Baseball Terms for Parents: A Plain-English Glossary

The position numbers

Every position has a number, and scorekeepers use them for every play:

#	Position	#	Position	#	Position
1	Pitcher	4	Second base	7	Left field
2	Catcher	5	Third base	8	Center field
3	First base	6	Shortstop	9	Right field

So a 6-3 is a ground ball the shortstop threw to first, and a 6-4-3 double play goes shortstop to second baseman (out at second) to first baseman (out at first). An F8 is a fly ball caught by the center fielder.

At the plate

• The count: balls first, then strikes. “2-1” is two balls, one strike. Full count: 3 balls, 2 strikes.
• Foul ball: a strike, except it can’t be strike three. A foul bunt with two strikes is a strikeout.
• Walk (base on balls, BB): four balls; the batter goes to first.
• Hit by pitch (HBP): the batter goes to first.
• Strikeout (K): three strikes. A backwards K in the scorebook means the batter didn’t swing at strike three.
• Single, double, triple, home run: a hit that gets the batter to first, second, third, or all the way home.
• Ground-rule double: a fair ball that bounces over the fence. The batter gets second base.
• Grand slam: a home run with the bases loaded, worth four runs.
• Sacrifice bunt: a bunt that’s an out but moves a runner up on purpose. Sacrifice fly: a fly ball out that lets a runner score. Neither counts against the batting average.
• On deck / in the hole: the next batter / the one after that.

On the bases

• Force out: when a runner has to move up because the batter became a runner, the fielder only needs to touch the base before the runner gets there.
• Tag out: when the runner doesn’t have to run, the fielder has to touch the runner with the ball.
• Tag up: on a fly ball that’s caught, a runner must be touching their base after the catch before running to the next one. Leave early and the defense can get you out by throwing to that base.
• Stolen base: a runner takes the next base during a pitch. In Little League’s Major Division and younger, runners can’t leave the base until the pitch reaches the batter.
• Rundown (“pickle”): a runner trapped between two bases while fielders throw back and forth.
• Courtesy runner: a runner who goes in for the pitcher or catcher, where the league allows it. See courtesy runners.

Outs and stats

• RBI (run batted in): credited to a batter whose hit, walk, sacrifice or out drives in a run. There’s no RBI when a run scores on a ground-ball double play, and usually none when it scores because of an error.
• Error (E): a misplay that lets a batter or runner reach or move up when they shouldn’t have.
• Fielder’s choice (FC): the batter reaches because the defense got a different runner out instead. It counts as an at-bat with no hit.
• Earned run: a run that would have scored without any errors. It’s what ERA counts.
• Batting average: hits divided by at-bats. See the batting average calculator.
• Double play (DP), triple play: two or three outs on one play.

Rules with odd names

• Balk: an illegal move by the pitcher with runners on base; every runner moves up. See the balk.
• Infield fly: an easy pop-up with runners on first and second (or the bases loaded) and fewer than two outs; the batter is out even if it’s dropped. See the infield fly rule.
• Dropped third strike: the catcher doesn’t catch strike three cleanly, and the batter may be able to run. See the dropped third strike.
• Run rule (mercy rule): the game ends early when one team is far enough ahead. See the run rule.
• Pitch count: how many pitches a pitcher may throw, and how long they rest. See the pitch count calculator.

The game

• Inning: each team bats once. The visitors bat in the top, the home team in the bottom.
• Walk-off: the home team scores the winning run in its last at-bat, and the game ends right there.
• Leadoff: the first batter of an inning. A runner leading off steps away from the base before the pitch.
• Bullpen: where pitchers warm up. Dugout: the team bench.

Slang you’ll hear

• Can of corn: an easy fly ball.
• Bloop (Texas Leaguer): a soft hit that drops between the infield and the outfield.
• Ducks on the pond: runners on base, waiting to be driven in.
• Golden sombrero: four strikeouts in one game.