Types of batted balls in baseball
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In baseball, a batted ball can be called one of several various things, depending on how it comes off the bat and where in the field it lands.
There are generally three descriptive categories for balls hit in the air. A fly ball or simply fly is a ball that is hit to the outfield in the air, usually very high. Fielders attempt to catch fly balls on their descent. Secondly, A pop fly or pop-up is a specific type of fly ball that goes very high and does not travel very far. From the perspective of the fielder, popups seem to come straight down.
The third type of ball hit in the air is a line drive or a liner. This is a sharply hit, low-flying batted ball. The threshold between a line drive and a fly ball is subjective; liners tend to not visibly arc up and then down. Liners also tend to be the hardest balls to catch because of their speed and rapid descent.
A ground ball or grounder is a batted ball that rolls or bounces on the ground in the infield. Bunts are generally not considered to be ground balls; they are a distinct type of batted ball, where the batter, in effect, tries to 'block' the ball with the bat held steady, rather than taking a full swing.
A foul tip, a very different type of batted ball, is a ball tipped off the bat which goes straight back almost as if it was never hit. It's sometimes very hard to tell if a batter has foul-tipped a ball unless you are close enough to hear the contact. If this type of ball is caught by the catcher with 2 strikes, the batter has struck out; less than 2 strikes, it's another strike even if caught.
See the list of baseball jargon for other common words for types of batted balls, e.g., Texas Leaguer, flare, drag bunt, comebacker.
See also: Ground ball fly ball ratio
