6 ways to get to first base with getting a hit?

Answer 1

1. error

2. hit-by-pitch

3. walk

4. catcher drops third strike

5. wild pitch that is swung on for the third strike

6. catcher's interference

7. Fielder's choice

8. Pinch runner

9. Ball gets lodge in umpire's equipment

10. Official Rule 7.05 (h), ball thrown from the pitchers plate as a pitch or to catch a baserunner goes into the stands or dugout. How about 7.05 (b) Each runner including the batter runner may, without liability to be put out, advance Three bases, if a fielder deliberately touches a fair ball with his cap, mask or any part of his uniform detached from its proper place on his person. The ball is in play and the batter may advance to home base at his peril.

According to Eric Enders, a researcher with the Baseball Hall of Fame, there are 23 legal ways to get to first base: 1. walk

2. intentional walk [this is now scored separately from a walk

3. hit by pitch

4. dropped third strike

5. failure to deliver pitch within 20 seconds [yes, it might be scored as a ball, but it doesn't involve throwing the ball outside the strike zone and violates a different rule]

6. catcher interference

7. fielder interference

8. spectator interference ("the act of a spectator touching a live ball by reaching out of the stands or going on the playing field")

9. fan obstruction [truth be told, I have no idea how this differs from spectator interference]

10. fair ball hits umpire

11. fair ball hits runner

12. fielder obstructs runner

13. pinch-runner [does not apply to batter]

14. fielder's choice [which may not result in an out anywhere]

15. force out at another base

16. preceding runner put-out allows batter to reach first

17. sac bunt fails to advance runner [I would have thought this was just a fielder's choice]

18. sac fly dropped [I would have thought this was just an error]

19. runner called out on appeal

20. error

21. four illegal pitches [yes, scored as balls, but again, not necessarily involving 4 pitches outside the strike zone]

22. if a game is suspended with a runner on first and that player is traded prior to the makeup, another player can take his place [does not apply to batter, and I imagine this would apply if the original runner was not available for other reasons, such as illness, injury, etc.] 23. hit (Some of these may be scored similarly, but they are all apparently distinct ways to get to first.)