Major League Baseball oversees the rules for professional baseball, and these rules are adopted by most amateur and youth baseball leagues. MLB rules forbid one player from passing another when running around the bases, and breaking this rule can have game-altering consequences for the batting team.
Base Running
When running around the bases, a runner must touch first, second, third and home bases, in that order. If a runner fails to touch a base, he has to go back to it and make contact before he can proceed to the next base. With multiple base runners, each player has to touch the bases in turn and can't go past a preceding runner. If one player passes a teammate while the ball is alive, the passing runner is automatically out, but the preceding player is not. Similarly, two players cannot occupy the same base. In instances when this occurs, the preceding player is awarded the base and the following player is out. However, if the preceding player had already been called out in either situation, such as by a tag, the automatic out does not occur, and the passing runner is still in play.
Home Runs
The automatic out also occurs in the event of a home run. Normally, when a home run is hit, all base runners proceed around the bases and a run is scored for each of those players. However, if one player passes another during a home run lap when there were already two outs in the inning, the pass counts as a third out, ending the inning. Only the players who had reached home base before the pass occurred score runs. With fewer than two outs, the passing runner is still out, but the remaining runners may complete the trip around the bases. This rule holds true even when the hit would have been a game-winning home run in the bottom of the ninth inning or an extra inning.
Scoring
Every out in baseball is credited to a fielder on the defending team, even if that player didn't actively take part in making the out. In the case of an out made when a base runner was passed by another runner, the out is given to the fielder who was closest to the runners when the passing occurred.
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