What is a ball four sprint?
Ball four starts a sprint: the batter runs while every defensive player on the field has to touch the ball before it is live again.
The details
- The batter can take as many bases as they like before the ball is live.
- The ball does not need to go through the pitcher or catcher.
By the numbers
Batters earned 3464 ball four sprints in 517 games with box scores, about 6.7 per game.
Calculated by NanaBall from official box scores.
How this rule changed
No changes documented since it first appeared in 2020.
| Season | How the rule read |
|---|---|
| 2026 | Ball four starts a sprint: the batter runs while every defensive player on the field has to touch the ball before it is live again. |
| 2025 | Ball four starts a sprint: the batter runs while every defensive player on the field has to touch the ball before it is live again. |
| 2024 | Ball four starts a sprint: the batter runs while every defensive player on the field has to touch the ball before it is live again. |
| 2023 | Ball four starts a sprint: the batter runs while every defensive player on the field has to touch the ball before it is live again. |
| 2022 | Ball four starts a sprint: the batter runs while the catcher throws the ball around to every defensive player before it is live again. |
| 2021 | Ball four starts a sprint: the batter runs while the catcher throws the ball around to every defensive player before it is live again. |
| 2020 | Ball four starts a sprint: the batter runs while the catcher throws the ball around to every defensive player before it is live again. |
Sources: 2026; 2025; 2024; 2023. Summaries written by NanaBall.
