 Now that we understand what outs are and how the defense can put the batter out in this video We're going to take a look at the different ways that a runner will be safe and get on base Remember, it's the offensive teams goal to eventually get their players the whole way around the bases and back to home plate To score a run, but first they have to get on base. So let's look at how they do that Let's go back to this flow chart in the video on outs We made it to this point where we looked at the different outs that could occur depending on whether the ball is hit into the Air or on the ground. If a ball that is hit is caught by a defensive player before it touches the ground It is an out. If the ball does touch the ground The defense can get the ball and either touch the batter or first base before he reaches the base himself to put the batter out If on the other hand the batter can run to first base before the defense can get the ball there, he is safe So first we're going to look at all the ways that a batter can reach base and become a base runner by hitting the ball And then later on in the video we'll take a look at a couple ways that the batter can reach base even without hitting the ball The simplest way to get on base is called a base hit, which is usually just shortened to a hit and Though it might seem a bit confusing at first just because the batter hits the ball does not necessarily mean he has a base hit Let's say our batter gets his pitch and he hits the ball right up the middle and it rolls out into center field The defense doesn't have much hope to get the ball over to first base before the batter gets there So he's going to have a pretty easy time jogging down first base And he'll stop there on first base and wait while the next batter in the lineup goes up the bat And he tries to hit the ball himself If the next batter comes up with that runner still on first base and he hits a single out into the same spot He could run to first and then the runner who is on first base can run to second base They would then wait there for the next batter and If you're wondering yes, the runner on first base must run to second once the ball is hit There can only be one runner per base at any one time Okay, let's reset everything and say that instead of hitting the ball Right up the middle to the center fielder the batter hits the ball a little further out into the right center field gap But the center fielder and the right fielder will chase after this ball Which is bounce off the outfield wall and is now laying out in the outfield As soon as he hits the ball the batter will be running for first base right away And he won't have much trouble getting there before the ball This is where things get interesting though because the batter does not have to stop at first base He can keep going and run to second base if he wants to There is a risk though because if the outfielders can throw the ball back in to the second baseman He can tag out the batter if he has not yet reached second base In the situation the defense must physically tag out the runner They cannot step on second base before he gets there because it's not a force out in this situation We'll look at force outs a bit more in depth in a future video But as far as this one is concerned just know that for bases other than first base They must tag the runner and if they do tag the runner before he gets the second base He would be out once he is on the base though. He can no longer be tagged out He can then stop on second base and he would wait for the next batter to hit What would we call this I said earlier that these are called hits or base hits If the runner stops at first base that would be a single if the batter stops at second base we call that a double and if the batter can hit the ball and run the whole way around to third base as You may have guessed that is called a triple Only the fastest players will be able to run the whole way around to get triples The fourth and final type of hit is when a batter can run the whole way around touch first Second third and then back into home plate. This is called a home run a Home run is the best hit that you can get and basically the best thing that you can do as a batter Home runs will occur when the ball is hit over the outfield fence home runs must be in fair territory between or off of one of the foul balls and When this happens the batter cannot be tagged out so he can take his time jogging around the bases It also means that any runners who were on base when the home run was hit also gets to score as well Very rarely a play will occur when a batter hits the ball that does not go over the fence But he is so fast that he's able to run the whole way around the bases before the defense can throw the ball back in and tag him out This is called an inside the park home run and it counts just the same as a regular home run Most of the time it involves a field or messing up something and tripping or falling something like that Remember there are 90 feet between each base. So even the fastest guys will almost never hit and inside the park home run So those are four types of hits single double triple and home run One quick footnote while we're talking about hits if a ball is hit into the outfield that Bounces off the ground and then goes over the fence. This is not a home run But because it bounced it is an automatic double or what we call a ground rule double Any runners that are on base when a ground rule double was hit automatically get to advance two bases Now when a batter goes up to the plate for his at bat his goal is almost always to get a hit But even if he does not get a hit he can still get on base a few other ways Basically as long as he does not get out a batter is still helping his team I usually refer to these next two ways to get on base as automatic advancements But I'll explain why that's a bit of a misnomer in a moment The first type is called a walk or a base on balls, which we touch on briefly in the video about balls and strikes For a batter to walk He must receive four balls from the pitcher during his at bat And if he does he gets the chance to like I said automatically go to first base where he will be for the next batter. I Say it is automatic because at the batter walks The defense cannot tag him out or throw the ball to first base to get him out before he gets there But I don't want it to sound like being walked is a particularly easy thing for the batter to do Because he only has a fraction of a second to decide whether to swing or not It takes a great deal of practice to pick up which pitches he should and should not be swinging it Standing at the plate and just not swinging at any pitches will usually result in a strikeout more times than it does a walk Finally is a batter being hit by a pitch Which is exactly what it sounds like and like a walk the batter will get to go to first base One note is that the batter is not allowed to move so that the pitch hits him on purpose If he does this the umpire can say that the batter leaned into it and he will not be allowed to go to first There are a few other ways that batters can reach base But the majority of the time it will be by way of a hit Which are singles doubles triple home run or by way of a walk or by way of being hit by a pitch