Second baseman Todd Frazier, of the Pittsburgh Pirates, closes in on a ground ball hit by Mookie Betts, of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Infield Ground Ball

A ground ball that stays in the infield has an extremely high probability of being turned into an out. This is, indeed, a fairly routine play— so much so, that you’ll often hear the announcers calling it as such in real time: “there’s a routine grounder to [a player or position].”

However that “high probability” of being turned into an out is not, in fact, 100%. The ball could always be hit in the just right spot to go for a hit, or the defense could make a mistake.