baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

, an assist (denoted by A) is a defensive statistic, baseball being one of the few sports in which the defensive team controls the ball. An assist is credited to every defensive player who fields or touches the ball (after it has been hit by the batter) prior to the recording of a putout, even if the contact was unintentional. For example, if a ball strikes a player's leg and bounces off him to another fielder, who tags the baserunner, the first player is credited with an assist. A fielder can receive a maximum of one assist per out recorded. An assist is also credited if a putout would have occurred, had another fielder not committed an

error An error (from the Latin , meaning 'to wander'Oxford English Dictionary, s.v. “error (n.), Etymology,” September 2023, .) is an inaccurate or incorrect action, thought, or judgement. In statistics, "error" refers to the difference between t ...

. For example, a shortstop might field a ground ball cleanly, but the first baseman might drop his throw. In this case, an error would be charged to the first baseman, and the shortstop would be credited with an assist. If a

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

records a strikeout where the third strike is caught by the catcher, the pitcher is not credited with an assist. However, if the batter becomes a baserunner on a dropped third strike and the pitcher is involved in recording a putout by fielding the ball and either tagging the runner out or throwing to first base for the out, the pitcher is credited with an assist just as any other fielder would be. Assists are an important statistic for

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

s, as a play often occurs when a baserunner on the opposing team attempts to advance on the basepaths when the ball is hit to the outfield (even on a caught fly ball that results in an out; see tag up). It is the outfielder's job to field the ball and make an accurate throw to another fielder who is covering the base before the runner reaches it. The fielder then attempts to tag the runner out. This is especially important if the runner was trying to reach home plate, as the assist and tag prevent the baserunner from scoring a run. Assists are much rarer for outfielders than

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field, between first base and third base. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns pla ...

s (with the exception of first basemen) because the play is harder to make, and also because outfielder assist situations occur less often than the traditional ground-ball assist for a shortstop, second baseman, or third baseman. However, as a result, outfield assists are worth far more than infield assists, and tell more about an outfielder's throwing arm than infielder assists do. In recent years, some sabermetricians have begun referring to assists by outfielders as baserunner kills. Some sabermetricians are also using ''baserunner holds'' as a statistic to measure outfield arms. A baserunner hold occurs when the baserunner does not attempt to advance an extra base on an outfielder out of concern of being thrown out by a strong, accurate throw. This can be combined with baserunner kills for better accuracy, as runners often do not try for an extra base when an outfielder with an excellent arm is playing.

All-time single-season assists leaders by position

First base

# Albert Pujols: 185 ( St. Louis Cardinals, 2009) # Bill Buckner: 184 (

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

, 1985) # Mark Grace: 180 (

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

, 1990) # Mark Grace: 167 (Chicago Cubs, 1991) # Sid Bream: 166 (

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

, 1986) # Bill Buckner: 161 (Chicago Cubs, 1983) # Bill Buckner: 159 (Chicago Cubs, 1982) # Bill Buckner: 157 (Boston Red Sox, 1986) # Todd Helton: 156 (

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. Th ...

, 2003) # Mickey Vernon: 155 (

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

, 1949) Career # Eddie Murray: 1865 # Todd Helton: 1728 # Jeff Bagwell: 1703 # Keith Hernandez: 1682 # Mark Grace: 1665 # George Sisler: 1529 # Mickey Vernon: 1448 # Fred McGriff: 1447 # Albert Pujols: 1429 # Andrés Galarraga: 1376 # Fred Tenney: 1363 # Bill Buckner: 1351 # Jake Beckley: 1315

Second base

# Frankie Frisch: 641 (St. Louis Cardinals, 1927) # Hughie Critz: 588 ( Cincinnati Reds, 1926) # Rogers Hornsby: 582 ( New York Giants, 1927) # Ski Melillo: 572 ( St. Louis Browns, 1930) # Ryne Sandberg: 571 (Chicago Cubs, 1983) # Rabbit Maranville: 568 (Pittsburgh Pirates, 1924) # Frank Parkinson: 562 ( Philadelphia Phillies, 1922) # Tony Cuccinello: 559 ( Boston Braves, 1936) # Johnny Hodapp: 557 (Cleveland Indians, 1930) # Lou Bierbauer: 555 (Pittsburgh Pirates, 1892)

Shortstop

# Ozzie Smith: 621 (

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

, 1980) #

Glenn Wright Forest Glenn Wright (February 6, 1901 – April 6, 1984) was an American professional baseball shortstop. He played in Major League Baseball from 1924 through 1935 for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Brooklyn Dodgers, Brooklyn Robins / Dodgers, and Chic ...

: 601 (Pittsburgh Pirates, 1924) # Dave Bancroft: 598 ( Philadelphia Phillies/New York Giants, 1920) # Tommy Thevenow:597 (St. Louis Cardinals, 1926) # Iván DeJesús: 595 (Chicago Cubs, 1977) # Cal Ripken: 583 ( Baltimore Orioles, 1984) # Whitey Wietelmann: 581 ( Boston Braves, 1943) # Dave Bancroft: 579 (New York Giants, 1922) # Rabbit Maranville: 574 (Boston Braves, 1914) # Don Kessinger: 573 (Chicago Cubs, 1968)

Third base

# Graig Nettles: 412 (Cleveland Indians, 1971) # Graig Nettles: 410 (

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

, 1973) # Brooks Robinson: 410 (Baltimore Orioles, 1974) # Brooks Robinson: 405 (Baltimore Orioles, 1967) # Harlond Clift: 405 (St. Louis Browns, 1937) # Mike Schmidt: 404 (Philadelphia Phillies, 1974) # Doug DeCinces: 399 ( California Angels, 1982) # Brandon Inge: 398 (

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

, 2006) # Clete Boyer: 396 (New York Yankees, 1962) # Mike Schmidt: 396 (Philadelphia Phillies, 1977) # Buddy Bell: 396 ( Texas Rangers, 1982)

Catcher

# Bill Rariden: 238 (Newark Peppers ederal League 1915) # Bill Rariden: 215 (Indianapolis Hoosiers ederal League 1914) # Pat Moran: 214 (Boston Beaneaters ational League 1903) # Oscar Stanage: 212 (Detroit Tigers, 1999) # Art Wilson: 212 (Chicago Whales ederal League 1914) # Gabby Street: 210 ( Washington Senators, 1909) # Frank Snyder:204 (St. Louis Cardinals, 1915) # George Gibson: 203 (Pittsburgh Pirates, 1910) # Bill Bergen: 202 (Brooklyn Superbas, 1909) # Claude Berry: 202 (Pittsburgh Rebels ederal League 1914)

Pitcher

# Ed Walsh: 227 (

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

, 1907) # Will White: 223 (Cincinnati Red Stockings merican Association 1883) # Ed Walsh: 190 (Chicago White Sox, 1908) # Harry Howell: 178 (St. Louis Browns, 1905) # Tony Mullane: 177 (Louisville Eclipse merican Association 1882) # John Clarkson: 174 (Chicago White Stockings ational League 1885) # John Clarkson: 172 (Boston Beaneaters ational League 1889) # Jack Chesbro: 166 (New York Highlanders, 1904) # George Mullin: 163 (Detroit Tigers, 1904) # Ed Walsh: 160 (Chicago White Sox, 1911)

Left field

# Harry Stovey: 38 (

Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, they became the Oakland ...

, 1889) # Jimmy Sheckard: 36 (Brooklyn Superbas, 1903) # Jimmy Sheckard: 32 (Chicago Cubs, 1911) # Tilly Walker: 30 ( St. Louis Browns, 1914) # Duffy Lewis: 29 (Boston Red Sox, 1913) # Duffy Lewis: 28 (Boston Red Sox, 1910) # Max Carey: 27 (Pittsburgh Pirates, 1913) # Duffy Lewis: 27 (Boston Red Sox, 1911) # Bobby Veach: 26 (Detroit Tigers, 1920) # Goose Goslin: 26 (Washington Senators, 1923) # Billy Hamilton: 26 (Philadelphia Phillies, 1890) # Joe Kelley: 26 (Brooklyn Superbas, 1899) # Jimmy Sheckard: 26 (Chicago Cubs, 1912)

Center field

# Hardy Richardson: 45 (Buffalo Bisons, 1881) # Charlie Duffee: 43 (St. Louis Browns, 1889) # Jim Fogarty: 42 (Philadelphia Quakers, 1889) # Tom Brown: 39 (Louisville Colonels, 1893) # Tom Brown: 37 (Louisville Colonels, 1892) # Jimmy Ryan: 36 (Chicago White Stockings, 1889)

Right field

# Orator Shafer: 50 (Chicago White Stockings, 1879) # Hugh Nicol: 48 (St. Louis Browns, 1884) # Chuck Klein: 44 (Philadelphia Phillies, 1930) # Tommy McCarthy: 44 (St. Louis Browns, 1888) # Jimmy Bannon: 43 (Boston Beaneaters, 1894) # Orator Shafer: 41 (Buffalo Bisons, 1883) # Jim Lillie: 41 (Buffalo Bisons, 1884) # Mike Mitchell: 39 (Cincinnati Reds, 1907) # Jim Fogarty: 39 (Philadelphia Quakers, 1887) # Tommy McCarthy: 38 (St. Louis Browns, 1888) # King Kelly: 38 (Chicago White Stockings, 1883)

References

External links

MLB.com
– MLB Official Rules – The Official Scorer {{DEFAULTSORT:Assist (Baseball) Fielding statistics

Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...