[Syd Thrift]

No, that’s wrong. A runner on the hit and run isn’t really trying to steal. They make their jump relatively late so that the defense doesn’t have time to react and tries to take advantage of the confusion. On the other hand if the batter misses the pitch the runner is a dead duck. A run and hit, which was popularized by Earl Weaver, involves the runner making the jump and trying to steal if he gets it and the batter trying to hit if he sees his pitch. The latter is more of a “green light with the batter swinging away”.

I think the hit and run was far, far more popular at the end of the 19th century and during the Deadball Era than it is now because players have more hours of baseball nowadays and are less likely to be confused. Bill James has also said he thinks “strategy” elements like this and the bunt (especially the squeeze play) were more common because they represented a way to improve team cohesion. Also of course batters definitely strike out way more often and thus whiff way more often on individual pitches. That said, it did have a resurgence in the 70s, particularly by the Indians, although there it should be noted that the Indians did not have a particularly strong offense and got caught stealing a lot.