 In the last video we looked at balls and strikes and we touched on the main element that allows a baseball game to continue to move forward even without a clock. This event is called an out. If you want to get technical about it the rulebook lists over 30 different types of outs but the majority of them occur in one of just three ways and each of these ways has a few minor variations on them. So for this video we'll take a look at these three main ways that you can be put out and as a matter of fact we already talked about a few in the balls and strikes video so if you've seen that video you're already ahead of the game. And from that video you'll recall this flow chart. When the pitcher makes the pitch a few different things can happen. If the batter does not swing you the umpire is going to call a ball or a strike but if the batter does hit the ball into fair territory a lot of different things can happen a few of which will result in outs. So let's go to those now. If you hit a ball with a bat either the ball is going to roll along the ground or it's going to fly up into the air. In baseball a ball that stays in the air is called a fly ball and a ball that rolls along the ground is called a ground ball. The simplest out will occur when a fly ball is caught by the defensive team before it hits the ground. It's that simple. We would call this a fly out. So if the batter hits the ball and it flies through the air out to left field and our left fielder runs in and catches the ball before it hits the ground the batter has we would say flown out to left field. And like any player who is out the batter will return to his dugout and wait for the other eight players on his team to take their turns at bat and when his spot in the line up comes back around he will have another chance to bat. A fly out is the only play in baseball that can occur in foul territory as well as fair territory. So had a fly ball been hit out here in the foul territory and the left fielder ran over and caught it before it hit the ground it still would have been an out. Because it was in foul territory this is called a foul out but whatever you call it it's still an out. Our second type of out is called a ground out. This is when the batter hits a ground ball and let's say it rolls to our second baseman. As soon as the ball is hit the batter is going to run towards first base. Now at this point there are a few different ways to get the batter out. Because the batter is not touching a base one of the players on the defense can tag him out and this means that the second baseman would pick the ball up and run over to the batter and touch him with the ball or if he has the ball in his glove if he can touch him with his glove. This would mean that the batter has been tagged out and he would be out. Although you can probably tell this would be inconvenient for the second baseman to pick the ball up and run the whole way over here and tag him because remember the batter is also trying to run towards first base at the same time. And so indeed there is an easier way. Now in the original rules of baseball you are allowed to just chuck the ball at the runner and if the ball hit him he was out. I'm sure it sounded like a good idea at the time and people in the 1800s were probably a bit tougher than we are now but it probably didn't take getting hit in the face with the ball very many times until they did away with that rule. And so they developed something called a force out. This means that instead of touching the batter with the ball the defense can instead touch the base that he is running to. For example our batter grounds the ball to our second baseman and he runs toward first base. At this point the first baseman will run over to first base and put his foot on first base. The second baseman will then throw the ball to the first baseman and at the moment that the first baseman has the ball and he is touching first base the batter is out. However if the batter is able to run and touch first base before the first baseman can get the ball and touch the base he would not be out. To not be out is to be safe. So this is the job of the first base umpire to watch and see whether the ball or the runner reaches the base first. And so again if the runner is out he will have to return to the dugout and wait for his spot in the order to come back around. If he is safe at first base though he will become a base runner and he will stand on first base while the next player on his team takes his it back. Now the vast majority of ground outs you will see will occur just like that example that we looked at where the batter rounds out to one of the infielders but hitting the ball into the outfield does not mean that you automatically become a base runner. So if a batter were to hit a pitch into right field and maybe he trips while he is running toward first base and he hurts his ankle. Even if the ball hits the ground before the right fielder gets to it he can still throw the ball to first base to get that force out. This would definitely be an exception though most of the time when the ball is hit into the outfield and it's not a fly out it will result in the batter becoming a base runner. So finally let's recap what we learned in the last video about strikeouts. Remember three strikes and the batter is out but the third strike cannot come on a foul ball. It must either be a swing and a miss or a strike that is called by the umpire. And the other aspect of this third strike is that the catcher must actually catch the pitch in his glove. If the batter were to swing and miss and the catcher misses the ball the batter is allowed to run toward first base and the play becomes very much like a ground ball. So the catcher has the option either to pick the ball up and tag the batter out or he can throw the ball to first base and get the force out there. And again bunting a pitch with two strikes is also considered a strikeout. So to recap the most common ways to be put out three strikes is an out as long as the final strike is called or swung at and missed and the catcher catches the ball. If the ball is hit into the air it is called a fly ball and if a fly ball is caught before it hits the ground it is an out. If a fly ball touches the ground it becomes a ground ball. And if the defense picks up this ground ball they can either tag the batter or first base before the batter can touch the base himself. And if the defense can do this then the batter is out. If the batter gets to first base though before the defense can tag him or the base then he becomes a base runner and the next batter will come to the plate to pass.