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[This is the next-to-last of a series exploring the Baseball Tarot. If you would like to prompt for a part of the game or a card from the deck, regrettably, there are no more open slots. All comments are still welcome, of course.]
On any given baseball field, the are two lines that extend from the corners of home plate closest to the pitching mound in the direction of the corner (as if it were an arrow, and the corner the top of the arrow) indefinitely far (or, in a modern stadium, to the outfield fence). These lines define the areas known as fair and foul territory. Sixty (for Little League Baseball) or ninety (for collegiate and professional baseball) feet from home plate on those lines is one of the bases (first and third base) that the offense will need to touch to make progress toward scoring a run.
Unlike cricket, where the entire field is playable, with the batters at the center, in baseball only a portion of the field is considered legal (fair) territory for balls to be batted in such that the offense can advance. Fair territory constitutes the area in between those lines, extending as far as the lines themselves do. All other territory is foul territory.Any ball batted that is in fair territory is live for as long as it stays in fair territory, does not leave the playing field, and the time-out that is the end of a play has not been granted by the umpires. Balls that touch a fielder or the field of play in fair territory at or beyond beyond first or third base are permanently fair (and live) balls for the remainder of the play regardless of where they go after that. Balls fielded in fair territory when first touched remain fair regardless of where they go after that.
The space beyond the outfield fence is fair territory, but not in the playing field. A ball going there is out of play, which is important for the awarding of bases and home runs - if the ball was touched by a fielder or touched any part of the field of play in fair territory before leaving the field of play, bases are awarded according to the rules. If the ball leaves the field of play in fair territory without touching any part of the field of play, a home run is awarded. To assist the umpires in their decisions regarding fair or foul, most professional stadia have poles erected at the outfield fence on the foul lines. These days, those poles also have grates on the fair territory side of the pole to make it easier for the umpire to see whether or not a fly ball passes in front of the foul pole as it leaves play (foul ball, also known as a long, loud, strike) or behind it (home run). Striking the grates with a fly ball is a home run according to the rules, as the grates are beyond the field of play and are in fair territory.
Any other ball first touching down or touched while in foul territory is a foul ball, and will be called so. Any batted ball that strikes a batter-runner while still in the batter's box is a foul ball (outside of the box, any contact between batter and ball in fair territory likely to be called interference) Foul balls are dead balls, excepting those balls cleanly fielded in foul territory without first touching the ground (i.e. fly balls caught in foul territory), which are live, and which runners can attempt to advance bases off of at their own peril.
Make sense? The rules regarding fair and foul are often full of exceptions, as you can see. But they govern some of the most important interactions between offense and defense. They create some of the competitive balance that keeps the game in the ballpark of fair.
At it's most basic, a foul ball is an attempt to put a ball in play that doesn't succeed. Contact is made, but the ball goes places that won't help the offense, as a foul ball that doesn't result in an out is a dead ball and no runners can advance. Even if they were stealing and going to get to the next base. Most foul balls have limited defensive values, as well, since they count only as a strike against the batter if not caught for an out, unless the batter already has two strikes, at which point the foul ball counts for nothing, assuming the player is swinging the bat - a third strike resulting from a bunt attempt that goes foul is an out. Good batters extend their at-bats and force the pitchers to throw more pitches at them by fouling off pitches that aren't quite right for them or that are different than the pitch the batter wants to hit for a very long way. The longer the at-bat goes, the more likely it is the pitcher will make a mistake or the hitter will get the pitch they are looking for. And in a metagame sense, the more pitches a pitcher has to waste on one batter, the less pitching strength they have for every other batter that follows them, which means possible good things like the starting pitcher leaving the game earlier than planned (relief pitchers are generally good only for a few innings before passing things off to a closer) or, in the case of Little League, a pitcher reaching their appointed pitch count faster. So sometimes a foul ball helps the offense in little ways.
As you can see, the fair-foul determination is incredibly context-dependent, based on where the ball is when it is touched first, and by what it is touched. What happens as a result of the foul ball is also context-dependent, and so both players and umpires have to be able to sort scenarios automatically to arrive at the right call or likely call so as to know what to do with the ball. For example, any bunted ball that looks like it's going to roll foul should be allowed to do so, unless the fielder has such a great jump on it that they can definitely get an out. It is far preferable to force the batter to try again with an extra strike than to have to make a difficult play against a fast runner. You may end up eating a hit if the ball stops rolling in fair territory near the line, which is the mark of an excellent bunt, but even that is preferable to the extra possible bases from a wild throw. If you're in the outfield and there's a ball drifting foul that you can catch with great effort, remember where the runners are - if you catch it, but are otherwise unable to get up and throw the ball back in for a while, will that be trading a run for an out? Maybe it's best to not slide or dive for that one and hope the next ball will be easier to handle.
Unsurprisingly, when this card shows up in your reading, it's a reminder to check the context of your situation - what looks like an easy out might end up being nothing more than a strike. Good for you if you're the batter - you get to try again for something better, even if it does mean the pressure increases a bit, some of your options become a lot riskier, and you're closer to a bad end. With two strikes, you'll have to play more defensively - "protect the plate" by swinging at pitches that are close - foul them off if you have to, so that you can try and get the pitcher to throw something better.
It's not so good if you're the fielder, but there's still a small benefit to be gained by putting the batter closer to out. Stay alert to the next action, and you may yet get your result. If you're the battery, pay attention. A foul ball is only a little way off from a ball in play. You may want to consider changing your next pitch or your at-bat strategy based on how that ball was fouled off. Proceeding without thinking will likely get them a hit instead of you an out.
On any given baseball field, the are two lines that extend from the corners of home plate closest to the pitching mound in the direction of the corner (as if it were an arrow, and the corner the top of the arrow) indefinitely far (or, in a modern stadium, to the outfield fence). These lines define the areas known as fair and foul territory. Sixty (for Little League Baseball) or ninety (for collegiate and professional baseball) feet from home plate on those lines is one of the bases (first and third base) that the offense will need to touch to make progress toward scoring a run.
Unlike cricket, where the entire field is playable, with the batters at the center, in baseball only a portion of the field is considered legal (fair) territory for balls to be batted in such that the offense can advance. Fair territory constitutes the area in between those lines, extending as far as the lines themselves do. All other territory is foul territory.Any ball batted that is in fair territory is live for as long as it stays in fair territory, does not leave the playing field, and the time-out that is the end of a play has not been granted by the umpires. Balls that touch a fielder or the field of play in fair territory at or beyond beyond first or third base are permanently fair (and live) balls for the remainder of the play regardless of where they go after that. Balls fielded in fair territory when first touched remain fair regardless of where they go after that.
The space beyond the outfield fence is fair territory, but not in the playing field. A ball going there is out of play, which is important for the awarding of bases and home runs - if the ball was touched by a fielder or touched any part of the field of play in fair territory before leaving the field of play, bases are awarded according to the rules. If the ball leaves the field of play in fair territory without touching any part of the field of play, a home run is awarded. To assist the umpires in their decisions regarding fair or foul, most professional stadia have poles erected at the outfield fence on the foul lines. These days, those poles also have grates on the fair territory side of the pole to make it easier for the umpire to see whether or not a fly ball passes in front of the foul pole as it leaves play (foul ball, also known as a long, loud, strike) or behind it (home run). Striking the grates with a fly ball is a home run according to the rules, as the grates are beyond the field of play and are in fair territory.
Any other ball first touching down or touched while in foul territory is a foul ball, and will be called so. Any batted ball that strikes a batter-runner while still in the batter's box is a foul ball (outside of the box, any contact between batter and ball in fair territory likely to be called interference) Foul balls are dead balls, excepting those balls cleanly fielded in foul territory without first touching the ground (i.e. fly balls caught in foul territory), which are live, and which runners can attempt to advance bases off of at their own peril.
Make sense? The rules regarding fair and foul are often full of exceptions, as you can see. But they govern some of the most important interactions between offense and defense. They create some of the competitive balance that keeps the game in the ballpark of fair.
At it's most basic, a foul ball is an attempt to put a ball in play that doesn't succeed. Contact is made, but the ball goes places that won't help the offense, as a foul ball that doesn't result in an out is a dead ball and no runners can advance. Even if they were stealing and going to get to the next base. Most foul balls have limited defensive values, as well, since they count only as a strike against the batter if not caught for an out, unless the batter already has two strikes, at which point the foul ball counts for nothing, assuming the player is swinging the bat - a third strike resulting from a bunt attempt that goes foul is an out. Good batters extend their at-bats and force the pitchers to throw more pitches at them by fouling off pitches that aren't quite right for them or that are different than the pitch the batter wants to hit for a very long way. The longer the at-bat goes, the more likely it is the pitcher will make a mistake or the hitter will get the pitch they are looking for. And in a metagame sense, the more pitches a pitcher has to waste on one batter, the less pitching strength they have for every other batter that follows them, which means possible good things like the starting pitcher leaving the game earlier than planned (relief pitchers are generally good only for a few innings before passing things off to a closer) or, in the case of Little League, a pitcher reaching their appointed pitch count faster. So sometimes a foul ball helps the offense in little ways.
As you can see, the fair-foul determination is incredibly context-dependent, based on where the ball is when it is touched first, and by what it is touched. What happens as a result of the foul ball is also context-dependent, and so both players and umpires have to be able to sort scenarios automatically to arrive at the right call or likely call so as to know what to do with the ball. For example, any bunted ball that looks like it's going to roll foul should be allowed to do so, unless the fielder has such a great jump on it that they can definitely get an out. It is far preferable to force the batter to try again with an extra strike than to have to make a difficult play against a fast runner. You may end up eating a hit if the ball stops rolling in fair territory near the line, which is the mark of an excellent bunt, but even that is preferable to the extra possible bases from a wild throw. If you're in the outfield and there's a ball drifting foul that you can catch with great effort, remember where the runners are - if you catch it, but are otherwise unable to get up and throw the ball back in for a while, will that be trading a run for an out? Maybe it's best to not slide or dive for that one and hope the next ball will be easier to handle.
Unsurprisingly, when this card shows up in your reading, it's a reminder to check the context of your situation - what looks like an easy out might end up being nothing more than a strike. Good for you if you're the batter - you get to try again for something better, even if it does mean the pressure increases a bit, some of your options become a lot riskier, and you're closer to a bad end. With two strikes, you'll have to play more defensively - "protect the plate" by swinging at pitches that are close - foul them off if you have to, so that you can try and get the pitcher to throw something better.
It's not so good if you're the fielder, but there's still a small benefit to be gained by putting the batter closer to out. Stay alert to the next action, and you may yet get your result. If you're the battery, pay attention. A foul ball is only a little way off from a ball in play. You may want to consider changing your next pitch or your at-bat strategy based on how that ball was fouled off. Proceeding without thinking will likely get them a hit instead of you an out.
