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Fly Ball Double

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. For a ball in the air to go for a double, you’re almost always looking at a solidly-hit line drive that goes either into “the gap” (the space on either side of the center fielder where center field overlaps with left and right fields), or down one of the base lines, perhaps even landing fair and then bouncing into foul territory. You can also see balls in the air go for doubles on defensive misplays (that fall short of being errors); when the ball is hit into the air and there’s no one else on base, the batter doesn’t really need to stop at first; so if the defense is sub-optimal, said batter can just keep on running until they pull up safely at a base.

A batter who hits a double will immediately find themself in scoring position— so called because a baserunner who starts there can almost always score on a solid base hit. 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.

On this type of play there is a slim chance that the batter will not be content with a mere double, but will attempt to stretch the play into a triple by advancing to third base, in which case the defense will have a chance to make a play. Otherwise, the runner will take second, and the defense will adjust accordingly as they prepare for the next batter.