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) ...

, a tag out, sometimes just called a tag, is a play in which a baserunner is

out Out or OUT may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films *Out (1957 film), ''Out'' (1957 film), a documentary short about the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 *Out (1982 film), ''Out'' (1982 film), an American film directed by Eli Hollander *O ...

because a fielder touches him with the ball or with the hand or glove holding the ball, while the ball is

live Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film * ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film * ''Live'' (2023 film), a Malayalam-language film *'' Live: Phát Trực Tiếp'', a Vietnamese-langua ...

and the runner is in jeopardy of being put out (usually when he is not touching a base). A baserunner is in jeopardy when any of the following are true: Nate Freiman on defense

# he is not touching a base (excluding overrunning of

first base A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

or when advancing to an awarded base, such as on 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 ...

) # he is touching a base he has been forced to vacate because the batter became a baserunner (a forced runner) # he has not tagged up on a caught fly ball # he failed to touch a base when he last passed it, or failed to touch them in order # he is touching a base that a preceding baserunner is also touching (excludes touching a base he was forced to advance to, in which case the preceding baserunner is in jeopardy unless also forced to advance to an awarded base) A tag is therefore the most common way to retire baserunners who are not in danger of being forced out, though a forced runner may also be tagged out in lieu of stepping on the forced base. Additionally, a tag out can be used on an

appeal play In baseball, an appeal play occurs when a member of the defensive team calls the attention of an umpire to an infraction that they would otherwise ignore. Appeal play situations A runner shall be called out, after a successful live ball appeal, i ...

Overview

Runners attempting to advance are sometimes thrown out, which means that a fielder throws the ball to someone covering the base, who then tags the runner before he touches the base. A runner who leads off a base (advances before the pitch is thrown) too far might be picked off; that is, the pitcher throws to a fielder covering the base, who then tags the runner out. When a runner is tagged out, a further advanced runner who had been forced to advance no longer has to do so. For example, when a sharply hit ball is caught on one hop by the first baseman, he might immediately tag out the runner at first who is forced to advance to second, but when this is done, a runner already at second is no longer forced to advance to third base. The result of such a tag is called "removing the force". When an attempt to tag a baserunner has been initiated by a fielder in possession of the ball, then an imaginary base path is formed which is wide, extending from the runner to the base that the runner is trying to reach safely. If the runner steps outside of the base path, then they are automatically out. However, if a defensive player tags the runner with his glove and the baseball is in his other hand, or with his free hand while the baseball is in his glove, then the runner is not out. Also, if the fielder drops the ball after the tag, the runner is safe.

History

In historical variations of baseball, runners could be retired if the ball was thrown directly at them while they were not on a base, a practice referred to as "soaking" or "plugging". The 1845

Knickerbocker Rules The Knickerbocker Rules are a set of baseball rules formalized by William R. Wheaton and William H. Tucker (baseball), William H. Tucker of the Knickerbocker Base Ball Club of New York, Knickerbocker Base Ball Club in 1845. They have previously ...

were one of the major early codifications of baseball which banned soaking and mandated tagging instead, allowing for harder baseballs to be used.

References

{{Baseball *

Overview

History

See also

References