What is a double-play?

A double-play in baseball is when two outs are made during a single play. Double-plays can occur when the ball is thrown strategically to get two plays out. Double-plays are very common during a baseball game. An example of a double-play would be if a batter hits a ground ball or if the batter hits the ball in the air. A double play is often referred to as a "turning two" or a twin killing. Double plays are what the fielding team wants to achieve and what the batting team wants to avoid. It is easier for the fielding team to win a game of baseball if they utilize double-plays to their advantage. Double-plays are helpful in helping keeping pitcher’s pitch counts down by getting multiple outs with a single pitch.

Pitchers who excel at double-plays are those who are accustomed to keeping the ball low in the strike zone. This is a very specific fantasy baseball strategy that takes a good amount of research and analysis to properly deploy. But when the research is spot on, the results are incredible. The reasoning behind this is quite intuitive. When a pitcher is able to deploy more double-plays, they are able to keep their pitch count lower.

Also, these double-plays happen when there is at least one runner on base. This means it allows pitchers to get out of tough situations while limiting damage and using fewer pitches in the at-bat and the overall game. The most common double play in the scorebook is referred to as a 6-4-3 double play. This play is executed by a ground ball coming to the shortstop where he flips the ball to the second baseman, getting one out, and then he fires the ball to the first baseman, getting the second out. That is not the only possible double play combination. An even more useful doubleplay is one where an outfielder is able to catch a runner trying to tag-up on a teammate's sacrifice fly. These are harder to come by but can be even more beneficial to their team’s pitcher because it allows them to get out of an even harder jam. The main goal in picking pitchers for fantasy baseball is to get long starts while limiting the earned runs they give up. A double-play is one of the few plays that allows pitchers to accomplish this with a single pitch.

Leo Aranas is an online writer and blogger.