An invisible runner, or ghost runner, is a device used in variations of baseball, including softball, stickball, and kickball, when a team does not have enough players. [1] Used primarily in schoolyard games, the rule is called into action when a live runner on base is next in line to bat. The specifics of the rule vary regionally, and are often negotiated prior to the start of the game.
Unlike a live baserunner, an invisible runner cannot steal a base, but can, depending on rules, advance on a wild pitch. However, this may not be worthwhile unless the runner is on third, as they may need to be forced to their next base, depending on the rule variation used.
An invisible runner normally travels at the speed of the current batter. For example, assume an invisible runner on first base while the batter hits the ball. If the fielding team reaches second base before the batter reaches first base, the invisible runner is out. Otherwise, the invisible runner is considered safe. Similarly, an invisible runner advances only as many bases as the actual runner. For example, if an invisible runner is on second base and the batter hits a single to the outfield, the invisible runner only proceeds to third, even though a physical runner would often score in a similar scenario.
If a player on offense is not the batter, they must take the place of last invisible runner (e.g., if there are invisible runners on first and second, the new player moves to first) and they are then the cause that "pushes" the invisible runners ahead of them the same number of bases that they reach, and the invisible runner travels at the forward runner's speed.
In another variation of the rule, some play that the invisible runner has to be "forced" in—that stipulation means that there is no base available. Under this rule, the invisible runner on second would only advance to third on a double because they were not technically forced to score.
If the team playing offense does not have enough players to continue, the next player at bat is replaced by an invisible runner. Typically, the live runner must verbally announce: “invisible runner on _______ base”, or “ghost runner on _______”, before they can walk off base. Should the runner not make the announcement, they are liable to be tagged out by the opposing team.
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 base on balls is defined in Section 2.00 of baseball's Official Rules, and further detail is given in 6.08(a). Despite being known as a "walk", it is considered a faux pas for a professional player to actually walk to first base; the batter-runner and any advancing runners normally jog on such a play.
In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base unaided by other actions and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or out at the next base, but the official scorer rules on the question of credit or blame for the advance under Rule 10 of the MLB's Official Rules.
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding team, called the pitcher, throws a ball that a player on the batting team, called the batter, tries to hit with a bat. The objective of the offensive team is to hit the ball into the field of play, away from the other team's players, allowing its players to run the bases, having them advance counter-clockwise around four bases to score what are called "runs". The objective of the defensive team is to prevent batters from becoming runners, and to prevent runners advancing around the bases. A run is scored when a runner legally advances around the bases in order and touches home plate.
Rounders is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams. Rounders is a striking and fielding team game that involves hitting a small, hard, leather-cased ball with a wooden, plastic, or metal bat that has a rounded end. The players score by running around the four bases on the field.
Softball is a popular variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand pitches permitted. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hancock.
In many team sports, defense or defence is the action of preventing an opponent from scoring. The term may also refer to the tactics involved in defense, or a sub-team whose primary responsibility is defense. Similarly, a defense player or defender is a player who is generally charged with preventing the other team's forwards from being able to bear down directly on their own team's goalkeeper or goaltender. Such positions exist in association football, ice hockey, water polo and many other sports.
The infield fly rule is a rule of baseball and softball that treats certain fly balls as though caught, before the ball is caught, even if the infielder fails to catch it or drops it on purpose. The umpire's declaration of an infield fly means that the batter is out regardless of whether the ball is caught. The rule exists solely to prevent the defense from executing a double play or triple play by deliberately failing to catch a ball that an infielder could catch with ordinary effort.
An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field, between first base and third base.
In baseball, a foul ball is a batted ball that:
In baseball, an out occurs when the umpire rules a batter or baserunner out. When a batter or runner is out, they lose their ability to score a run and must return to the dugout until their next turn at bat. When three outs are recorded in a half-inning, the batting team's turn expires.
Throughout baseball's history, the rules have frequently changed as the game continues to evolve. A few typical rules most professional leagues have in common are that four balls are a base on balls, three strikes are a strikeout, and three outs end a half-inning.
In baseball, a force play or force out occurs when a batter becomes a runner and gets put out because an opponent with possession of the ball reaches first base before the batter can get there.
In baseball, interference occurs in situations in which a person illegally changes the course of play from what is expected. Interference might be committed by players on the offense, players not currently in the game, catchers, umpires, or spectators. Each type of interference is covered differently by the rules.
Pesäpallo is a fast-moving bat-and-ball sport that is often referred to as the national sport of Finland and has some presence in other places including Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, Australia, and Canada's northern Ontario. It is similar to brännboll, rounders, lapta, and baseball.
A hit and run is a high risk, high reward offensive strategy used in baseball. It uses a stolen base attempt to try to place the defending infielders out of position for an attempted base hit.
Baseball scorekeeping is the practice of recording the details of a baseball game as it unfolds. Professional baseball leagues hire official scorers to keep an official record of each game, but many fans keep score as well for their own enjoyment. Scorekeeping is usually done on a printed scorecard and, while official scorers must adhere precisely to one of the few different scorekeeping notations, most fans exercise some amount of creativity and adopt their own symbols and styles.
Bat-and-ball games, or safe haven games, are field games played by two opposing teams. Action starts when the defending team throws a ball at a dedicated player of the attacking team, who tries to hit it with a bat and then run between various safe areas in the field to score runs (points). The defending team can use the ball in various ways against the attacking team's players to force them off the field when they are not in safe zones, and thus prevent them from further scoring. The best known modern bat-and-ball games are cricket and baseball, with common roots in the 18th-century games played in England.
Scrub baseball is a way of playing baseball with no teams. The number of players is variable, and score is not kept, as the idea is "each against all". Batting, pitching, and fielding are the same as in standard baseball; scrub is often used as practice for baseball, or a substitute when there aren't enough players available, between six and eleven.
Baseball5 is a simplified variation of baseball and softball which is governed at the international level alongside those sports by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC).
In sports, the term diamond sports refers to recreational variantsof baseball, a bat-and-ball sport. The most popular and closely related sport to baseball is softball, with the two sports being administered internationally by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), alongside Baseball5.