Foul tip

In baseball, a foul tip is defined as "a batted ball that goes sharp and direct from the bat to the catcher and is legally caught. It is not a foul tip unless caught, and any foul tip that is caught is a strike and the ball is 'in play'."

A foul tip is not the same as a

batter

swings and makes slight contact, regardless of whether it is caught by the catcher. However, the rules are very narrow: it is not a foul tip if the ball touches anything else on the way to the catcher's hand or glove or if it is not legally caught and held. Anything else is technically a foul ball, including if the ball is caught after popping up into foul territory.

The rules treat a foul tip as equivalent in every respect to a pitch at which the batter swings and misses.

A foul tip is always a strike, regardless of the existing
ball-and-strike count
.
- A player with two strikes against him is automatically struck out.
- A player with fewer than two strikes against him is not out.
The ball remains
runners may advance or be thrown out
on the bases.

In contrast, a foul ball counts as a strike only if the batter does not already have two strikes against him/her, or if the batter incurred the foul ball on a bunt. Runners may not advance and must return to their bases without danger of being tagged out.

References

"Major League Baseball: Official Info: Official Rules: Definition of Terms"., see under FOUL TIP.

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