Behind the Plate - Making the Calls

Making the Calls

In the game of baseball, many things happen, and the umpire has to interpret all of the events. This section discusses some of the most common events and the call the umpire makes to deal with them.

The Pitch

When the pitcher is pitching to the batter, there are many different courses of action that can take place. This list assumes some basic knowledge of the game, such as what a strike is, and what a ball is. If you don't know these terms, please review the baseball dictionary.

The strike zone is illustrated below. It is the area in the picture that is inside the red box. Formally, the strike zone is the area that's over the plate with the top being the middle of the batter's shoulders and the top of the batter's pants, and the bottom being right below the batter's kneecaps. Thus, the strike zone changes with the batter's stance.

Strike

Ball

If the batter swings at a pitch and fails to make contact with the ball, it is a strike.

If the pitch is inside of the strike zone when it crosses the plate and the ball is not hit, it is a strike, whether or not it is swung at.

If the pitch is outside of the strike zone and is not swung at, it is called a ball.

If a ball is hit foul (see below) and there are less than two strikes, another strike is added to the count.

If a batter does a check swing to a pitch outside of the strike zone, but his check swing goes too far, it is counted as a strike. However, there is no formal rule as to how far is too far for a swing. It is merely the umpire's decision of whether or not the pitch was swung at.

The Hit

Once the ball has been put into play by being hit, it can go one of two ways, foul (meaning that it is out of play except to be caught for an out) or fair (meaning the ball is in play and has to be handled by the defense)

According to the rules of Major League Baseball, a ball is in fair territory when it is in that part of the playing field within, and including the first base and third base lines, from home base to the bottom of the playing field fence and perpendicularly upwards. Fair territory is shown in yellow below.

Fair Territory

If a ball lands on a foul line, it is still in fair territory.

The rules of Major League Baseball have a lengthy description of a foul ball as a batted ball that settles on foul territory between home and first base, or between home and third base, or that bounds past first or third base on or over foul territory, or that first falls on foul territory beyond first or third base, or that, while on or over foul territory, touches the person of an umpire or player, or any object foreign to the natural ground. A foul fly shall be judged according to the relative position of the ball and the foul line, including the foul pole, and not as to whether the infielder is on foul or fair territory at the time he touches the ball. A batted ball not touched by a fielder, which hits the pitcher's plate and rebounds into foul territory, between home and first, or between home and third base, is a foul ball.

Foul Territory

A special kind of foul is a foul tip. This is when a ball is hit, or just nicked, but barely moves off its path and is caught by the catcher. It is treated as a strike and is the same as swinging and missing. If the catcher drops the ball it becomes the same as a foul ball.