Force Out (FO)

A Force Out occurs when a runner is forced to vacate the base he is on because the runner or batter behind him has no means of retreat. Another way of putting it is if there was a runner on first base and the batter hits a ground ball; the batter has no choice but to run to first base. And that means the runner on first can’t stay there - he has no recourse but to try to advance to second base.

In the illustration to the right Jackson led off the inning with a base hit to left field on a 1 ball, 0 strike count.

Duncan hits a ground ball on an “0-2 pitch” to the second baseman, who flips to the shortstop covering second base for the “force out”

The Force Out is recorded in the batter’s cell as a FO 4-6 where “FO” represents Force Out, “4” represents the second baseman who caught the ground ball and “6” represents the shortstop who caught the throw and stepped on the bag for the first out.

In the runner’s cell (Jackson) the number “1” with a circle around it is used to note the first out of the inning.