Batting in a Game

Learn about Batting!

A batter stands in the batter's box, either to the left or right of home plate depending on whether the batter is a left handed hitter or right handed hitter, and the pitcher throws a series of pitches to him. The batter must decide whether to swing the bat in an attempt to hit the ball or not to swing. He must decide in an instant because the pitcher throws the ball very fast. If the ball is in the strike zone, he will swing and hopefully hit the ball. The strike zone is described as the area directly above home plate between the batter's knees and underarms. If the batter swings at a pitched ball, but misses the ball, he is charged with a strike. If he thinks the ball will not be in the strike zone, he will probably choose not to swing. This is called a "ball." A batter may also try to bunt the ball. A bunt is accomplished when the batter holds his bat over home plate and tries to tap the ball very lightly.

If a batter chooses not to swing, perhaps because he thinks the ball is not a good pitch, the umpire at home plate judges whether or not the ball passed through the strike zone. If it did so, the ball is called a strike by the umpire; if the umpire rules that the ball did not pass through the strike zone, he calls it a ball. The count is described as the number of balls and strikes thrown to the batter. The count is always given as balls first then strikes, such as 3 balls, 2 strikes would be a 3, 2 count. The maximum number of strikes is three, and the maximum number of balls is four.

If the batter swings and hits the ball, but the ball does not get into fair territory, it is declared foul and the batter is charged with a strike, except when there are already two strikes on the batter. There is an exception to this. When a ball is bunted foul and the batter already has two strikes, the attempted bunt counts as a third strike.

If the batter hits a ball into foul territory and a member of the defensive team catches it, the batter is out. If the batter tips the ball and the ball goes directly into the catcher's mitt without hitting the ground, it is declared a foul tip.

 

Home- batting cages

If the batter already has two strikes, the batter is out, and is charged with a strikeout. (A strikeout is reported as the letter "K" on the scorekeeper's card.)

There is a rule called the "third strike rule" which is rather complicated. If the catcher catches the ball immediately before it hits the ground, the batter is out. If the ball hits the ground before the catch and if first base is empty, the batter becomes a runner, but can be put out by a tag or forced out at first base. However, if there is a runner already on first base, and there are no outs or one out, then the batter is out.

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