Error (baseball)

In that case, the play will be scored both as a hit (for the number of bases the fielders should have limited the batter to) and an error.

If a batted ball were hit on the fly into foul territory, with the batting team having no runners on base, and a fielder misplayed such ball for an error, it is possible for a team on the winning side of a perfect game to commit at least one error, yet still qualify as a perfect game.

If the runner takes an additional base due to the wild throw, an error is charged for that advance.

Research has shown that the error rate is higher when the quality of fielding is suspect, e.g., the performance of an expansion team in its first year, or the fielding done by replacement players during World War II, and is lower when playing conditions are better, e.g. on artificial turf and during night games.

Notably, mental misjudgments, such as failure to cover a base or attempting a force out when such a play is not available, are not considered errors.

However, this still leaves statistics, such as fielding percentage, that are based on errors as a way to compare the defensive abilities of players.

In Major League Baseball (MLB), Herman Long holds the record with 1,096 career errors; he played from 1889 to 1904.

[3] Bill Dahlen, Deacon White, and Germany Smith are the only other players to commit at least 1,000 errors during their MLB careers.

Among active players, Brandon Crawford, who has won four Gold Glove Awards, leads with 174 errors.

The American League record of 15 is held by three pitchers, Jack Chesbro, Rube Waddell, and Ed Walsh.

Hal Chase holds the American League record with 285, 240 for the New York Highlanders and 40 for the Chicago White Sox.

[8] Jerry Denny holds the MLB and National League records for most errors by third basemen in a career with 533.