In
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...
, a
baserunner is safe when he reaches a
base without being put
out by various ways. While a runner is touching a base, he is usually not in jeopardy of being put out, and is thus "safe" from fielders' actions, such as
tags. The runner is in jeopardy once again, negating this safety, when:
* he ceases touching the base
* he is forced to reach another base on a
force play or when
tagging up
* a runner further along the basepath legally returns to the base that he is touching (two runners on the same base)
* he commits
interference
Interference is the act of interfering, invading, or poaching. Interference may also refer to:
Communications
* Interference (communication), anything which alters, modifies, or disrupts a message
* Adjacent-channel interference, caused by extr ...
.
By the
rules
Rule or ruling may refer to:
Education
* Royal University of Law and Economics (RULE), a university in Cambodia
Human activity
* The exercise of political or personal control by someone with authority or power
* Business rule, a rule pert ...
, a runner is safe when he is entitled to the base he is trying for.
Umpires
An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection.
The term derives from the Old French nonper, ''non'', "not" and ''per'', ...
will signal that a runner is safe by extending their elbows to their sides and then extending their arms fully to the side. For emphasis, an umpire may fully cross and extend his arms several times to indicate safe. Verbally, the umpire will usually simply say "safe". If a close play occurs that may have appeared to be a
putout, the umpire will also call a reason for the safe call, such as "he dropped the ball" or "he missed the tag".
Calling safe is a subjective decision which is better made using the sounds of the runner hitting the bag and the fielder catching the ball, rather than by sight.
See also
*
Tie goes to the runner
*
Batsman in his/her ground, the cricket equivalent
References
{{Baseball
Baseball terminology
Baseball rules