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Baseball Rules and Regulations
This category is for questions regarding the rules and regulations of baseball which includes asking about rules on safe and out calls, error calls, home run calls and much more.
3,260 Questions
What is a foul tip in baseball?
A foul tip is a ball tipped by the bat that goes directly to the catcher's glove and is caught in the air. It is treated exactly the same as any other strike. The ball remains live.
Runner on base advance after a fly ball catch in foul territory?
yes, but runner must not advance to next base until ball is caught by defensive player.
What happens if a fly ball is caught before it touches the ground?
In the event of a batted ball being hit on the fly and was caught by an Infielder or Outfielder on the fly before it hit the ground, it will be ruled as a Fly Out and in the event of there being no outs, one out or two outs and in the event of there being runners on base, runners will have to return to their original bases prior to the pitched ball before they can advance to the next base.
There is no rule that addresses a batter throwing the bat. It's a safety issue that the umpire must use his judgment on.
What is the call when a batter who just walked picks up the loose ball with runners on base?
Assuming the catcher is near home plate, the runner has to slide. If he doesn't and knocks the catcher down he is out. If the catcher is up the baseline and is waiting to make the tag the runner would be called out for crashing into him. If the slide knocks the catcher down, the outcome of the play would depend on whether the catcher maintained control of the ball during the tag and whether the runner touched home plate.
If a batter is tagged out going to first are all other runners forced to run?
Answer:
Once the batter is tagged out the runner can return to 1st base, however, until the batter is out, the runner at 1st is required to advance to 2nd (if he prefers, i guess he could just stand on 1st base, but he would not be safe, as 1st base would belong to the runner until he is out) ----- now further into question.. the above answer would refer to a batted ball where the batter put the ball in play with a swing or bunt -- if you are referring to a dropped 3rd strike -- if a runner is on 1st and there are less then 2 outs, the batter cannot advance on a dropped 3rd strike, he is just out --- if there were 2 outs in this situation.. once he is tagged out the half inning is over so what the guy does at 1st base is irrelevant
Is a ball considered fair or foul if it hits homeplate first?
Home plate is considered in fair territory. If the ball hits home plate and rolls into foul territory, the ball is foul. If the ball hits home plate and rolls into fair territory, the ball is fair.
Yes, because the ball remains live, and stealing is allowed in baseball, except often at about the 10-year-olds-and-under levels. The umpire is not supposed to grant a timeout until a walked player has reached first base, and it is obvious no plays are imminent anywhere, but if he does, that would disallow any advancement beyond the award. A common example of when a player may want to attempt extra bases would be if the fourth ball is also a wild pitch or passed ball that gets well passed the catcher.
Is it fair or foul if a ball bounces over first or third into foul ground?
it will be ruled fair
AnswerIt it rolls fair before third base an no one's touched it before it does, it's a fair ball.It would be foul
further clarification:
If the ball hits or rolls into 3rd base it would also be a fair ball
If it is not forced out what must happen to a base runner to be called out in softball?
Not sure about all six, but the batter can be out if (s)he bunts foul on strike two (this is actually a strikeout), steps on the plate while bunting the ball, steps on the plate while hitting the ball, hits the ball when it is determined that the batter is out of the batter's box, touches the ball in fair territory with the body while out of the batters box, is hit by a throw to first from behind if not running in the outlined base running area between home and first, is hit by a pitch that is in the strike zone if (s)he intentionally positions a part of the body in a way that results in the ball hitting him/her.
Why is the strike K sometimes backwards in baseball?
The "K" is placed backwards in cases where the batter strikes out looking.
What is the place called where the next batter up stands?
it depends on if your left handed or right handed and how fast or slow the pitcher is throwing
if you are right handed while facing the pitcher you stand on the left side of the batters box. right side if you are left handed.
if it is a fast pitcher stand toward the back of the box to give yourself more time to read the pitch and swing at the ball. slower pitcher towards the front of the box
if you are bunting stand in the front so if the ball goes straight down it wont hit the plate
Is a runner out if hit by batted ball while standing on a base?
From the official rule book Rule 7.08: the runner is out if "He is touched by a fair ball in fair territory before the ball has touched or passed an infielder. The ball is dead and no runner may score, nor runners advance, except runners forced to advance. EXCEPTION: If a runner is touching his base when touched by an Infield Fly, he is not out, although the batter is out;
Rule 7.08(f) Comment: If two runners are touched by the same fair ball, only the first one is out because the ball is instantly dead.
If runner is touched by an Infield Fly when he is not touching his base, both runner
and batter are out."
Rule 7.09 is also relevant. The runner is not out if 1) the ball was first deflected by a fielder or 2) if the umpire is convinced that the ball went through or past the fielder untouched, and in the umpire's judgment no other infielder had the chance to make a play on the ball.If, in the judgment of the umpire, the runner deliberately and intentionally kicks such a batted ball on which the infielder has missed a play, then the runner shall be called out for interference."
However, if in the umpire's judgment the runner intentionally kicks the batted ball, the runner shall be called out for interference.
If a runner is touched by a batted ball in foul territory he is not out though.
When a batter swings at a pitcher and misses it?
If the batter swings and the ball hits anywhere but the bat the pitch is called a strike. Even if it hits the person batting, while swinging, but if he is bunting and gets hit it is not a strike There is no rule that states that if a batter is attempting to bunt and a pitched ball hits him that the pitch is anything but a strike. In short, if a batter is hit during any type of swing, the pitch is ruled a strike.
The runner is out, the ball is dead,all runners return to their original base, and the batter receives a base hit
AnswerThe batter is awarded a singleAdded information: This was recently (past few years) changed. Now, the batter is awarded a base hit only if the official scorer judges that the ball would have been a hit had it not touched a runner. Otherwise the batter is on base with a fielder's choice!
improvement:
The official scoring is single, and the runner is out (unassited putout awarded to the nearest fielder)
How far is the second base from home plate?
If you are measuring from the center of the bag from behind the point of the plate it is 127.279 feet, so just a hair over 127 feet 3 inches. Obviously you can measure from different points of the base, however, on 90 ft base paths this is your answer.
Do baseball players get paid when suspended?
For some players, like Manny Ramirez and Alex Rodriguez, it's every month. Others is a yearly thing though.
If a batter hits a pitch that was thrown into the dirt and gets on base is that considered a hit?
Yes it is a hit. If the ball bounces off a car three miles away and come back in the strike zone the batter can hit it. If he doesn't it is a strike. As long as it gets to the batter it is playable unless it hits the batter.
AnswerOfficial baseball rules, definitions of terms section 2.00: A ball is a pitch which does not enter the strike zone in flight and is not struck at by the batter. If the pitch touches the ground and bounces through the strike zone it is a "ball." If such a pitch touches the batter, he shall be awarded first base. If the batter hits such a pitch, the ensuing action shall be the same as if he hit the ball in flight.That first answer is so far off base it isn't even funny -- as soon as it hits the dirt it can only be a strike if the batter swings -- this isn't crickett
Can a player throw his glove at a baseball?
MLB Rule 7.05(c) rules about throwing a glove at a fair ball: Each runner including the batter-runner may, without liability to be put out, advance
" Three bases, if a fielder deliberately throws his glove at and touches a fair ball. The ball is in play and the batter may advance to home base at his peril ".
MLB Rule 7.05(e) rules about throwing a glove at a thrown ball:
Each runner including the batter-runner may, without liability to be put out, advance " Two bases, if a fielder deliberately throws his glove at and touches a thrown ball. The ball is in play;
"
What is sacrifice in baseball?
When a batter gives himself up to move a runner from one base to the next. Technically it is supposed to be an intentional act, but the official scorekeepers generally give the batter the benefit of any doubt.
What are the dimensions of a baseball home plate?
Home plate is an irregular pentagon. The front is 17 inches wide, faces the pitcher, and defines the width of the strike zone. Then parallel sides 8.5 inches long connect to the foul lines. Finally 12 inch sides run down the foul lines, connecting where the foul lines meet.
It can be thought of as a 17 inch square with the parts that would be in foul territory removed.
It is probably more conceptually correct (though more geometrically difficult) to picture it as follows:
- Start with a standard 12 inch square base, whose back corner forms the meeting point of the 2 foul lines, and whose front corner points to the pitcher.
- The square has a 17 inch diagonal parallel to the pitching rubber. Draw another 17 inch line, parallel to this one, using the front corner of the square base as the line's center. Fill in the rectangle defined by these two 17 inch lines.
Thus you're left with a 17 inch by 8.5 inch rectangle facing the pitcher on a 12 inch square whose exposed sides point to first and third base. The rectangle defines the strike zone. The square defines fair territory and the placement of the bases.
Note: The figure described in the official rules of MLB, as well as above, is technically impossible. One of two things must be true to make it possible:
- the parallel sides of 8.5" are in reality approximately 8.5295" (the square root of 71.75)
- or the 12" sides that run along the foul lines are approximately 12.0208" (square root of 144.5)
What are the way a batter can get a strike called on her?
The ball passing through the strike zone. The batter making an attempt to hit the ball by swinging or making a bunt offer at the pitch. The ball striking the bat and not the player even if the batter made no attempt to hit the ball. The ball being hit by the batter into foul territory. The last way is seldom called but once a pitcher steps on the rubber and is ready to pitch the batter has 10 seconds to get in the batters box and be ready to hit if not a strike can be called.
