Fielder's choice

In baseball, fielder's choice (abbreviated FC) is a term used to refer to a variety of plays involving an offensive player reaching a base due to the defense's attempt to put out another baserunner, or the defensive team's indifference to his advance. Fielder's choice is not called by the umpires on the field of play; rather, it is recorded by the official scorer to account for the offensive player's advance without crediting him with an offensive statistic such as a hit or stolen base.

Though there are several definitions of fielder's choice, the most common (and the only one commonly referred to as FC) involves a fielder fielding a fair ball and choosing to try to put out another baserunner, thereby allowing the batter-runner to safely reach first base. The defensive player may or may not have an opportunity to retire the batter runner. If a preceding runner is retired on a force out, the batter will not be rewarded with a hit and will be scored a Fielders Choice (FC). Other plays that fall under the definition of FC are usually referred to using other terms such as "defensive indifference" or "on the throw."

Fielder's choice is defined in MLB Rule 2, "Definitions", as "the act of a fielder who handles a fair grounder and, instead of throwing to first base to put out the batter-runner, throws to another base in an attempt to put out a preceding runner." FC is recorded for the batter-runner if he reaches first base safely regardless of whether the attempt to put out the other runner(s) is successful. If the other runner is successfully put out for the third out, FC is recorded for the batter-runner regardless of whether he had already reached first base (if the other runner was forced out, the batter is described as grounding into a force play).

Rule 2 also defines FC as any of the following circumstances:

In many situations fielder's choice requires the official scorer to make judgment calls, such as what the outcome of the play would have been had there been no runners on base after taking into account ordinary effort by the defensive team, as well as what effect any errors committed by the defensive team might have had on the play.

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