How Baseball Sacrifice Flies Work Explainer
A sacrifice fly is credited when a batter hits a fly ball or line drive that is caught for an out and a runner scores after the catch. It can also apply when an outfielder drops the ball but another runner is forced out and the scorer would have crossed the plate anyway. The play must occur with fewer than two outs.
The batter receives a plate appearance and a run batted in when the usual RBI conditions are met, but no official at-bat. That distinction protects batting average from dropping on a productive out. On-base percentage still treats the sacrifice fly as a plate appearance, so it can reduce that rate.
Not every advance on a fly ball is a sacrifice fly. A runner moving only from second to third does not qualify, and a run that scores because of an unrelated error may change the scoring decision. The official scorer judges whether the catch or near-catch directly enabled the run.
Fans can spot the play by watching the runner tag the occupied base after the catch, then race home. The ball remains live, so the defense may appeal an early departure or try to throw the runner out. The statistical credit is recorded only after the full play and any appeal are resolved.
No. It is a plate appearance but is excluded from official at-bats, so it does not lower batting average.
Usually, but the scorer may award a sacrifice fly after a dropped outfield ball when a run scores and another runner is put out.
No. A caught fly would end the inning before the runner's score could count.
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