The Umpire And His Rules
What is an 'umpire' in baseball?
An umpire is the official who calls balls and strikes while standing behind the home plate who is responsible for calling players "safe" or "out". He is the person in charge of the game.
What does it mean when the umpire yells 'Play' or 'Play ball' in baseball?
When an umpire yells "Play!" or "Play ball!", it means that it's time for the action to begin, or for the play on the field to resume.
What is an 'out' call in baseball?
An “out” call in baseball occurs when a batter fails to get on base safely. You can strike out, you can fly out, you can ground out. There are a variety of ways that a player can be out. Each team gets three outs in its inning.
What is a 'safe' call in baseball?
A player is called safe when he's not tagged out at the base, and he's either scored or he's advanced out to another base.
What constitutes a 'strike' call in baseball?
There are three ways for a strike to be called on a batter: one is for the batter to swing and miss on a pitch, the other is for the pitcher to put the ball over the plate within the strike zone. The third way is for a batter on the first two strikes to hit a foul ball.
What constitutes a 'ball' call in baseball?
A 'ball' is a pitch that falls outside of the strike zone and is not swung at by the batter.
What is the 'strike zone' in baseball?
The strike zone varies slightly from umpire to umpire, but generally it is chest to knees, over the width of the plate.
What constitutes a 'walk' or 'base on balls' in baseball?
A batter is walked when he gets four pitches that are balls. At that point, he gets first base. That's a walk.
What is 'umpire's interference' in baseball?
Interference on the part of an umpire occurs when the umpire gets in the way of the play. When the ball hits him, for example, or he impedes the catcher from throwing the ball.
What is 'spectator interference rule' in baseball?
Fan interference occurs when a fan touches the ball that is in play, or steps in the field during the play.