OK now we're going to talk about a term that is heard a lot, but not necessarily understood by everybody, especially fans. And that's the sacrifice. A sacrifice truly is a batter sacrificing himself and an out usually, to move a runner over or to score a run. Many times it comes in the form of a fly-ball to the outfield, with a runner at third tagging up and scoring at home. Usually it's a fly ball that is caught, so therefore the runner's out and therefore sacrificed. In terms of the box score, that actually is not counted at an at-bat, because you've sacrificed yourself so therefore scorekeepers don't count that against you. So when you see the box score, hey that guy had five-at-bats but you only see three there, maybe he sacrificed twice. So, another form of sacrifice is bunting. And bunting is when you see a batter square his bat around, and tap the ball, for a lack of a better word, tap the ball so it deadens right there in front of home plate, or right between home plate and the pitcher; so therefore the runner, where ever he or she may be, first base or second base, can get to the next base without a worry of a throw to get them, and more often than not that batter is thrown out at first base. Sometimes a bunt is so good the runner gets to first base anyway, and then it's called a single. But again, usually bunt plays are not counted as at-bats, because you are sacrificing your own out, and your own at bat.
