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 ...

and

softball Softball is a Variations of baseball, variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand pitches (where the ball is released while the hand is primarily below the ball) ...

, the count is the number of balls and strikes the batter has. If the count reaches three strikes, the batter strikes out; if the count reaches four balls, the batter earns a

base on balls A base on balls (BB), better known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches during a plate appearance that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The bas ...

(a "walk").

Usage

The count is usually announced as a pair of numbers, for example, 3–1 (pronounced as "three and one"), the number of balls followed by the number of strikes. Zero is almost always pronounced as "oh". The count is often used as adjective—an individual pitch may be referred to by the count prior to its delivery; for example, a pitch thrown on a 3–1 count is a "three-one pitch" or a "three-and-one pitch". A count of 0–0 is rarely stated; the count is typically not mentioned until at least one pitch has been thrown. A count of 1–1 or 2–2 may be described as ''even''. A count of 3–2 is ''full'', which is discussed below. The home plate

umpire 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 , , and , : (as evidenced in cricke ...

signals the count with the number of balls on the left hand, and the number of strikes on the right hand. (As a result, it reads backwards when viewed from the

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, ...

's point of view.) Individual umpires vary in how frequently they give this signal; it is often done as a reminder when there has been a slight delay between pitches, such as due to the batter stepping out of the

batter's box A baseball field, also called a ball field or baseball diamond, is the playing field, field upon which the game of baseball is played. The term can also be used as a metonym for a baseball park. The term sandlot is sometimes used, although this ...

. It can also signal the

scoreboard A scoreboard is a large board for publicly displaying the score (sport), score in a game. Most levels of sport from high school and above use at least one scoreboard for keeping score, measuring time, and displaying statistics. Scoreboards i ...

operator that the board shows an incorrect count. Some umpires may also call out the count, although usually only the batter and

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

can hear it.

Significance

Baseball statistics Baseball statistics include a variety of metrics used to evaluate player and team performance in the sport of baseball. Because the flow of a baseball game has natural breaks to it, and player activity is characteristically distinguishable ind ...

measure which counts are most likely to produce favorable outcomes for the pitcher or the batter. Counts of 3–1 and 2–0 are considered advantageous to batters ("hitters' counts"), because the pitcher—faced with the possibility of

walking Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined as an " inverted pendulum" gait in which the body vaults o ...

the batter—is more likely to throw a ball in the

strike zone In baseball, the strike zone is the area of space through which a pitch must pass in order to be called a strike even if the batter does not swing. The strike zone is defined as the volume of space above home plate and between the batter's kne ...

, particularly a

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch (baseball), pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. Its distinctive feature is its high speed. "Power pitchers," such as former major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, relied on the ...

. Counts with two strikes (except 3–2) are considered advantageous to pitchers ("pitchers' counts"). An 0–2 count is very favorable to a pitcher, who has the freedom to throw one or two pitches out of the strike zone intentionally, to get the batter to "chase" the pitch (swing at it), and

strike out In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safel ...

. A 3–0 count tends to yield fewer hittable pitches, perhaps because the umpire is reluctant to call four straight balls and may tolerate a fourth pitch that barely misses the strike zone. Batters often "take" (do not swing at) a 3–0 pitch, since the pitcher has missed the strike zone three straight times already, and a fourth would earn the batter a walk. This is a sound strategy because the batter is more likely to eventually reach base even if the count becomes 3–1 than he is if he puts the ball in play on 3–0.Bickel, J. Eric. 2009. On the decision to take a pitch. Decision Anal. 6(3) 186–193. It is sometimes also advantageous to take on 2–0 and 3–1.

Full count

A 3–2 count is called a full count and the ensuing pitch is called a "payoff pitch", since a mistake by either the pitcher or the batter ends the

plate appearance In baseball, a player is credited with a plate appearance (denoted by PA) each time he completes a turn batting. Under Rule 5.04(c) of the Official Baseball Rules, a player completes a turn batting when he is put out or becomes a runner. This ha ...

. The payoff pitch is not necessarily the final pitch in the plate appearance, as a batter may maintain two strikes indefinitely by hitting

foul ball In 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 ...

s. The full count term may derive from older scoreboards, which had spaces (rather than numerals) to denote up to three balls and up to two strikes. Many scoreboards still use light bulbs for this purpose; thus a 3–2 count means that all the bulbs are lit. The alternate term full house (more commonly used in softball) is inspired by the

full house ''Full House'' is an American television sitcom created by Jeff Franklin for American Broadcasting Company, ABC. The show is about the recently widowed father Danny Tanner who enlists his brother-in-law Jesse Katsopolis and childhood best friend ...

hand in

poker Poker is a family of Card game#Comparing games, comparing card games in which Card player, players betting (poker), wager over which poker hand, hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, with varying rules i ...

, consisting of three of a kind and a

pair Pair or PAIR or Pairing may refer to: Government and politics * Pair (parliamentary convention), matching of members unable to attend, so as not to change the voting margin * ''Pair'', a member of the Prussian House of Lords * ''Pair'', the Fren ...

. With two outs and a full count, any baserunners who might be forced out start to run toward the next base at the moment the pitcher begins to deliver the pitch. This is because either the batter will walk (awarding such runners the next base), strike out to end the inning, foul off the pitch (allowing runners to return to their original bases), or put the ball into play.

History

The full count was not always 3–2, and went through an evolution in the 1870s and 1880s, seeing a gradual reduction in balls allowed before a

bases on balls A base on balls (BB), better known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches during a plate appearance that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The bas ...

was called. Prior to , fouls were not counted as strikes (though foul bunts were, onwards from ).

Notes

References

{{Baseball Batting (baseball) Pitching (baseball) Baseball terminology