The Reliable Book of Outdoor Games Containing Official Rules for Playing Base Ball, Foot Ball, Cricket, Lacrosse, Tennis, Croquet, Etc

Excerpt from The Reliable Book of Outdoor Games: Containing Official Rules for Playing Base Ball, Foot Ball, Cricket, Lacrosse, Tennis, Croquet, Etc Should the batsman hit the ball so that it strikes the ground in front of or on the foul lines, it is a fair hit ball, and he immediately becomes a base runner, as in the case of the calling of balls; but, in such case, he can be put out either by a catch of the hit ball before it touches the ground, viz., on the fly - or by his failing to touch first base before the ball is held by the fielder at first base. In case, however, the batsman hits the ball so that it goes to foul ground, while he is also liable to be put out on the fly catch of such ball he cannot offset the foul hit by the advantage of trying to earn a base on such hit, as he can on a fair hit ball, as no bases can be run or runs scored on a hit foul ball. When the base runner has secured his right to hold first base, either by a base hit or an error on the part of a fielder, his next effort is to secure the other three bases and thereby score a run. This he does either by being forwarded by the good hitting of those who follow him at the bat; by stealing bases - viz., running to the next base before he can be thrown out there - or by a series of one or more costly errors by the fielders. It will be seen, therefore, that the batsman can be put out by a fair catch of the ball he hits; or by a catch of a foul ball, or by striking out. In addition, too, he can be put out simply by stepping outside of the boundary lines of his position while in the act of striking at a pitched ball, or by batting at a wild pitched ball or any ball, in fact, in such a way as intentionally to prevent the catcher from catching or fielding the ball; the former out being termed a foul strike, and the latter an out from interfering with the catcher. Then, too, the batsman can be decided out if he takes his position at the bat out of the regular batting, provided he hits a fair ball before the error is discovered. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.