Tag out

In baseball and softball, a tag out, sometimes just called a tag, is a play in which a baserunner is out because a fielder touches him with the ball or with the hand or glove holding the ball, while the ball is live and the runner is in jeopardy of being put out (usually when he is not touching a base).

A baserunner is in jeopardy when any of the following are true:

  1. he is not touching a base (excluding overrunning of first base or when advancing to an awarded base, such as on a base on balls)
  2. he is touching a base he has been forced to vacate because the batter became a baserunner (a forced runner)
  3. he has not tagged up on a caught fly ball
  4. he failed to touch a base when he last passed it, or failed to touch them in order
  5. he is touching a base that a preceding baserunner is also touching (excludes touching a base he was forced to advance to, in which case the preceding baserunner is in jeopardy unless also forced to advance to an awarded base)

A tag is therefore the most common way to retire baserunners who are not in danger of being forced out, though a forced runner may also be tagged out in lieu of stepping on the forced base. Additionally, a tag out can be used on an appeal play.

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