 What happens when the ball hits a base runner? There are actually two possibilities here, but one of them is a lot more common than the other. So in the common scenario, if a runner is hit by a ball in fair territory before it goes through or by an infielder and no other infielder has a play on the ball, three things happen. First, the runner who got hit is out. Second, the batter is awarded first base and he is actually credited with a base hit. And third, the ball is dead, meaning that any runners have to stay on the base that they started the play on unless they are forced to move up because the batter is not on first base. One interesting thing to note here is that the rule does not care whether the runner is on a base or not. Even if you are standing on first base and you take a line drive to the stomach, assuming the fielders are standing behind you, you are still out. This is why if you are on third base, you should always lead off in foul territory. That way if the ball hits you, it is just a foul ball. There is one exception here with regards to the infield fly roll though, which says that if the infield fly roll applies and the ball falls down and hits the runner while he is standing on the base, then the runner is not out, but the batter, by virtue of the infield fly roll, is out. The other point to make with regards to the infield fly is that if it is invoked and the ball comes down and hits a runner who is not on a base, then both the runner and the batter are out. You can kind of see how unlikely that is to occur though. You'd have to be pretty oblivious to get hit by a ball that was high enough to qualify for the infield fly roll. And like I've pointed out in my video about the infield fly roll, if you are a runner and the infield fly roll is called, you're better off just staying on the base. Whether you are on a base or not though, once the ball hits the runner, then the ball is dead. The roll also specifically clarifies that if two runners are hit with the same bad and fair ball, then only the first one is out because the ball was dead as soon as it hits them. Now what crazy play occurred in order for them to have to include that line, I would like to see. So everything that we just talked about, that's what usually happens, but there's actually another scenario which is what happens if the ball has gone through or by an infielder and touches a runner or the ball is deflected by an infielder into a runner and no other infielder has a chance to make a play. In that case, the runner is not out and the play continues. Now the roll does go right into a clarification that the umpire must be certain that the runner does not intentionally kick the ball. And it does specifically say kick the ball, but while I'm not a lawyer, I would imagine intentionally doing anything to it would qualify. And in this case, then the runner is out, not because the ball hit him, but for interference. And one more quick point to make about this, if a runner is hit with the ball and called out, then the fielder who is closest to him at the time he got hit with the ball gets credit for that put out. So there you have it. If a batted ball hits a runner in fair territory before it gets to the infielders, he is out, the ball is dead, the batter gets a single and the other runners stay where they are. If the ball hits a runner after it goes through or deflects off of an infielder, then he is not out as long as he doesn't intentionally give it a kick on the way by. And finally, if a runner is hit by a ball that is thrown by a fielder, then he is not out and the ball remains in play. That is unless you are playing wiffle ball in your backyard, in which case the rules are whatever you make them.