Rules

Is a bobble an error if the runner would’ve been safe?

The call

If the runner would have been safe even on a clean play, it's a hit. It often looks like an error, but the fielder was usually rushing because he had little or no chance anyway.

Slow roller to third. The third baseman charges, the ball kicks off the heel of his glove, and he picks it up and throws. The batter’s safe by two steps, and the scorekeeper writes “E-5.”

Stop and think about the play first. Would a clean one have gotten the out?

If the answer is no, it’s a hit. A slow roller that a fast runner beats out is a hit whether the third baseman fields it cleanly or not. The book defines an error as a misplay that lets the batter reach or a runner advance, so it has to COST something. If he was reaching anyway, the bobble didn’t let him do anything. He beat the ball (and he earned the hit).

If the answer is yes, it’s an error. If it’s a routine grounder to short with plenty of time and he boots it, a clean play gets the out. The misplay is the reason the batter reached.

Slow isn’t an error. The book says slow handling without a mechanical misplay is not an error. A third baseman who fields the slow roller cleanly but takes too long to throw, or throws late because he double-pumped, didn’t make an error. The batter has a hit. And if a fielder bobbles it, picks it up and still gets the out, there’s no error at all.

Why scorekeepers get it wrong. It looks like an error. The ball comes out of the glove, and they write an E before they look at first base. But why did he bobble it? Often it’s because he was rushing — he knew the runner was fast and that he had almost no chance. So he tried to field and throw in one motion.

He was trying to make a play that wasn’t there, and that should be scored a hit.

This is the most common unfair error in youth ball, and it hits two players at once. The batter loses a hit he earned, and the fielder gets an error on a play he probably wasn’t making anyway.

Which rulebook? Official Baseball Rules 9.05(a): a base hit when the batter reaches safely on a ball a fielder couldn't turn into an out with ordinary effort. 9.12(a)(1): an error is a misplay that prolongs an at-bat or lets a runner reach or advance. The comment: slow handling that isn't a mechanical misplay is not an error, such as fielding cleanly and throwing late. 9.12(d)(4): no error if the fielder recovers in time to force a runner.

Would you have gotten this call right?

The runner on second misses third base on his way home and scores. The pitcher throws the next pitch before the defense does anything. Can they still appeal?

Still have a question? Ask Coach Fungo.

Coach Fungo says

“Look at first base before you write down an E.”

— Coach Fungo

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Rules

Appeal play: missed bases and early tag-ups

A runner who misses a base or leaves early on a tag-up isn't out until the defense appeals. We have to do it the right way, and we have to do it before the next pitch.

“The whole park saw him miss second. If you don't appeal before the next pitch, it never happened.”

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Rules