When I fly out why can't the runner advance?

Question

I know little about baseball as i live in the UK however, on my PS3 game when my hitter flies out if my runners advance they can reach the next base BUT then gets out at the base he's run from, the commentator mentions 'Tagging Up'? Why does this happen?

Answer 1

Well if a fly ball is caught, the runner has to go back. It's just a rule. If they are off base after the ball is caught, the fielder can throw back to the base for an out.



Now Tagging Up means, that if the runner is on base when the ball is caught, they can leave the second the ball is in the glove. (Provided they are on the base before it's caught) But they usually do this like if the ball was caught in center and they are at 3rd. But the fielder can throw to whoever they need to throw to and they can tag you out.

Answer 2

When the ball is caught in the air, the baserunner must touch the base they started from before they can advance. The rule makes sure that a routine fly ball isn't that useful. It would be kind of silly if a runner could score from second base after the pitcher does a good job to get the batter to pop up.



When the ball is in the air, if you think it will be caught, send your runners back to the base where they started. That is called "tagging up". If you think they can make it to the next base after the ball is caught, you can send them then. Usually, a ball hit to deep right field allows an average runner to move from 2nd to 3rd. A ball hit to the outfield allows a runner to score from home much of the time. This is called a sacrifice fly and it doesn't count as an at bat for the purposes of the batters statistics since they did a good thing getting the out. If you didn't have to tag up, sacrifices would be too easy.



If you're not sure the ball will be caught, often the best thing to do is to go halfway from first or second. If the ball is not caught, you can advance 2 bases most of the time. If the ball is caught, you have to run back. From third base, you want to tag up on just about anything hit in the air, or at least freeze for a second to see what will happen. Most likely, the PS3 game will do this automatically unless you tell it differently.

Answer 3

The runners are always allowed to attempt to advance at their own risk, but you've misunderstood the situation. The reason you don't tag up when there's 2 outs normally is because IF the ball is caught it would be the 3rd out to end the inning and if its not caught you don't have to tag up. In your example the batter is only the 2nd out so if the fielder catches the ball, it does not end the inning and runners would have to tag up. So if you run while the ball is in the air you're at risk of being called out on appeal for a double play if the infielder catches the ball and steps on the base before you tag up. The runner is always allowed to attempt to advance, but in this situation it would be stupid to do so because it would give the defense an easy double play. EDIT: When you read rule 7.08 (d), it does not say anything about there being an exception for infield fly situations. Therefore, the proper interpretation is to apply this rule ANY time that a batted ball is caught in the air. You're technically correct that catching an infield fly doesn't result in an out because the batter was already out. But rule 7.08(d) doesn't require an out to be made, it requires a batted ball to be caught, therefore it applies anytime a batted ball is caught on the fly, regardless of whether or not the batter is put out by the catch or the "infield fly" call when the ball is airborn. If the ball is NOT caught, then runners don't have to tag up on an infield fly. So if you see that the defense is making no effort to catch the ball, you could advance at your own risk. just be aware that if they catch it at the last second they will get an easy double play.

Answer 4

Runners may advance after a fly ball is caught, but may not leave the base before the ball is caught. If they leave the base, they must return, touch the base (tag up) and then advance at their own peril. If a fly ball is playable by any infielder with less than two outs, and men on first and second, or first, second and third base, the batter is automatically out, unless the fly is a "line drive." This is so that the infielders don't deliberately drop the fly so they can get a double play. This is called the infield-fly rule. All runners may advance at their own risk after the infield fly is declared by the umpires.



In any case, if a player doesn't tag up, or the person who caught the fly ball throws back to the base where a runner is trying to return to tag up, and the ball arrives before the runner, the fielder who is receiving the ball touches the base and the runner is out on appeal.

Answer 5

The reason a runner has to tag up is because when a pop-fly is hit it has a lot of hang time, you can advance almost 2 bases while it is still in the air, if when the ball was caught you were allowed to keep going and not tag up you would score almost for sure, this would make games fly-ball contests to see who could get the most errors out of the other team.



to give it a British "counter part", it would be like if in soccer you were allowed to leg sweep the goalie before taking a shot on goal

Answer 6

A runner has to wait until the ball is caught before he tries to take the next base. That is what tagging up means. If he leaves early, the defensive team throws the ball to base he was and tags it. He is then out. Check the instructions on your game. I am sure it will tell you how to hold your runners until the ball is caught.

Answer 7

In general:



If the ball is caught before it hits the ground, the runners cannot advance from the bases they are on until the moment the catch is made. If they are off the base at that moment, they must return to "tag up", then may proceed to the next base. But, the ball is still live, and the runner has to beat the throw and/or avoid the tag. Note, if the runner is caught waaaaayyyyyy off the his original base, he can be put out at his original base, on a FORCE play (the fielder need only touch the base, with the ball in his possession, before the runner touches it). But if he successfully tags up and is headed for the next base, or back to his original base, the play must be a non-force play (the fielder must "tag" the runner, i.e., touch the runner with his glove, with the ball inside it, before he reaches either base.



If the ball is NOT caught in the air, everything proceeds the same way as if the ball was a grounder. This can be bad for the runner because, if he's EXPECTING the ball to be caught, he has to hang around on or close to his original base until the fielder misses the ball. This greatly reduces the amount of time he has left to make it to the next base. And if he's on first, or if he's on any other base but all the bases behind him are full, he HAS to go to the next base.



Note that, if there are two outs before the fly ball is hit, the runners need not "tag up", because, if the ball is caught, the inning is over anyway, and if the ball is not caught, it's the same as a ground ball.



Somewhere back in the history of baseball, a clever fielder figured out that, if there were multiple runners on base in a "force-out" situation (for example, first and second), and less than two outs, and a pop-up was hit to somewhere on the infield, the fielder could INTENTIONALLY MISS THE CATCH, then pick up the ball and get a double play fairly easily, because all the runners had to hold up to see if the ball would be caught. That was why baseball came up with...



The Infield Fly Rule.



If there are runners on first and second, and less than two outs, and a fly ball is hit in such a manner that it is catchable by an infielder, the umpire calls the rule into effect, loudly informing all players while the ball is still in the air. The batter is automatically out, wether the ball is caught or not. This removes the force condition on the two runners and prevents the fielder from turning an easy double play. If the ball is caught, runners may still tag up and proceed to the next base (though they are very unlikely to make it, given that the ball is already in or near the infield). If the ball is not caught, it is considered the same as the batter grounding out, and runners can advance if they choose, without tagging up, but they don't have to (and, once again, they're not likely to make it if they try, because the ball is already in or near the infield).



Usually, what happens is that, as soon as the umpire determines that the rule is in effect, and alerts the players, the runners go back to their original bases and sit tight. Though he doesn't have to, the fielder ALMOST ALWAYS catches the ball, either as a matter of pride, or because it's easier than bending over to retrieve a ball on the ground. The runners make no attempt to advance, and the fielder throws the ball back to the pitcher, which ends the play. The resulting situation is exactly the same as it was before, except that there is one more out on the scoreboard, and a new batter is up with an empty count.







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For a base runner to advance on a caught fly ball, the runner must be in contact with the base he/she was occupying at the time of the pitched ball when the catch is made. Once the catch is made the runner may attempt to advance. If the runner attempts to advance before the fly ball is caught and is ruled to have advanced to the next base safely, the defensive team may make an appeal to the umpires that the runner left the base before the catch was made. This appeal must be the first order of business after the play and is made by:



1) The defensive team notifying the umpires of their intent to appeal.

2) The pitcher taking his normal stance on the pitching rubber with the ball.

3) The pitcher steps off the rubber and throws to a fielder who is in contact with the base that the runner left too early.



If the umpires disallow the appeal, the runner stays at the base he/she currently occupies. If the umpires allow the appeal, the runner is out. If this out is the third out and the runner who was called out by the appeal had scored, the run is disallowed. If this out is the third out and a runner who was ahead of the runner called out by the appeal had scored, the run is allowed.



It is not the umpire's responsibiity to make this call. This appeal must be made by the defensive team.

Answer 8

On a fly-out, the runner cant advance until after the ball is caught.



ie the runner has to go back to the base and wait, once the ball is caught, he can run.

Answer 9

its the rules.