What is a Fielder's Choice? Definition and Examples
A fielder's choice is when a batter reaches base only because the defense chose to put out a different baserunner instead of throwing him out, crediting no hit.
What is a Fielder's Choice?
A fielder's choice (FC) occurs when a batter hits a fair ball and reaches base safely, but only because the defense elected to make a play on a different runner rather than retire the batter. The fielder had the chance to throw the batter out at first but "chose" to chase an out elsewhere — usually a force at second, third, or home. Crucially, the official scorer rules that the batter reached on the defense's decision, not on the merit of his hit, so no hit is credited even though the batter is standing safely on a base.
How a Fielder's Choice Is Scored
Official scoring treats a fielder's choice as an at-bat with no hit:
- The batter is charged with an at-bat but receives no hit, lowering his batting average.
- No error is charged, because the defense recorded an out (just on the wrong runner from the batter's perspective).
- The batter generally gets no RBI, even if a run scores, when the run scores as a result of the batter making an out being avoided via the force play.
- A runner erased on the play is recorded as out by force-out or fielder's choice.
The key scoring test: would the batter have been out at first with ordinary effort if the fielder had thrown there? If yes, it's a fielder's choice, not a hit.
Worked Example
Picture a runner on first with one out. The batter hits a sharp grounder to the shortstop. The shortstop flips to second base to force the lead runner, and the batter beats the relay to first. The batter is safe at first base — but the scorebook reads 0-for-1. His batting average drops as if he'd grounded out, because he reached only on the fielder's choice to take the force at second. A real-season grinder like a high-contact middle infielder can rack up a dozen or more such plays a year, each quietly shaving points off his average while still putting him on base.
Why a Fielder's Choice Matters
Fielder's choices distort surface stats. A player who reaches on an FC is on base but gets no on-base credit (an FC does not raise OBP), so it functions as an out in rate stats. For analysts, separating "reached on FC" events from true hits sharpens reads on a hitter's actual contact quality. In BABIP analysis, fielder's-choice grounders are part of the in-play population that didn't become hits — useful for diagnosing whether a slumping hitter is unlucky or genuinely hitting weak grounders into force plays.
Limitations and Common Misconceptions
The biggest misconception is that reaching base always helps your stat line — it doesn't. A fielder's choice counts as an at-bat with no hit and no walk, treating an on-base outcome like an out in AVG and OBP. It's also confused with a force out (the FC is the batter's outcome; the force out is the erased runner's). And it's distinct from an error: an FC means the defense competently recorded an out, just not on the batter, whereas an error means the defense botched a play it should have made. Note too that not every "reached safely while a runner was out" is an FC — if the batter beat out a genuine infield single attempt, the scorer may credit a hit instead.
Related Terms
In Legends Deck, ground-ball outcomes on cards with baserunners trigger fielder's-choice resolution: the sim weighs the defender's range rating against runner speed to decide whether the lead runner is forced, and your batter card reaches base without earning a hit — the same average-suppressing event that frustrates real hitters.