More technically, a fielder is charged with an error when his a play either fails to result in an out or allows runners to advance when, in the opinion of the official scorer, an average fielder would have record the out or held the runners in place.

Most errors come when a fielder fails to catch a ball hit to or near him, but other errors can involve errant throws or simply mental miscues that result in inaction or the “wrong” action, thus allowing something good to happen for the team at bat.

We’ll look at some of those in a minute, but first things first …

What Is the Mercy Rule?

In some leagues — most Little League implementations, for example — a mercy rule exists to help limit the length of games when on team or another has trouble recording outs.

Generally, the rule gives umpires the latitude to cancel a game when one team builds a 10- or 15-run lead after a certain number of innings (three, for example).

There is no such rule in Major League Baseball, but there are other rules in place that allow an umpire to call a game under certain circumstances.

When Can Umpires Suspend a Game?

A game can end early — and still be official — on account of inclement weather, provided that at least five innings have been completed and one team is ahead. (The game can end after four-and-a-half innings if the home team is ahead.)

A game can also be ended early if one team forfeits.

A game can be suspended, to be resumed later, for the following reasons:

• Local curfew
• Time limit imposed by the league (not usually a consideration in MLB)
• Darkness, with lack of available electric lighting, or when local laws prohibit turning on those lights
• Inclement weather, before the game becomes official
• Lateness, fatigue, etc., when a regulation game has remained tied far past nine innings; some league and umpire discretion involved here

Quality at-bat is a broad concept and not directly reportable as a statistic, but it’s a term that’s widely used in the game, particularly among players, coaches/managers, and broadcasters.

Often “quality at-bat” is a euphemism for an at-bat that results in an out but that still produces some value, though it can be used to describe situations that do lead to a player reaching base safely.

Here are some examples of different types of QABs …

A Hit – Single, Double, Triple, Home Run

Hard to argue that a hit does NOT contribute to the team’s goal of scoring runs and winning games, so almost any safety qualifies as a quality at-bat. There may be cases, however, where a walk, for example, is more valuable than a single if it forces the opposing pitcher to use more pitches, thus adding to his fatigue.

Walk

Likewise, a walk is almost always a quality at-bat since it ends up with another man on base, thus representing a potential run.

Sacrifice

Though a sacrifice fly or bunt does not end with the batter on the bases, it DOES advance the team’s goals by advancing other runners or even driving in a run.

Strikeout

Strikeouts are not QABs at first glance because they always cost a team an out and usually don’t move runners along. However, there are a few cases wherein a strikeout could be considered a quality at-bat:

• Lots of pitches – a three-pitch punch-out doesn’t do much for the batting team, but if a batter can coax five or ten pitches from the hurler, that moves the batting team closer to bouncing that pitcher from the game due to fatigue.
• Stolen base – sometimes, a swinging batter can help shield a baserunner who’s trying to steal a base, delaying (even slightly) the ability of the catcher to make a gun-down throw.
• On-base! In the case when the catcher drops a third strike, an alert batter may be able to sprint to first base in time to avoid a tag or force play. If he can, then he stays on base and represents another potential run.

Any Long At-Bat

As with the case of a very long strikeout at-bat, any plate appearance that results in the opposing pitcher making a lot of throws benefits the batting team in several ways.

Among those are:

• The pitcher becomes more fatigued with each pitch, making it more likely he’ll make a mistake at some point and that the manager will have to pull him from the game as he tires.
• The batting team gets to see more of the pitcher’s repertoire, and the sequences of pitch calls that the opposing manager, pitcher, and catcher are likely to use for future at-bats. This is a key bit of strategy that can yield dividends in upcoming innings.
• Long at-bats can give other players — especially pitcher — on the batting team a chance to rest up. This can help prolong that team’s starter’s stay in the game.

Hit-By Pitch

As long as the batter does not get injured and lost to the team, then getting hit by a pitch can be considered a quality at-bat since it puts another runner on base.

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On the other side of the coin, here are some at-bats that would usually NOT be considered to be QABs:

• Quick strikeouts (five or fewer pitches) that don’t help runners advance
• Groundouts that don’t help runners advance
• Foul outs
• Fly outs that don’t help runners advance

The overall specifications of home plate dimensions define it as a 17″ X 17″ square with the rear-facing corners lopped off to form a vertex pointing to the back of the batter’s box.

As mentioned above, the front edge is 17 inches long, while the two “sides” are 12 inches each. The arms of the point are each 8 1/2 inches long.

When you combine the dimensions of home plate with its placement on the field and the other rulebook specifications for diamond distances, the peak of the plate — again, pointing to the back of the box — is 127 feet, 3 and 3/8 inches from second base.

Want to know how wide a baseball is? We have the answer right here.

The balk call is generally one of the most confusing in baseball, as the infraction often looks fairly innocuous to most observers. Likewise, some dramatic movements by a pitcher may draw chants of “balk!” from fans but not be called as such by game officials.

In the end, it is the umpire who decides whether any particular motion is a balk, but there are some telltale movements that tend to result in a balk call.

Here is a quick rundown of some of them …

Quick Return

A quick return happens when the pitcher delivers the next pitch immediately upon receiving the ball from the catcher, with no setup. The intention is to catch the batter off guard and record and easy strike.

Faking Throw to Unoccupied Base

The idea here is for the pitcher to maintain possession of the baseball while making the opposing offense think he has thrown to a base. That could potentially allow the pitcher to catch another runner off base, or to deliver a pitch to the unsuspecting batter.

Mimicking Pitching Motion Without the Ball

The gist of this one is that a pitcher can’t make a “pitch” without having the ball in his hand. The reason a pitcher might do this is to make the runners think he has the ball, when, in fact, another fielder has it. That could lead runners to leave their bases and be subject to being tagged out.

Failure to Complete a Pitch Motion

This occurs when a pitcher does not release the ball after making his pitch motion, which could lead to an errant swing by the batter and runners leaving their bases.

Pitching While Facing Away from the Batter

The obvious motivation here is to be able to deliver the pitch when the batter is not expecting it, and from a location the batter can’t track. Baseball’s rules clearly state that the pitcher must face the batter.

Delivering a Pitch When Not in Contact With the Rubber

This goes for any motion associated with a delivering a pitch, such as setting and stretching. Basically, if the pitcher makes a pitch, or goes through part of his pitching motion while not touching or standing astride the pitcher’s plate (rubber), he’s subject to a balk call.

Conclusion

The balk rule is one of the trickiest in all of baseball, and the call — or non-call — always leads to a mix of boos, cheers, and confused faces.

You can read more about the balk in the Official Baseball Rules maintained by MLB, but be forewarned — you’re likely to still find yourself somewhat bewildered the next time a pitcher makes some funky movement on the mound.

Trivia

The record for most balks in a single game belongs to Bob Shaw of the Milwaukee Braves, who committed five infractions in a contest against the Chicago Cubs on May 4, 1963.

The space needed for a baseball diamond varies with the level of play. Generally speaking, more advanced leagues involve longer distances between bases and to the outfield wall (especially centerfield), requiring more acreage.

Here is a brief rundown of space requirements, based on level of competition: