Scoring Position

In the sport of baseball, a baserunner is said to be in scoring position when he is on second or third base. The distinction between being on first base and second or third base is that a runner on first can usually only score if the batter hits an extra base hit, while a runner on second or third can score on a single. This is also known as "ducks on the pond". Runners left in scoring position refers to the number of runners on second or third base at the end of an inning and is an inverse measure of a team's offensive efficiency.

Many of baseball's "small ball" or "one run" tactics center around attempts to move a runner on first base into scoring position. Such tactics were dominant in the 1890s and the Dead Ball Era, when extra base hits were relatively rare.