Error

In baseball statistics, an error is an act, in the judgment of the official scorer, of a fielder misplaying a ball in a manner that allows a batter or baserunner to advance one or more bases or allows an at bat to continue after the batter should have been put out. The term error can also refer to the play during which an error was committed.

Relationship to other Statistical Categories

An error does not count as a hit but still counts as an at bat for the batter unless, in the scorer's judgment, the batter would have reached first base safely but one or more of the additional base(s) reached was the result of the fielder's mistake. In that case, the play will be scored both as a hit (for the number of bases the fielders should have limited the batter to) and an error. However, if a batter is judged to have reached base solely because of a fielder's mistake, it is scored as a "hit on error," and treated the same as if the batter had been put out, hence lowering his batting average.

Similarly, a batter does not receive credit for a run batted in (RBI) when runs score on an error, unless the scorer rules that a run would have scored even if the fielder had not made a mistake. For example, if a batter hits a ball to the outfield for what should be a sacrifice fly and the outfielder drops the ball for an error, the batter will still receive credit for the sacrifice fly and the run batted in.

If a play should have resulted in a fielder's choice with a runner being put out and the batter reaching base safely but the runner is safe due to an error, the play will be scored as a fielder's choice, with no hit being awarded to the batter and an error charged against the fielder.

Passed balls and wild pitches are separate statistical categories and are not scored as errors.

If a batted ball were hit on the fly into foul territory, with the batting team having no runner(s) on base, and a fielder misplayed such ball for an error, it is possible for a team on the winning side of a perfect game to commit at least one error, yet still qualify as a perfect game.

There is a curious loophole in the rules on errors for catchers. If a catcher makes a "wild throw" in an attempt to prevent a stolen base and the runner is safe, the catcher is not charged with an error even if it could be argued that the runner would have been put out with "ordinary effort." There is therefore a "no fault" condition for the catcher attempting to prevent a steal. However, when considering that the majority of stolen base attempts are successful (around 2 successes per failure), this "no fault rule" is understandable due to the extreme difficulty of throwing out runners. If the runner takes an additional base due to the wild throw, an error is charged for that advance. However, if the catcher's glove is hit by the bat, it is counted as a catcher's interference and the catcher is given an error unless the batter gets a hit off the play.

Statistical Significance

Traditionally, the number of errors was a statistic used to quantify the skill of a fielder. Research has shown that the error rate is higher when the quality of fielding is suspect, ex. the performance of an expansion team in its first year, or the fielding done by replacement players during World War II, and is lower when playing conditions are better, ex. on artificial turf and during night games.

However, fans and analysts have questioned the usefulness and significance of errors as a metric for fielding skill. Notably, mental misjudgments, such as failure to cover a base or attempting a force out when such a play is not available, are not considered errors.

A more subtle, though more significant objection to the error, as sabermetricians have noted, is more conceptual. In order for a fielder to be charged with an error, he must have done something right by being in the correct place to be able to attempt the play. A poor fielder may "avoid" many errors simply by being unable to reach batted or thrown balls that a better fielder could successfully reach. Thus, it is possible that a poor fielder will have fewer errors than any fielder with higher expectancies.

In recent times, official scorers have made some attempt to take a fielder's supposed "extraordinary" effort or positioning into account when judging whether the play should have been successful given ordinary effort. However, this still leaves statistics, such as fielding percentage, that are based on errors as a way to compare the defensive abilities of players.

Errors also hold significance in calculating the earned run average (ERA) of a pitcher. Runs scored due to an error are unearned, and do not count toward a pitcher's ERA.

Outline

SPORTS WORLD

Baseball

Baseball is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of nine players each who take turns batting and fielding. The batting team attempts to score runs by hitting a ball that is thrown by the pitcher with a bat swung by the batter, then running counter-clockwise around a series of four bases: first, second, third, and home plate.

Rules and gameplay: A game is played between two teams, each comprising nine players, that take turns playing offense (batting and baserunning) and defense (pitching and fielding).

Baseball field: A baseball field, also called a ball field or a baseball diamond, is the field upon which the game of baseball is played.

Equipment: A rounded, solid wooden or hollow aluminum bat. Wooden bats are traditionally made from ash wood, though maple and bamboo is also sometimes used.

Player rosters: Roster, or squad, sizes differ between different leagues and different levels of organized play. Major League Baseball teams maintain 25-player active rosters.

Non players: In the game of baseball, the official scorer is a person appointed by the league to record the events on the field, and to send the official scoring record of the game back to the league offices.

Distinctive elements: Baseball has certain attributes that set it apart from the other popular team sports in the countries where it has a following, including American and Canadian football, basketball, ice hockey, and soccer.

Defensive Play: Baseball is unlike most other competitive sports in that the defense is given control of the ball.

Offensive Play: Batting is the act of facing the opposing pitcher and trying to produce offense for one's team. A batter or hitter is a person whose turn it is to face the pitcher.

Batting order (1-9): The batting order or batting lineup is the sequence in which the members of the offense take their turns in batting against the pitcher.

Strategy and tactics: Many of the pre-game and in-game strategic decisions in baseball revolve around a fundamental fact: in general, right-handed batters tend to be more successful against left-handed pitchers and, to an even greater degree, left-handed batters tend to be more successful against right-handed pitchers.
Baseball Positions

SPORTS WORLD

Baseball Positions

At the beginning of each half-inning, the nine players on the fielding team arrange themselves around the field. One of them, the pitcher, stands on the pitcher's mound.

Defensive Players

Pitcher (P): The pitcher is the player who throws the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk.

Catcher (C): When a batter takes his/her turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher.

First Baseman (1B): First base, or 1B, is the first of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a baserunner in order to score a run for that player's team.

Second Baseman (2B): The second baseman often possesses quick hands and feet, needs the ability to get rid of the ball quickly, and must be able to make the pivot on a double play.

Third Baseman (3B): The third baseman requires good reflexes in reacting to batted balls, as he or she is often the closest infielder (roughly 90–120 feet) to the batter.

Shortstop (SS): The position is mostly filled by defensive specialists, so shortstops are generally relatively poor batters who bat later in the batting order, with some exceptions.

Left Fielder (LF): Outfielders must cover large distances - speed, instincts, and quickness in reacting to the ball are key. They must be able to catch fly balls above their head and on the run.

Center Fielder (CF): A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball fielding position between left field and right field.

Right Fielder (RF): Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound.

Offensive Players

Batter: A batter or hitter is a person whose turn it is to face the pitcher. The three main goals of batters are to become a baserunner, drive runners home, or advance runners along the bases for others to drive home.

Runner: In general, base running is a tactical part of the game with the goal of eventually reaching home to score a run.

Designated Hitter: The rule allows teams to have one player, known as the designated hitter (abbreviated DH), to bat in place of the pitcher.

Pinch Hitter: Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute.

Pinch Runner: The pinch runner may be faster or otherwise more skilled at base-running than the player for whom the pinch runner has been substituted.

Lead Off: A lead or lead off is the short distance that a player stands away from their current base.

Lead Off Hitter: Leadoff hitters must possess certain traits to be successful: they must reach base at a proficient on-base percentage rate and be able to steal bases.

Cleanup Hitter: Cleanup hitters often have the most power on the team and are typically the team's best power hitter; their job is to "clean up the bases", hence the name.

SPORTS

Baseball

Baseball is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of nine players each who take turns batting and fielding. The batting team attempts to score runs by hitting a ball that is thrown by the pitcher with a bat swung by the batter, then running counter-clockwise around a series of four bases: first, second, third, and home plate.