot in good faith [+] an idea involving baseball unless it involves the addition of killer robots or a similarly exciting change. It's like watching a hybrid of golf and cricket.-- WcW, May 20 2008 // any idea that'll make baseball more interesting //
Isn't that an oxymoron ?
// You really need to make something happen. //
Yes, you do. Why not get up from your seat and go and get a life, or indeed a little bit of one ? Face it, it's more than you've got right now. Hasn't it ever occured to you that baseball was invented for very old people to watch so they could practise for being dead ?
[WcW], we share your disappointment.-- 8th of 7, May 20 2008 Baseball is the only sport that becomes easier to follow the more you drink.-- daseva, May 20 2008 "Can runners be on 2nd and 2.5th at the same time? That would change everything." I'd say not. Otherwise you'd have contention for third. Having said that, it does mix things up a bit if the runners want to steal.-- phoenix, May 21 2008 napoleanbag yes you can envision particular plays where the regular second base is best, but whenever possible that extra .5 run is worth whatever it takes.-- borisbarp, May 21 2008 That I will agree to. Though a team with a strict 2.5 policy would be much easier to anticipate than one who mixed it up periodically.-- napoleonbag, May 21 2008 It is illegal to run out of the base line in baseball so I assumed that once a base stealer committed to a base, he’d have to stick with it. Stealers start running when the pitcher throws the ball, so the 2nd baseman should have time to see which base is being stolen. I assume he would start out on 2.5 and simply meet the runner on 2nd if necessary. The catcher could throw to exactly the same spot either way.-- bneal27, May 21 2008 I'm disappointed - I assumed this was going to be a new system of logarithms - perhals the SI equivalent of natural logs..-- MaxwellBuchanan, May 21 2008 random, halfbakery