Tag out

In <a href="/facts/Baseball/42bEQy1Y">baseball</a> and <a href="/facts/Softball/4aPg2eqt">softball</a>, a tag out, sometimes just called a tag, is a play in which a baserunner is <a href="/facts/Out_(baseball)/D4qqoCI8">out</a> because a fielder touches him with the ball or with the hand or glove holding the ball, while the ball is <a href="/facts/Live_ball_(baseball)/uMR8dtAQ">live</a> and the runner is in jeopardy of being put out (usually when he is not touching a base).
A baserunner is in jeopardy when any of the following are true:

<ol><li>he is not touching a base (excluding overrunning of <a href="/facts/First_base/klbHrSeY">first base</a> or when advancing to an awarded base, such as on a <a href="/facts/Base_on_balls/4wXWn8VN">base on balls</a>)</li>
<li>he is touching a base he has been forced to vacate because the batter became a baserunner (a <a href="/facts/Force_play/85TfdBIl">forced runner</a>)</li>
<li>he has not <a href="/facts/Tag_up/b8tNf6wW">tagged up</a> on a caught <a href="/facts/Batted_ball/dY2TjDCB">fly ball</a></li>
<li>he failed to touch a base when he last passed it, or failed to touch them in order</li>
<li>he is touching a base that a preceding baserunner is also touching (excludes touching a base he was forced to advance to, in which case the preceding baserunner is in jeopardy unless also forced to advance to an awarded base)</li></ol>
A tag is therefore the most common way to retire baserunners who are not in danger of being <a href="/facts/Force_play/85TfdBIl">forced out</a>, though a forced runner may also be tagged out in lieu of stepping on the forced base. Additionally, a tag out can be used on an <a href="/facts/Appeal_play/FHd15B6v">appeal play</a>.

Tag out open-in-new

Tag out