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Sage Lee Posted 13 years ago
Vocabulary

What dose blooper mean in baseball?

"Fern was the next batter. She hit a blooper to right field, advancing Sue Ellen to second."

I found blooper is a Texas Leaguer. (And here is the definition from Wiki: Texas Leaguer (or Texas League single) is a weakly hit fly ball that drops in for a single between an infielder and an outfielder. These are now more commonly referred to as flares, bloopers or "bloop single.")

My question is, Fern was out? Or safe at first base?

The reason why I ask this question is, as far as I know, Fern is not out (because blooper is a single anyway), but according to the story, she must have been out for her blooper. So I was really confused.

Here is the whole paragraph from the book I am reading:

Sue Ellen was up first. The first pitch was a ball.
“Wait for yours!” shouted Francine.
Sue Ellen nodded. She stepped back into the batter’s box.
In came the pitch.
Sue Ellen swung hard—and lined the ball into left field.
Coach Frensky whistled. “All right! The tieing run’s on first.”
Fern was the next batter. She hit a blooper to right field, advancing Sue Ellen to second.
“Keep it going,” said the coach.
Now Binky came to the plate. He tapped the dirt from his cleats and cocked his bat.
In came the pitch.
Binky swung hard, but a little early. The ball went deep to right field, but it was caught just before the fence. He was out, but Sue Ellen tagged up at second and ran to third.
Buster was up next.
“Just make good contact,” said the coach. “A single ties it. Keep us alive.”
Buster nodded.
He watched the first two pitches pass. One ball and one strike.
The third pitch came in. Buster jumped on it.
The ball popped up a mile high. Everyone looked up.
The pitcher called for the catch.
Arthur held his breath. Maybe the pitcher would trip on the grass or be blinded by the sun or get a sudden itch in his back and scratch it with his glove.
Thummp!
The ball was caught. The game was over.

* Sue Ellen -> on third.

* Fern -> blooper... out or not?!

* Binky -> out

* Buster -> out
  

Top answer

On a blooper, the runner can be thrown out on first base. It is a "fielder's choice" whether to get the base-runner tagged out on second base, or the runner tagged out on first. This is what I think happened.

  • On a blooper, the runner can be thrown out on first base.
  • It is a "fielder's choice" whether to get the base-runner tagged out on second base, or the runner tagged out on first.
  • This is what I think happened.
  • A blooper actually falls to the ground without being caught.
  • A fly ball is caught in the air, and the out is automatic.
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1 Answers
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On a blooper, the runner can be thrown out on first base. It is a "fielder's choice" whether to get the base-runner tagged out on second base, or the runner tagged out on first.
This is what I think happened.

A blooper actually falls to the ground without being caught. A fly ball is caught in the air, and the out is automatic. However, after the ball is caught, a base runner can try

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