Click here for more examples (Note: may include ground balls that are not bunts).

Bunt into a Fielder's Choice

The batter lays down a bunt, but it’s not a very good one. Or at least, it’s not good enough: the ball is fielded quickly enough that whomever has it can quickly throw to a base other than first base to get a force out. This is probably not what the batter had in mind.

As with any other force play, the important thing is whether or not the defense can get the ball to the base in question before the runner gets there. Unlike first base, if the runner overruns (or over-slides) second or third base, they are at risk of being tagged out by the defender. Home plate is slightly different— if somehow both the fielder and the runner miss the plate during the initial play, both players can scramble back to touch the base, and whomever gets there first “wins” the play.

After the force out is recorded, the ball is still live, and the defense can go after additional outs, especially when there are additional runners that might be forced out. This sort of thing is referred to as a double play, and there are some special rules you might want to read up on for them, especially when the first out happens over at second base.

The defense going after a runner other than the batter/runner means that said batter/runner will at the very least be credited with a fielder’s choice, rather than a hit, if they wind up safely on first. If the scorekeeper thinks that the batter was, in fact, trying to sacrifice on the play, the scorekeeper could call the play a sacrifice bunt, batter safe on fielder’s choice, though this type of judgement is rare. If the batter is tagged with a sacrifice, they do not get credit for an at-bat, but do get credit for a plate appearance. This can change, however, if the defense goes after a second out somewhere (most likely at first). If the defense succeeds, then the batter has bunted into a double play instead of a fielder's choice.