In baseball, the squeeze play is a technique invented by New York Yankees manager Jake Reid in the 1931 World Series. It consists of a sacrifice bunt with a runner on third and fewer than two outs. The batter bunts the ball, expecting to be thrown out at first base, but hoping that the runner from third will be able to score. This article is about the sport. ... In baseball, a sacrifice hit is the act of deliberately striking the ball in a manner that allows a runner on base to advance to another base, while the batter is himself put out. ... A Little League baseball player squares around to bunt. ...

In a safety squeeze, the runner at third does not take off until the batter makes contact, waiting for more certainty that the ball will go to a location from which it will be difficult for the fielding team to make a play at the plate. In a suicide squeeze, the runner takes off during the pitch, even before the pitcher has released the ball. This will likely make a play at the plate impossible if the batter makes any kind of contact at all, but it means that the runner will almost certainly be out if the batter fails to make contact. Hence the batter must try to hit the ball, even if the pitch is wildly out of the strike zone, so this play requires a more skilled bunter.

These plays may be used in the late innings of a close game in order to score a winning or tying run.

2004 NLCS

A good example of the suicide squeeze occurred in Game 7 of the 2004 National League Championship Series between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Houston Astros, played October 21, 2004. [1] In the bottom of the third inning, Cardinals second baseman Tony Womack doubled to start off the inning and then advanced to third base when catcher Mike Matheny grounded out to the Astros' first baseman, Jeff Bagwell. In Major League Baseball, the National League Championship Series (NLCS) determines who wins the National League pennant and advances to baseballs championship, the World Series, facing the winner of the American League Championship Series. ... Major league affiliations National League (1892–present) Central Division (1994–present) Current uniform Retired Numbers 1, 2, 6, 9, 14, 17, 20, 42, 42, 45, 85 Name St. ... Major league affiliations National League (1962–present) Central Division (1994–present) Current uniform Retired Numbers 5, 24, 25, 32, 33, 34, 40, 42, 49 Name Houston Astros (1965–present) Houston Colt . ... is the 294th day of the year (295th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Inning is a town in the district of Erding in Bavaria in Germany. ... The position of the second baseman Second base redirects here. ... Anthony Darrell Tony Womack (born September 25, 1969, in Danville, Virginia) is a professional Major League Baseball player, currently a free agent. ... In baseball, a double is the act of a batter safely reaching second base by striking the ball and getting to second before being made out, without the benefit of a fielders misplay (see error) or another runner being put out on a fielders choice. ... The position of the third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in the sport of baseball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base, the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in a counterclockwise succession in order to score a run. ... The position of the catcher Catcher is also a general term for a fielder who catches the ball in cricket. ... Michael Scott Matheny (born September 22, 1970 in Reynoldsburg, Ohio) is a catcher in Major League Baseball for the San Francisco Giants. ... The position of the first baseman First base redirects here. ... Jeffrey Robert Bagwell (born May 27, 1968) is a former Major League Baseball first baseman, who spent his entire major league baseball career with the Houston Astros. ...

The next batter for the Cardinals was pitcher Jeff Suppan. The first pitch to Suppan from the Astros' Roger Clemens was hardly even in the air when Womack sprinted towards home plate. Suppan laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt that took a slow roll along the first base line. Bagwell came in to field the ball, but by the time he reached it, it was too late for him to stop Womack. His only play was to throw out Suppan at first base (which was being covered by the second baseman, Jeff Kent) as Womack scored. Barry Bonds batting Photo:Agência Brasil In baseball, batting is the act of facing the opposing pitcher and trying to produce offense for ones team. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Jeffrey Scot Suppan (born January 2, 1975, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma), is a Major League Baseball pitcher for the Milwaukee Brewers. ... The typical motion of a pitcher In baseball, a pitch is the act of throwing a baseball toward home plate to start a play. ... William Roger Clemens (born August 4, 1962, in Dayton, Ohio), is a starting pitcher for the New York Yankees, and is one of the preeminent pitchers in Major League history. ... Home plate is the final base in baseball and related games that a player must touch to score. ... The position of the first baseman First base, or 1B, is the first of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a base runner in order to score a run for that players team. ... The position of the second baseman Second base redirects here. ... Jeffrey Franklin Kent (born March 7, 1968 in Bellflower, California) is a Major League Baseball player for the Los Angeles Dodgers and a former MVP winner. ...

Paradise by the Dashboard Light

In the baseball portion of Meat Loaf's classic song "Paradise by the Dashboard Light", Phil Rizzuto erroneously refers to the runner's attempt to score from third base on a bunt as a suicide squeeze even though at the start of the passage he indicates that there's "two down, nobody on, no score, bottom of the ninth". With two outs, the fielder can simply throw to first for the third out and not worry about the runner coming home. This article is about the singer. ... Paradise By the Dashboard Light is the second hit single by the American musician Meat Loaf, after Two Out of Three Aint Bad. It is a track off his 1977 album Bat Out of Hell, which was entirely written and composed by Jim Steinman. ... Philip Francis Rizzuto (September 25, 1917 – August 13, 2007), nicknamed The Scooter, was an American shortstop in Major League Baseball who spent his entire career from 1941 to 1956 with the New York Yankees. ...