Safe (baseball)
In baseball, a baserunner is safe when he reaches a base without being put out by various ways. While a runner is touching a base, he is usually not in jeopardy of being put out, and is thus "safe" from fielders' actions, such as tags. The runner is in jeopardy once again, negating this safety, when: By the rules, a runner is safe when he is entitled to the base he is trying for. Umpires will signal that a runner is safe by extending their elbows to their sides and then extending their arms fully to the side . For emphasis, an umpire may fully cross and extend his arms several times to indicate safe. Verbally, the umpire will usually simply say "safe". If a close play occurs that may have appeared to be a putout, the umpire will also call a reason for the safe call, such as "he dropped the ball" or "he missed the tag". Calling safe is a subjective decision which is better made using the sounds of the runner hitting the bag and the fielder catching the ball, rather than by sight.