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In sports, out of bounds (or out-of-bounds) refers to being outside the playing boundaries of the field. The legality of going out of bounds (intentionally or not), and the ease of prevention, vary by sport. Sports that use this term include American football, Canadian football, field lacrosse, basketball, rugby union, rugby league, and association football.
The boundary may be associated with the sidelines or touch-lines, lines which mark the outer boundaries of a sports field, running parallel to each other and perpendicular to the goal lines. [1] The foul lines in baseball and boundary lines in cricket are similar concepts.
The terms out of bounds or out-of-bounds refers to an active participant or component of a game (e.g., player or ball ) being outside the playing boundaries of the field of a sport. The legality of going out of bounds (intentionally or not), and the ease of prevention, vary by sport. Due to the chaotic nature of play, it is normal in many sports for players and/or the ball to go out of bounds frequently during a game. In some cases, players may intentionally go or send the ball out of bounds when it is to their advantage.
The sidelines are the white or colored lines which mark the outer boundaries of a sports field, running parallel to each other and perpendicular to the goal lines. [1] The term is predominantly in use in American football, Canadian football, field lacrosse and basketball. In rugby union, rugby league and association football, they are known as touch-lines. The foul line is a similar concept in baseball. In cricket, the boundary lines can be marked by a rope.
The sidelines are also where the coaching staff and players out of play operate during a game. Sports in which the playing surface is bounded by walls, such as ice hockey, box lacrosse, and indoor football, do not use sidelines; in these sports, coaches and reserve players are positioned in recessed benches behind the walls.
In baseball, there are two ways for a batted ball to be out-of-bounds. One is to exit the field of play between the foul lines (the foul lines themselves are fair territory). If this is achieved without touching the ground first, it is a home run, and the batter and teammates who are on base run to home plate and score a point for their team. If the ball bounced off the ground before exiting play, it is a ground rule double, and the batter and all runners not on third advance exactly two bases; runners only score if they were on second or third base. If the ball is hit outside the foul lines (such as to the side or behind the batter), it is a foul ball, and is equivalent to a strike, unless the batter has two strikes (in that instance, the strike count remains at two; the only exception to this is if the batter bunted the ball and it went foul, in which case the batter is called out). The foul ball bounds do not apply to fielders, who are allowed to try to catch a foul ball, which would put the batter out. While the rules of baseball define the angle of the foul lines, there are no set rules as to how large a field should be, and it varies from baseball field to baseball field.
Whether fielders can attempt to catch balls in dugouts or the stands varies. In major league baseball, it is possible in baseball for a dugout to be a factor in play. MLB rule 6.05(a) states that a fielder may reach into a dugout to catch a fly ball as long as one or both feet is on or over the playing field, and does not have a foot on the ground in the dugout when making the catch. MLB universal ground rules state that the player may subsequently enter the dugout after making the catch if his momentum is carrying him that way, but if he falls in the dugout as a result, the catch is allowed but baserunners advance in accordance with Rule 7.04(c).[3]
A live ball entering a dugout becomes dead and the batter-runner and any baserunners advance in accordance with Rule 7.04(c). However, a live ball bouncing off a dugout railing, if present, is still in play (unless a foul ball). Due to the dugouts' location in foul territory, live balls entering dugouts usually only occur after an errant throw by the defensive team.
Individual leagues at levels below MLB are free to set their own rules governing the dugouts as is appropriate for their league's ballparks and playing level. For example, the rule governing reaching into dugouts to catch fly balls would not apply in leagues where the dugouts are separated from the field by a chain-link fence that is taller than the players.
Basketball differs from many other sports including tennis, volleyball, and association football in that a ball that touches any part of an endline or sideline (or is touched by a player who is standing on or touching any part of the line) is considered out of bounds. When the ball goes out of bounds, it is awarded to the team that did not last touch it, regardless of which team last possessed the ball. The team entitled to the ball is required to throw it into the court. [2]
For the batting team, when the ball touches the ground outside of the field (or a fielder player who is in contact with the same), it is worth either four runs (points) if it bounced in the field first, or potentially up to six runs otherwise. In either case, the ball becomes dead. Any catches attempted by fielders also become invalidated if the fielder is touching the ball and steps outside of the field boundary before completing the catch.
Most football codes differ from sports such as basketball, volleyball, or table tennis where a player can "save" a ball by playing it while it is still in the air despite being over an out-of-bounds area; instead the ball is "out" if it fully crosses over a boundary line in the air.
In Australian rules football, the ball is considered out of bounds when the whole of the ball is outside the plane of boundary line; or, if any part of the ball touches the behind post.
Under most circumstances, play is restarted by means of a boundary throw-in after it has gone out of bounds: the boundary umpire throws the ball high in the air and backwards over his head to a neutral contest 15-20m in from the line.
Under the following circumstances, a free kick awarded against the team who put the ball out of bounds:
In gridiron football, a play is considered to be dead if a ball or the player carrying the ball goes out of bounds. A forward pass thrown to a player who has one (in the NCAA) or both (in most other codes including the NFL) feet on the ground out of bounds is considered an incomplete pass regardless of whether it was caught or not.
In the NFL, the clock stops whenever a player carrying the ball steps out of bounds or fumbles the ball out of bounds. Within the last 2 minutes of the first half, the last 5 minutes of the game, or after a change of possession, the clock remains stopped until the next snap; at all other times, the clock restarts when the referee signals indicating that the ball has been placed for the next down. [3]
In arena football, the field is walled so that play can almost never go out of bounds. At all other times, the clock keeps ticking. In college football, the clock stops when the ballcarrier goes out of bounds. If there are more than two minutes left in either half, the clock resumes when the umpire marks the ball as ready for the next play. If there are less than two minutes left in the half, the clock resumes upon the next play.
If the player with the ball goes out of bounds in his own end zone, in most cases, it is considered to be a safety in favor of the other team. A ball kicked out of bounds through the end zone is a touchback; in Canadian football, this situation usually is awarded a single point.
A kickoff that goes out of bounds is a penalty. Up through 1986, this required the kicking team to rekick the ball from five yards behind the spot of the original kickoff, unless the penalty was declined by the receiving team. In 1987, the NFL instituted a new rule, where the ball would be awarded to the receiving team five yards ahead of the spot where it went out of bounds. [4]
In Canadian football, if a fumble goes out of bounds, the team of the last player to touch it gets possession.
In association football, the ball becomes out of play when it has entirely crossed a goal line or touch line (in Association Football, this is called "Into Touch" which means that the ball has passed over the touchline). [5] Play is restarted by a throw-in, goal kick or corner kick.
In rugby league and rugby union, and their derivatives, the long parallel lines marking the lateral boundary of the field are called touch-lines. The continuation of the touch-line beyond the goal line ending at the dead ball line is called the "touch-in-goal line". Touch lines are considered outside the playing field. Following the ball going out of bounds, play is restarted in a variety of ways, depending on the circumstances and rules of the particular game.
In rugby union the two touch-lines may not be more than 70 metres (230 ft) apart.
In ice hockey, if the puck gets knocked out of play (such as into the player's benches, over the glass, or into the netting), a face-off shall be conducted at the nearest face-off dot to where the puck had gone out of play. However, if the puck is directly shot out of bounds over the glass deliberately by a player such as a goaltender or any defensive player within their own defensive zone, a delay of game minor penalty shall be assessed on the offending player.
In golf, "Out of Bounds" is beyond the boundaries of the golf course or any part of the course so marked by the committee in charge of the competition or the golf course.
If a ball is out of bounds, the player must play a ball, under penalty of one stroke, as nearly as possible at the spot from which the original ball was last played. [6]
A golf ball is out of bounds when all of it lies out of bounds. A player may stand out of bounds to play a ball lying within bounds. [7]
In skiing, an out of bounds area is considered one that is outside of the area owned/serviced by a ski resort. Out of bounds areas can either be accessed by ducking under a rope or fence, or through marked gates. Usually, if one is caught 'cutting a rope', one will lose skiing privileges at the ski resort; depending on where one does so, they may also be arrested for trespassing. Out of bounds areas are not serviced by any type of lift, thus one must usually hike out of the area. Also, out of bounds areas are serviced by no ski patrol and are not checked for avalanche potential, thus one must be properly equipped for avalanche rescue and understand the dangers of a rescue.
In tennis, an out is an error in which the ball lands outside the playing area. [8]
In various tag games, non-tagging players who step out of the field are generally eliminated from play.
In atya patya, offensive players who step out of the field without keeping any part of their body grounded within the field are deemed out. [9]
In kabaddi, a player is declared "out" if they step out of bounds, with the opposing team scoring a point. [10]
In kho kho, defensive players who step outside the field are automatically declared "out", with the offensive team scoring points as if they had tagged those defensive players. [11]
Canadian football, or simply football, is a sport in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete on a field 110 yards (101 m) long and 65 yards (59 m) wide, attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's end zone.
In baseball, the dugout is a team's bench and is located in foul territory between home plate and either first or third base. There are two dugouts, one for the home team and one for the visiting team. In general, the dugout is occupied by all players not prescribed to be on the field at that particular time, as well as coaches and other personnel authorized by the league. The players' equipment is usually stored in the dugout.
Dead ball is a term in many ball sports in which the ball is deemed temporarily not playable, and no movement may be made with it. Depending on the sport, this event may be quite routine, or more uncommon.
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 the history of baseball, the rules have frequently changed as the game continues to evolve. A few common rules most professional leagues have in common is that four balls is a base on balls, three strikes is a strikeout, and three outs end a half-inning.
A baseball field, also called a ball field or baseball diamond, is the 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 usually refers to less organized venues for activities like sandlot ball.
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 countries including Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, Australia, and Canada's northern Ontario. It is similar to brännboll, rounders, and lapta, as well as baseball.
In baseball, a catch occurs when a fielder gains secure possession of a batted ball before it bounces, and maintains possession until they voluntarily or intentionally release the ball. When a catch occurs, the batter is out, and runners are in jeopardy of being put out if any fielder with possession of the ball reaches their starting base before they do.
Over-the-line is a bat-and-ball sport, a game related to baseball and softball. Like those games, it involves a batter, pitcher, and fielders. Because a game requires only three people per team, it is considerably easier to get a good informal game going. The equipment consists of a rope, an "official" softball bat & an "official" Orange rubber DeBeer softball. No gloves are allowed while fielding in the Men's divisions unless 60+ years of age. However, gloves are allowed for the women's divisions. Junior events also allow a glove on defense. A single golf glove may be used when batting. Gameplay, however, is very different.
Gameplay in American football consists of a series of downs, individual plays of short duration, outside of which the ball is or is not in play. These can be plays from scrimmage – passes, runs, punts or field goal attempts – or free kicks such as kickoffs and fair catch kicks. Substitutions can be made between downs, which allows for a great deal of specialization as coaches choose the players best suited for each particular situation. During a play, each team should have no more than 11 players on the field, and each of them has specific tasks assigned for that specific play.
In gridiron football, clock management is an aspect of game strategy that focuses on the game clock and/or play clock to achieve a desired result, typically near the end of a match. Depending on the game situation, clock management may entail playing in a manner that either slows or quickens the time elapsed from the game clock, to either extend the match or hasten its end. When the desired outcome is to end the match quicker, it is analogous to "running out the clock" seen in many sports. Clock management strategies are a significant part of American football, where an elaborate set of rules dictates when the game clock stops between downs, and when it continues to run.
Ground rules are rules applying to the field, objects on and near it, and special situations relating to them, in the game of baseball. Major League Baseball has defined a set of "universal ground rules" that apply to all MLB ballparks; individual ballparks have the latitude to set ground rules above and beyond the universal ground rules, as long as they do not directly contradict each other. Additionally, a set of universal ground rules exists for the six MLB stadiums with retractable roofs, with the individual ballparks able to set additional rules.
A comparison of American football and rugby union is possible because of the games' shared origins, despite their dissimilarities.
Bat-and-ball 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 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.
This is an alphabetical list of selected unofficial and specialized terms, phrases, and other jargon used in baseball, along with their definitions, including illustrative examples for many entries.
The following terms are used in American football, both conventional and indoor. Some of these terms are also in use in Canadian football; for a list of terms unique to that code, see Glossary of Canadian football.
Wireball is a street game related to baseball, usually formed as a pick-up game, in urban areas of the United States. The equipment consists of a pimple or pensie pinkie ball and a convenient place in a street or driveway where an electric power line or group of power lines bisect horizontally. The rules come from baseball and are modified to fit the situation. It can be played with one or more persons per team.