How to Locate the Foul Lines in Baseball

Baseball may be America's pastime, but if you aren't familiar with the shape of the field, you will have trouble following the game as a spectator. Here are some tips on how to locate the foul lines at a baseball game so you can enjoy the experience.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Locate home plate on the field. Home plate looks exactly as the name suggests. It looks like an upside down house and is located in the batter's box. Home plate is the beginning of the foul lines.

2. Look at each corner of home plate. There will be a line extending to first and third base respectively. These are the actual foul lines. Anything hit to the inside of these lines is a fair ball and therefore "in play" while anything hit to the outside of these lines is foul and out of play. However if the ball is popped up in the air in foul territory, it can be caught for an out. Also, runners may advance if they tag-up before heading to the next base.

3. Extrapolate the foul line from first and third base to the stands in the outfield. The foul lines extend through the outfield and end with a large pole, which extends high above the stadium. This is to allow umpires to be able to gauge if a ball is fair or foul if it is high in the air, out of the stadium. This is a crucial call as that ball is either a homerun, resulting in one or more runs scored, or a foul ball, resulting in an additional strike against the batter.

Tips & Warnings

• If a baseball hits the foul pole, it is considered a home run.
• If you need to create foul lines for a field, simply bring a protractor with you. The infield on a baseball diamond is a perfect square. This square is on its side, which is how it gets the nickname of "the diamond." Create foul lines by using a can of spray paint and drawing lines at 90-degree angles from home plate, extending to the end of the outfield.

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