
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 several Pitch ...
, on-deck refers to being next in line to
bat
Bats are flying mammals of the order Chiroptera (). With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most birds, flying with their very long spread-out ...
. In a professional game, the batter who is on deck traditionally waits in a location in the
foul territory
In baseball, a foul ball is a batted ball that:
* Settles on foul territory between home and first base or between home and third base, or
* Bounces and then goes past first or third base on or over foul territory, or
* Has its first bounce occu ...
called the on-deck circle.
Being ''on-deck'' only guarantees the batter will get a chance to bat in the inning if there are fewer than two outs, and the number of outs plus the number of
baserunners (including the one at bat) adds up to fewer than three, because a
double play
In baseball and softball, a double play (denoted as DP in baseball statistics) is the act of making two outs during the same continuous play. Double plays can occur any time there is at least one baserunner and fewer than two outs.
In Major Le ...
or
triple play
In baseball or softball, a triple play (denoted as TP in baseball statistics) is the act of making three out (baseball), outs during the same play. There have only been 739 triple plays in Major League Baseball (MLB) since 1876, an average of ju ...
could occur. Additionally, the
manager
Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...
reserves the right to pull the on-deck hitter for a
substitute at his discretion.
The player next in line to bat following the on-deck batter is colloquially referred to as being ''
in-the-hole''.
On-deck circles

There are two on-deck circles in the field, one for each team, positioned in foul ground between home plate and the respective teams' benches. The on-deck circle is where the next scheduled batter, or "on-deck" batter, warms up while waiting for the current batter to finish his turn. The on-deck circle is either an area composed of bare dirt; a plain circle painted onto artificial turf; or often, especially at the professional level, made from artificial material, with a team or league logo painted onto it.
According to
Major League Baseball rules
Major most commonly refers to:
* Major (rank), a military rank
* Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits
* People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames
* Major and minor in music ...
and
NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...
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 ...
rules, there are two on-deck circles (one near each team's
dugout). Each circle is in diameter, and the centers of the circles are apart. A straight line drawn between the centers of the two on-deck circles should pass behind home plate.
In the Official Baseball Rules published by Major League Baseball, the on-deck circle is referred to as the "next batter's box".
Significance in save situations
A
relief pitcher
In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who pitches in the game after the starting pitcher or another relief pitcher has been removed from the game due to fatigue (medical), fatigue, injury, ineffectiveness, ejection ...
who comes in to pitch when his team is ahead can earn a
save if the tying run is either on base, at bat, ''or on-deck'', and the pitcher then finishes the game without giving up the lead.
References
External links
*
{{Baseball
Baseball terminology
Baseball fields