For more examples, click here.

A Double into the Outfield

A batter advancing to second base on a base hit, no matter where the ball is hit, and provided there's no error on the play, is called a "double". There are some other considerations here, but we'll get to them in a second.

For a ground ball to wind up as a double, the ball has to go through the infield at the exact right spot— usually we're talking down the first-base or third-base lines. Or, the defense has to be lackadaisical to the point of being in a coma¹.

And speaking of the defense— you'll sometimes see a hitter hit a fairly innocuous-looking single, but then they notice the defense sleeping a bit, and they keep on trucking into second. This type of play is usually called a "hustle double," and when it works, it’s fantastic for the offense. Less so for the defense, obviously. If it doesn't work (that is, if the runner gets tagged out at second), then the embarrassment can swing the other way, obviously. If the batter/runner makes it to second, they get a double out of it; if they don’t, they’re still credited with a single.

Just because a batter hits the ball and winds up on second, does not mean they are always credited with a double, as we hinted at the start of this section. An error is an obvious example— either the error allows the batter to reach base when they wouldn't have, or to advance a base instead of staying at first. Either way, no double.

A batter who hits a double immediately finds themself in "scoring position," which is so-called because a baserunner who starts there can almost always score on a base hit, especially one that makes it to the outfield. Scoring from second isn’t quite as automatic as scoring from third, but if you’re on second and someone behind you gets a hit, you’ve got a decent chance of scoring.

Much like the hustle double, after hitting a more run-of-the-mill double, there is a slim chance that the batter looks around and thinks "I can keep going," and so attempts to stretch the play into a triple by advancing to third base, in which case the defense has a chance to make a play. Otherwise, the runner stops at second, and the defense adjusts accordingly as they prepare for the next batter.