In baseball, home plate has five sides. The form is exactly defined in MLB's manual under Rule 2.02. A home plate is a 17-inch square with two corners cut out. The top edge is 17 inches, while the neighboring sides are 8.5 inches. The bottom edge is also 17 inches. In addition to the four corner angles, there is one other angle that needs to be considered when determining if something is a home plate. The "bull's-eye" center of the plate is 3 inches from the top edge and 4 inches from any side edge. If something else is within these distances of the center, it is not a home plate. The batter stands at the base of the stand where the ball was hit. He or she has the right to stay there until the ball is put into play again or told to move. If he or she does not, then they have taken too long to react to the ball and it is called a balk. This can be cause for a runner to advance one base or another depending on how the play develops. A batter is free to take his time deciding what kind of pitch he wants to hit; however, once he makes his selection, he must make good on it immediately. If he waits too long, then it is said that he passed on the opportunity and allowed the pitcher to get away with a pitch outside the strike zone.