page_title: Ground rule double
section_title: Application
hierarchical_section_title: Ground rule double / Application
caption_attribution_description: English: Baseball umpire Bill Miller confers with Atlanta Braves manager Fredi González during a game in Arlington in September 2014.
context_page_description: A ground rule double is a baseball rule that awards two bases from the time of pitch to all baserunners including the batter-runner, as a result of the ball leaving play after being hit fairly and leaving the field under a condition of the ground rules in effect at the field where the game is being played. An automatic double is the term used to refer to a fairly hit ball leaving the field in circumstances that do not merit a home run. The automatic double is quite often mistakenly called a ground rule double.
context_section_description: Major League Baseball (MLB) has a set of universal ground rules that apply at all ballparks, two of which award two bases to the batter and any baserunners:
  A batted ball lodged in the roof above fair territory (unless outlined otherwise in the home park ground rules)
  Any batted ball in fair territory that, in flight, strikes the facing of a lower wall and then bounds over a higher wall
  Two bases can also be awarded per home park ground rules—rules created to provide for unique playing conditions of a specific ballpark. For example, ground rules govern the situation when a batted ball is lodged in the ivy at Wrigley Field, or the walkways near the ceiling of Tropicana Field, a domed stadium.
  The far more commonly occurring automatic double results from the generally applicable MLB rules 5.05(a)(6) through 5.05(a)(9). These rules govern how to treat the batter (and any runners on base) when a batted ball is hit fair but passes out of the field of play or becomes artificially obstructed while in the field of play.  For example, these rules cover balls that hit the ground in fair territory and land out of play, typically by bouncing over a fence or wall in the outfield. The rules also provide generically for the award of a double when a batted ball goes through or under a fence; and when it goes through or sticks in shrubbery or vines on the fence.
  One of the MLB rules, 5.05(a)(9), governs when fair fly balls are deflected into the stands by a fielder: for example, a fair fly ball deflected out of play by a fielder from a point less than 250 feet (76 m) from home plate is considered a double (beyond that distance, it is considered a home run). This applied in an unusual play August 3, 2007, when Melky Cabrera of the New York Yankees hit a ball that ricocheted off Kansas City Royals pitcher Ryan Braun's foot and bounced into the stands in foul territory.
  When two bases are awarded by either ground rules or the automatic rule, any baserunners ahead of the batter are entitled to advance two bases from their positions at the time of pitch.  Only in the case of interference is the umpire vested with discretion to award more bases (see MLB rule 6.01). Application of the ground rule or automatic double rule can result in a runner at first base, who appears to have been able to score on a batted ball, being required to returned to third base due to the ball going out of play.
caption: Runners advance two bases from their location at the time of pitch on a ground rule double; umpires can only award more than two bases in certain instances of interference.
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