Batted ball

In the sports of baseball and softball, a batted ball is a pitch that has been contacted by the batter's bat. Batted balls are either fair or foul, and can be characterized as a fly ball, pop-up, line drive, or ground ball. In baseball, a foul ball counts as a strike against the batter, unless there are already two strikes on the batter, with special rules applying to foul tips and foul bunts. Fly balls are those hit in an arcing manner, with pop-ups being a subset of fly balls that do not travel far. Line drives are batted balls hit on a straight line trajectory, while ground balls are hit at a low trajectory, contact the ground shortly after being hit, and then either roll or bounce. Batted balls, especially line drives, can present a hazard to players, umpires, and spectators, as people have been seriously injured or killed after being struck by batted balls.

On the playing field, two straight lines (each known as a foul line) are drawn from the corner of home plate; one past first base and one past third base. The foul lines extend all the way to the outer limit of the outfield, typically a wall or fence, and perpendicularly up the wall or fence. The entire area between foul lines, including the foul lines themselves, is considered fair territory; anything not in fair territory is considered foul territory.

In general, batted balls are judged by where they land (first contact the ground) or are first touched by a player. That is, a batted ball landing in fair territory or first touched by a player in fair territory is fair, while a batted ball landing in foul territory or first touched by a player in foul territory is foul. However, batted balls that have not yet reached first base or third base are judged on either where they are initially touched by a player or where they come to rest. For example, if a batted ball lands in foul territory between home and first base, then rolls into fair territory, and is touched there (or comes to rest there) it is fair. Likewise, if a batted ball lands in fair territory between home and first base, then rolls into foul territory, and is touched there (or comes to rest there), it is foul.

That a batted ball hit into the ground has to pass first base or third base in fair territory to be considered fair originated in response to "fair-foul" hitting of the 1860s and 1870s. Batters would intentionally hit the ball into the ground in fair territory near home plate, at an angle that would send it into foul territory away from the fielders, allowing the batter to reach first base successfully. Dickey Pearce, a well-known and respected player of the era, is credited with inventing the tactic.

Fielders can attempt to make an out by catching any ball hit in the air, fair or foul, as long as it is still in play. Balls that leave the field of play, such as by going into spectator areas or the dugouts, are out of play. For balls on the ground, fielders can attempt to make an out on fair balls only.

A batted ball that clears the outfield fence in fair territory is a home run. Since 1931, whether such a batted ball is fair or foul is judged on its position when it leaves the field (that is, where it is as it passes over the outfield fence or wall). Previously, the ball had to be "fair when last seen" to be ruled a home run. Also since 1931, the ball must clear the fence or wall on the fly to be a home run; previously, the ball could bounce over and still be considered a home run—such a batted ball is now an automatic double.

A foul ball normally counts as a strike unless the batter already has had two strikes assessed against them, in which case the count does not change. Treating foul balls as strikes was adopted by the National League in 1901 and the American League in 1903. There are specific rules for foul tips and foul bunts, which are described below. In slow-pitch softball, a foul ball always counts as a strike, even when the batter already has two strikes.

Major League Baseball (MLB) uses four characterizations for all batted balls put into play: