When is a runner out for being hit by a fair batted ball?

The fielding sequence controls

The primary out test is whether a fair ball touches a runner in fair territory before the ball touches any infielder, including the pitcher. The through-or-by and no-other-infielder-chance conditions belong to a separate live-ball exception discussed below. When the primary out condition applies, the runner is out and the ball is dead.

With that dead ball, runners do not score or advance unless they are forced to advance. A play that looks similar can have a different result if the ball has already passed a fielder or another fielder could still have played it.

When the runner is not out just for contact

After a fair ball goes through or by an infielder, a runner touched immediately behind that infielder is not out if the umpire judges that no other infielder had a chance to make a play. The ball remains live under this separate exception.

If a fielder deflects the fair ball before it touches the runner, the runner is not declared out just for that contact and the ball remains live. A runner who deliberately kicks a ball after a fielder has missed a play can face a separate interference ruling.

An Infield Fly has its own exception

If an Infield Fly touches a runner who is touching a base, that runner is not out for the contact, although the batter is out. The rulebook’s Comment describes an off-base runner being out when touched before the ball passes an infielder and no other infielder has a chance; the ball is then dead.

These exceptions depend on whether a fly was declared, where the runner was, and the ball’s path. Fair-or-foul status and an umpire’s view of the fielding opportunity can change the analysis.

Edition and limits

This page follows the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball’s Official Baseball Rules, 2026 Edition. The rulebook does not state a separate day-level publication or effective date. It is an educational rule summary, not a call on a real play; apply the governing code, local ground rules, and umpire judgment.

A grounder hits a runner before an infielder can play it

In a fictional play, a fair grounder hits a runner between first and second in fair territory before the ball touches any infielder, including the pitcher; the runner is out and the ball is dead. In a separate play, a fair ball goes through or by an infielder and hits a runner immediately behind that fielder; if the umpire judges no other infielder had a chance to make a play, the runner is not out for that contact and the ball remains live. In another separate play, a fielder first deflects the ball and it then hits a runner. That contact alone does not make the runner out, and the ball remains in play. The umpire must judge the actual sequence and fielding opportunity.

Related questions

Sources and further reading

• Office of the Commissioner of Baseball, Official Baseball Rules, 2026 Edition: Rules 5.06(c)(6), 5.09(b)(7), and 6.01(a)(11), including Comments. Checked 2026-10-15; the rulebook states no separate day-level publication or effective date.