Guide
Baseball terms for new parents
Baseball has its own language. This plain-English dictionary covers the terms you will hear at youth games, so you can follow along and cheer at the right moments.
The field and the team
- Dugout
- The bench area where each team sits.
- Bullpen
- Where relief pitchers warm up. Also the group of relievers.
- Battery
- The pitcher and the catcher.
- Infield / outfield
- The dirt diamond area near the bases, and the grass beyond it.
- Foul territory / fair territory
- Outside or inside the foul lines.
Batting
- On deck / in the hole
- The next batter, and the batter after that.
- Count
- Balls and strikes on the batter. A full count is three balls and two strikes.
- Bunt
- A short, gentle hit made by holding the bat still to tap the ball.
- Sacrifice
- An out that moves a runner forward or scores one.
- RBI
- Run batted in.
- Ground ball / fly ball / line drive / pop-up
- How the ball was hit: along the ground, high in the air, hard and low, or straight up and short.
- Walk-off
- A hit or run that ends the game in the home team's last at-bat.
Pitching
- Starter / reliever / closer
- The pitcher who starts, those who replace him or her, and one who finishes a close game.
- Wild pitch / passed ball
- A pitch the catcher can't reasonably handle (wild pitch) or should have caught (passed ball).
- Pitch count
- The number of pitches thrown. Youth leagues use it for rest rules. See pitch count rules.
- Balk
- An illegal move by the pitcher with runners on base.
Baserunning
- Scoring position
- A runner on second or third base, where a single can score them.
- Steal
- When a runner advances on a pitch without a hit.
- Lead off / pickoff
- Taking steps away from the base before the pitch, and the pitcher's throw to get the runner.
- Tag up
- Returning to touch a base after a fly ball is caught.
- Rundown
- When a runner is trapped between bases by the defense.
Youth baseball terms
- Continuous batting order
- Everyone on the team bats, in order.
- Mercy rule (run rule)
- A game ends early when one team leads by a set number of runs.
- Courtesy runner
- A substitute runner, often for a catcher or a pitcher, as allowed by league rules.
- Coach pitch / t-ball
- Younger divisions where a coach pitches or the ball is hit off a tee.
- Rec / travel
- Local community leagues, and select teams that play tournaments. See rec ball vs. travel ball.
For stat abbreviations, see our baseball stats glossary.
Frequently asked questions
What does 'scoring position' mean in baseball?
A runner on second or third base, because a single can score them.
What is the bullpen?
The area where relief pitchers warm up, and the group of relief pitchers on a team.
What is a walk-off?
A hit or run that ends the game in the home team's final at-bat.
What does 'on deck' mean?
The batter who is next to bat.