The Ground-Rule Double and Other Dead-Ball Rules
What a ground-rule double is, when a ball goes dead, how many bases umpires award for fences, dugouts, wild throws and wild pitches, and how to work out where each runner ends up.
A ground-rule double is the award of second base to a batter, and of two bases to every runner on base, when a fair ball bounces and then leaves the field of play, usually by bouncing over the outfield fence or into the stands. The ball is dead the moment it leaves, nobody can be put out, and the umpire sends the runners to their new bases. The batter is credited with a double in the box score even if he never touched second base on his own.
The rule exists because a ball in the stands cannot be played. Without a rule, the umpire would have to guess how far each runner might have advanced if the ball had stayed in play, and every close case would turn into an argument. Baseball's answer is to fix the award in advance: one base here, two bases there, a home run in a few clearly defined cases. Once you know the short list, you can predict what the umpire will signal before the crew chief has finished raising his arm.
This article covers that list. It explains what makes a ball dead, how awarded bases are counted (the part most fans get wrong), what happens at fences, dugouts, camera wells and bullpens, and how spectators change a play. It is a plain-language guide and not a replacement for the Official Baseball Rules or for the ground rules of any specific park, which umpires and managers review before every game. Rules also differ in youth leagues, in softball and in some amateur competitions, so check your own league's rulebook.
Live ball, dead ball and the idea of an award
At any moment in a game the ball is either live or dead. A live ball can be fielded and thrown, runners can advance at their own risk, and a runner can be tagged or forced out. A dead ball stops all of that. No runner may advance except as the rules award, and no one can be put out. The ball becomes live again when the umpire calls play and the pitcher has the ball and is on the rubber.
Many things make a ball dead: a foul ball that is not caught, a batter hit by a pitch, a balk, interference by a batter, runner or spectator, and the umpire calling time. For this article the important category is the ball that leaves the field. A ball that goes into the stands, a dugout, over a fence, into a camera well or into any other area where play cannot continue is in dead-ball territory. Whenever that happens, the rules say how many bases to award and from which base the count starts.
Two ideas hold the system together. The first is that every award is a fixed number of bases, one or two, or a home run. The second is that the starting point matters as much as the number. A runner is not sent two bases from wherever he happens to be standing when the umpire speaks; he is sent two bases from a specific moment, which is either the time of the pitch or the time of the throw. The sections below keep those two moments apart because that is where most disputes begin.
The fair ball that bounces out: the ground-rule double
The standard case is simple. A batter hits a fair ball that touches the ground inside the park and then bounces over the fence or into the stands. The batter and all runners are awarded two bases. The count starts from the base each runner occupied at the time of the pitch.
That last clause has a practical consequence. Suppose the bases are empty. The batter was at home plate at the time of the pitch, so two bases puts him on second. Now suppose a runner is on first when the pitch is thrown and the batter hits a ground ball that bounces over the fence. The runner was on first at the time of the pitch, so two bases sends him to third, not home. A runner on second at the time of the pitch scores, and so does a runner on third.
The rule applies in other cases that look different but are treated the same way. A fair ball that bounces through or under a fence, a scoreboard or shrubbery also gives two bases. So does a bounding fair ball that a fielder deflects into the stands or over a fence. A ball that lodges in the outfield wall padding, or in the ivy at a park that has it, is dealt with by the ground rules and is normally a double as well, because it cannot be retrieved without stopping play.
Umpires usually signal a ground-rule double by holding up two fingers, so you can see the call coming from the stands. The scorer enters it as a double. That was not always the case: until rule changes around 1930, with the American League moving first and the National League following by 1931, a fair ball that bounced into the stands was a home run.
The home run, and the 250-foot floor
A fair ball that clears the fence in the air is a home run, and the batter and all runners score once the batter has touched every base. The key words are in the air and fair. A ball that reaches the fence on a bounce is the double above. A ball that lands in fair territory and then rolls into the stands is a double. A ball that clears the fence in foul territory is a foul ball.
Whether a ball that leaves the park is fair or foul depends on where it passes the fence in relation to the foul pole, which marks the line extended upward. A ball that strikes the foul pole itself is treated as fair and is a home run. The umpire at the foul line judges whether a ball passed on the fair or the foul side of the pole, and this is one of the calls that replay can review.
There is one more detail that surprises people. The rulebook sets a minimum distance for a home run. A fair fly ball that passes over the fence less than 250 feet from home plate is not a home run; the batter is awarded second base, as if it were a ground-rule double. The rule is rarely used in professional ballparks, whose fences are far beyond that distance, but it matters on small fields, in temporary parks and at any level where the fence is close. If your league plays on a short field, its rulebook or its ground rules will say whether the 250-foot rule applies or something else does.
Thrown balls that leave the field
A throw that goes into the stands or the dugout is the second major category, and it is the one where the starting point changes. When a fielder throws and the ball goes into dead-ball territory, with no spectator on the field, each runner and the batter-runner are generally awarded two bases. The count starts from the position of the runners at the time of the throw, with one exception.
The exception covers the first play by an infielder after the pitch. If an infielder's very first throw goes out of play, the umpire counts from the time of the pitch, not the time of the throw. The effect is to keep the award from depending on how far the runners happened to get in the second or two before the throw. The rule has a further wrinkle: if every runner, including the batter-runner, has already advanced at least one base by the time of the throw, the umpire counts from the time of the throw instead.
A pickoff throw by the pitcher that sails into the stands also earns two bases, generally counted from where the runners were when the pitcher released it, because there has been no pitch to count from. In all cases the official scorer normally charges an error to the player whose throw went out of play.
Two quick examples show the difference. A runner is on first and the batter hits a grounder to the shortstop, whose throw to first goes into the stands. This is the shortstop's first play, so the count starts from the pitch: the batter was at home and the runner was at first, which puts them on second and third. Now suppose the bases are empty, the batter singles to right field and the right fielder's throw to second base goes into the dugout. This is not the first play by an infielder, so the count starts from the time of the throw. The batter-runner had touched first base by then, so two bases sends him to third.
Wild pitches and balls that hit the screen
The pitched ball has its own rule, which is simpler: one base. If a pitch gets away from the catcher, or touches the umpire or the catcher and goes into dead-ball territory, such as the stands or a dugout, all runners are awarded one base. The count starts from the time of the pitch. A pitch that is ball four and also leaves the field is a special case, so ask the umpire how your league's rulebook handles it.
The same one-base rule covers a pitched ball that lodges in the umpire's mask or the catcher's equipment. The ball is dead and runners move up one base. It applies whether the pitch was a ball or a strike, as long as the ball leaves the playing field.
Be careful with one distinction. A pitch that goes past the catcher but stays in live territory does not produce an automatic award. Runners may advance at their own risk, and the play is scored as a wild pitch or a passed ball depending on who bears the blame. Only when the ball goes out of play does the one-base award apply.
A fielder who falls out of play
The last common case involves a catch. If a fielder makes a legal catch of a fly ball and then steps or falls into dead-ball territory, such as the dugout, the stands or a camera well, the batter is out because the catch was made, and the ball is dead. Each runner is awarded one base without liability to be put out.
The catch itself must be legal. The usual guideline is that at least one of the fielder's feet must be on or over the playing field when he catches the ball; check the exact wording in the rulebook. A fielder who reaches a glove over the rail and makes the catch while standing on the field, then falls in, has made a catch. A fielder who already has both feet in the dugout when the ball arrives has not. Umpires also look at whether the catch was complete before the fall, which is often a matter of a fraction of a second.
At the top level the answer to these questions can be reviewed on video. Under the replay system that began in 2014, calls such as boundary calls, ground-rule doubles and spectator interference are among those a crew can check, but the details of what is reviewable change over time. For the current list, read the league's published replay rules.
Summary of the awards
| What happens | Award | Counted from |
|---|---|---|
| Fair ball bounces into the stands, over the fence, or through a fence | Two bases | Time of the pitch |
| Fair fly ball clears the fence in fair territory | Home run | All runners score |
| Fair fly ball clears a fence less than 250 feet from home plate | Two bases | Time of the pitch |
| Fair ball strikes the foul pole above the fence | Home run | All runners score |
| Infielder's first throw after the pitch goes out of play | Two bases | Time of the pitch |
| Any other throw goes out of play | Two bases | Time of the throw |
| Pitched ball leaves the field | One base | Time of the pitch |
| Fielder catches a fly ball and then enters dead-ball territory | One base | Where runners stand when the fielder enters |
The table assumes that no spectator is on the field and that the park's own ground rules do not change the award. Both of those assumptions fail often enough that they deserve their own sections.
Ground rules: the park's own addendum
Every ballpark has quirks that the general rulebook cannot anticipate: a wall with a gap behind it, a camera well along the foul line, a bullpen that sits on the field of play, a railing or a dugout that juts out. The solution is the ground rule, a rule specific to one park that is agreed on before the game. At the start of every game the umpires and the managers meet at home plate, exchange lineup cards and review the ground rules.
Typical ground-rule topics are the dugout (is a ball that rolls into it dead, and can a fielder go in to catch a foul?), the bullpens (are they in play or out?), cameras and photographers' wells (a ball that lands in one is generally dead), railings and netting, and structures such as roof supports or speakers in domed stadiums. In domed stadiums the ground rules also spell out what happens when a batted ball strikes a roof support, a catwalk or a speaker.
The most famous example is the one at the old Metrodome in Minneapolis, where in 1984 a pop fly hit by Dave Kingman went through a hole in the roof and never came down. The umpires awarded a double, a ruling that illustrates the principle: when the ball cannot come back, the rules supply an award. Similar logic applies to a ball stuck in the ivy at Wrigley Field or lodged in padding along a wall.
If you play or coach in a park with unusual features, ask your umpire to explain the ground rules before the first pitch. It takes two minutes and saves an argument in the sixth inning.
When fans change the play
Spectators sit very close to the field in some parks, and the rules distinguish between a fan who is simply in the way and a fan who interferes. If a spectator reaches out of the stands and touches a live ball, or touches a fielder who is trying to make a play, the umpire may call spectator interference. The ball is dead, and the umpire decides what would have happened without the interference, which can mean calling the batter out or awarding bases.
The distinction that matters is the side of the wall. A fielder who reaches into the stands to make a catch takes the risk that a fan will block him, and the umpires will generally not call interference if the fan's reach came into the fielder's path on the spectators' side of the wall. A fan who reaches over onto the field of play and takes away a catch is a different case.
The best-known example is a 1996 American League Championship Series game at Yankee Stadium in which a young fan reached over the wall and deflected a Derek Jeter fly ball. The umpire ruled it a home run, and later video showed that the fan had reached over the wall into the field of play. The incident is often cited in debates over replay.
Worked examples
Here are four short situations. Try to answer each before reading the explanation.
- Runner on second, batter hits a grounder that bounces over the right-field fence. The runner was on second at the time of the pitch, so two bases puts him at home and he scores. The batter is on second. The scorer credits a double and an RBI.
- Bases loaded, batter hits a fair fly ball that clears the fence in the air. This is a home run. All four players score, and the batter is credited with four runs batted in.
- A wild pitch rolls into the dugout with a runner on third. The ball is dead and each runner advances one base. The runner on third scores, and the scorer records a wild pitch.
- A left fielder catches a fly ball with a runner on first and steps into the dugout. The batter is out. The ball is dead, and the runner on first moves to second without liability.
Common questions
Is a ground-rule double the same as an automatic double? Yes, the terms mean the same thing. The award is automatic because the ball cannot be played, and the ground rules, the rulebook or both specify it.
Can the runner on first score on a ground-rule double? No. A runner on first at the time of the pitch is awarded two bases and ends on third. That is why the award sometimes feels like a gift to the defense: a ball that would have scored a runner from first on a live double does not.
What if the ball hits the fence and comes back? A ball that hits the fence or the top of the fence and bounces back onto the field is in play and can be fielded. A fair ball that clears the fence in the air is a home run.
Can a runner be thrown out when the ball is dead? No. While the ball is dead no runner can be put out, and no runner may advance except as the rules award.
Do youth leagues use the same rules? Many leagues modify the rules, particularly for overthrows, so the award for a throw that leaves the field can differ from what is described here. Read your league's rulebook or ask the umpire.
Where to go next
For other rules that fans mix up, read the guide to obstruction and interference, the explanation of force plays and tag plays and the article on tagging up and the sacrifice fly. Scorers record these plays in the box score, which is explained in how to read a box score, and you can practice on a blank sheet with the scoresheet tool. The rules and umpiring topic page collects current coverage.