Fox broadcaster John Smoltz kept calling for it during the World Series: “This would be the perfect time for a safety squeeze.”

You’d be forgiven for being confused if you don’t watch baseball all year.

Especially in modern baseball, there isn’t a lot of talk of the safety squeeze.

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What is a safety squeeze?

A safety squeeze is a type of bunt that happens in baseball when there is a runner on third base.

It’s a more conservative version of the suicide squeeze bunt.

A suicide squeeze requires the runner on third to take off stealing on the pitch and for the batter to bunt, no matter where the pitch is, to protect the moving runner. If the ball gets down fair, the runner will score.

But a safety squeeze doesn’t have the runner moving on the pitch.

It’s safer for two reasons. The batter can take the pitch, and the runner doesn’t have to go.

If the pitch is a ball, the batter can pull his bunt attempt back.

And if the bunt goes too quickly to a fielder, the runner doesn’t have to take off from third.

In a low-scoring game, a safety squeeze bunt by a lighter hitter can be a good call. It avoids a strikeout and gives a solid chance to get a runner home. It also avoids any chance of a double play.

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