In baseball, a sacrifice fly (sometimes abbreviated to sac fly) is defined by Rule 9.08(d):[1] "Score a sacrifice fly when, before two are out, the batter hits a ball in flight handled by an outfielder or an infielder running in the outfield in fair or foul territory that
is caught, and a run scores after the catch, or
is dropped, and a runner scores, if in the scorer's judgment the runner could have scored after the catch had the fly ball been caught."
They are so named because the batter allows a teammate to score a run, while "sacrificing" his or her ability to do so. They are traditionally recorded in box scores with the designation "SF".
As addressed within Rule 9.02(a)(1) of the Official Baseball Rules[1] a sacrifice fly is not counted as a time at bat for the batter, though the batter is credited with a run batted in. The same is true with a bases-loadedwalk.
The purpose of not counting a sacrifice fly as an at-bat is to avoid penalizing hitters for a successful action. The sacrifice fly is one of two instances in baseball where a batter is not charged with a time at bat after putting a ball in play; the other is the sacrifice hit (also known as a sacrifice bunt). But, while a sacrifice fly does not affect a player's batting average, it counts as a plate appearance and lowers the on-base percentage. A player on a hitting streak will have end it with no official at-bats but a sacrifice fly.
Unlike a sacrifice bunt, which may be scored if a runner advances from any base to any base, a sacrifice fly is only credited if a runner scores on the play. Therefore, when a runner on first or second base tags on a fly ball and advances no further than third base, no sacrifice is given and the batter is charged with an at-bat. Also, if a runner tags and advances from second base (or, theoretically, from first base) all the way to home and scores (without an intervening error) the batter is credited with a sacrifice fly, as well as a second RBI if a runner on third also scores. At the professional level this will only typically occur in unusual circumstances that prevent the defense from making an immediate throw back to the infield, such as an outfielder colliding with the wall while making a catch on the warning track.
The sacrifice fly is credited even if another runner is put out so long as the run scores. The sacrifice fly is credited on a dropped ball even if another runner is forced out by reason of the batter becoming a runner.
On any fly ball, a runner can initiate an attempt to advance bases as soon as a fielder touches the ball by tagging up, even before the fielder has full control of the ball.
Five MLB teams have collected three sacrifice flies in an inning: the Chicago White Sox (fifth inning, July 1, 1962 against the Cleveland Indians); the New York Yankees twice (fourth inning, June 29, 2000 against the Detroit Tigers and third inning, August 19, 2000 against the Anaheim Angels); the New York Mets (second inning, June 24, 2005 against the Yankees); and the Houston Astros (seventh inning, June 26, 2005 against the Texas Rangers).[4] In these cases one or more of the flies did not result in a putout due to an error.
Since the rule was reinstated in its present form in MLB in 1954, Gil Hodges of the Dodgers holds the record for most sacrifice flies in one season with 19, in 1954;[5]Eddie Murray holds the MLB record for most sacrifice flies in a career with 128.[6]
Batters have not been charged with a time at-bat for a sacrifice hit since 1893, but baseball has changed the sacrifice fly rule multiple times.[9] The sacrifice fly as a statistical category was instituted in 1908, only to be discontinued in 1931. The rule was again adopted in 1939, only to be eliminated again in 1940, before being adopted for the last time in 1954.[10] For some baseball fans, it is significant that the sacrifice-fly rule was eliminated in 1940 because, in 1941, Ted Williams was hitting .39955 on the last day of the season and needed one hit in a doubleheader against the Philadelphia A's to become the first hitter since Bill Terry in 1930 to hit .400. He got six hits, finishing with an official .406 average, the last player in over 80 years to bat .400 or more in the American or National League. In his book Baseball and Other Matters in 1941 author Robert Creamer, citing estimates, points out that if Williams' 14 at-bats on sacrifice flies that year were deducted from the 456 official at-bats he was charged with, his final average in 1941 would have been .419.[11]
The Sacrifice Fly, from the SABR web site (Research Journals Archive)
October 21, 2023
sacrifice, baseball, sacrifice, sometimes, abbreviated, defined, rule, score, sacrifice, when, before, batter, hits, ball, flight, handled, outfielder, infielder, running, outfield, fair, foul, territory, that, caught, scores, after, catch, dropped, runner, sc. In baseball a sacrifice fly sometimes abbreviated to sac fly is defined by Rule 9 08 d 1 Score a sacrifice fly when before two are out the batter hits a ball in flight handled by an outfielder or an infielder running in the outfield in fair or foul territory that is caught and a run scores after the catch or is dropped and a runner scores if in the scorer s judgment the runner could have scored after the catch had the fly ball been caught They are so named because the batter allows a teammate to score a run while sacrificing his or her ability to do so They are traditionally recorded in box scores with the designation SF Contents 1 Rules 2 Records 3 History 4 References 5 External linksRules EditAs addressed within Rule 9 02 a 1 of the Official Baseball Rules 1 a sacrifice fly is not counted as a time at bat for the batter though the batter is credited with a run batted in The same is true with a bases loaded walk The purpose of not counting a sacrifice fly as an at bat is to avoid penalizing hitters for a successful action The sacrifice fly is one of two instances in baseball where a batter is not charged with a time at bat after putting a ball in play the other is the sacrifice hit also known as a sacrifice bunt But while a sacrifice fly does not affect a player s batting average it counts as a plate appearance and lowers the on base percentage A player on a hitting streak will have end it with no official at bats but a sacrifice fly Unlike a sacrifice bunt which may be scored if a runner advances from any base to any base a sacrifice fly is only credited if a runner scores on the play Therefore when a runner on first or second base tags on a fly ball and advances no further than third base no sacrifice is given and the batter is charged with an at bat Also if a runner tags and advances from second base or theoretically from first base all the way to home and scores without an intervening error the batter is credited with a sacrifice fly as well as a second RBI if a runner on third also scores At the professional level this will only typically occur in unusual circumstances that prevent the defense from making an immediate throw back to the infield such as an outfielder colliding with the wall while making a catch on the warning track The sacrifice fly is credited even if another runner is put out so long as the run scores The sacrifice fly is credited on a dropped ball even if another runner is forced out by reason of the batter becoming a runner On any fly ball a runner can initiate an attempt to advance bases as soon as a fielder touches the ball by tagging up even before the fielder has full control of the ball Records EditThe most sacrifice flies by a team in one game in Major League Baseball MLB is five the record was established by the Seattle Mariners in 1988 tied by the Colorado Rockies in 2006 2 and tied again by the Mariners in 2008 3 Five MLB teams have collected three sacrifice flies in an inning the Chicago White Sox fifth inning July 1 1962 against the Cleveland Indians the New York Yankees twice fourth inning June 29 2000 against the Detroit Tigers and third inning August 19 2000 against the Anaheim Angels the New York Mets second inning June 24 2005 against the Yankees and the Houston Astros seventh inning June 26 2005 against the Texas Rangers 4 In these cases one or more of the flies did not result in a putout due to an error Since the rule was reinstated in its present form in MLB in 1954 Gil Hodges of the Dodgers holds the record for most sacrifice flies in one season with 19 in 1954 5 Eddie Murray holds the MLB record for most sacrifice flies in a career with 128 6 As of the end of the 2021 Major League Baseball season the ten players who had hit the most sacrifice flies were as follows Eddie Murray 128 Cal Ripken Jr 127 Robin Yount 123 Hank Aaron 121 Frank Thomas 121 George Brett 120 Ruben Sierra 120 Rafael Palmeiro 119 Rusty Staub 119 Andre Dawson 118 Only once has the World Series been won on a sac fly In 1912 Larry Gardner of the Boston Red Sox hit a fly ball off a pitch from the New York Giants Christy Mathewson Steve Yerkes tagged up and scored from third base to win game 8 in the tenth inning and take the series for the Red Sox 7 8 History EditBatters have not been charged with a time at bat for a sacrifice hit since 1893 but baseball has changed the sacrifice fly rule multiple times 9 The sacrifice fly as a statistical category was instituted in 1908 only to be discontinued in 1931 The rule was again adopted in 1939 only to be eliminated again in 1940 before being adopted for the last time in 1954 10 For some baseball fans it is significant that the sacrifice fly rule was eliminated in 1940 because in 1941 Ted Williams was hitting 39955 on the last day of the season and needed one hit in a doubleheader against the Philadelphia A s to become the first hitter since Bill Terry in 1930 to hit 400 He got six hits finishing with an official 406 average the last player in over 80 years to bat 400 or more in the American or National League In his book Baseball and Other Matters in 1941 author Robert Creamer citing estimates points out that if Williams 14 at bats on sacrifice flies that year were deducted from the 456 official at bats he was charged with his final average in 1941 would have been 419 11 References Edit a b Official Rules MLB com Torrealba s slam five sac flies power Rockies past Bucs ESPN com Associated Press June 7 2006 Stone Larry April 16 2008 Seattle Mariners ride flurry of sacrifice flies to 11 6 victory over Kansas City Royals Seattle Times Sacrifice Flies Records Single Season Records baseball reference com Career Leaders amp Records for Sacrifice Flies Baseball Reference Retrieved June 22 2018 World Series Final Outs Baseball Almanac Retrieved 13 June 2017 1912 World Series Baseball Almanac Retrieved 13 June 2017 Chadwick Henry 1893 The Reliable Book of Outdoor Games F M Lupton p 62 ISBN 9785872410195 Holtzman Jerome 2005 Jerome Holtzman on Baseball A History of Baseball Scribes Sports Publishing p 198 ISBN 9781582619767 Creamer Robert W 2000 Baseball and Other Matters in 1941 University of Nebraska Press p 272 ISBN 9780803264069 External links EditMLB Official Rules from the Major League Baseball website Baseball Rules Chronology from Baseball Library The Sacrifice Fly from the SABR web site Research Journals Archive Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Sacrifice fly amp oldid 1170758410, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
