Fielder's choice
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In baseball, a fielder's choice (abbreviated FC) is most often the act of a fielder, upon fielding a batted ball, choosing to try to put out one runner while in so doing allowing the batter-runner to advance to first base.
A batter who reaches base safely as the result of a fielder's choice is not credited with a hit; he is effectively charged with an out (and an at bat) just as if he had been put out himself.
Example: With a runner on first base, the batter hits a ground ball to the shortstop. Instead of throwing the batter-runner out at first base, the shortstop chooses to throw to the second baseman who is covering second base, forcing out the runner coming from first. Meanwhile, the batter-runner reaches first base safely. This play is a fielder's choice.
If the defensive team fails to put out the runner being played upon, the play may be scored either as a fielder's choice (with or without any errors), or as a base hit.
A fielder's choice will also be recorded for the batter when he beats out an attempted double play, assuming there are no fielding errors (see example 5 below).
Example 2: With a fast runner on second base, the batter hits a ground ball to the shortstop. Instead of throwing the batter-runner out at first base, the shortstop chooses to throw to third base in an attempt to throw out the runner advancing from second base. The third baseman tries to tag out the runner but is unable to do so because of the speed of the runner. In this case, both runners are safe and nobody is put out; this play is a fielder's choice but no errors are charged because there was no misplay of the ball. If anything, the shortstop made a mental mistake (such misjudgements are not charged as errors) by choosing to throw to third base instead of first base.
Example 3: With a slow runner on second base, the batter hits a ground ball to the shortstop. Instead of throwing the batter-runner out at first base, the shortstop chooses to throw to third base in an attempt to throw out the runner advancing from second base. However, the third baseman drops the ball thrown by the shortstop, and does not recover in time to tag out the runner. Again, both runners are safe and nobody is put out; this play is a fielder's choice, but an error is charged to the third baseman as the runner would have been easily put out had the ball not been dropped.
Example 4: With a runner on first base, the batter hits a ground ball back up the middle. The shortstop dives for the ball and saves it from going into center field. Realizing he has no time to throw out the batter-runner at first base, the shortstop tosses the ball to the second baseman covering second base in an attempt to force out the runner coming from first. However, the throw is not in time, and both runners are safe. In this case, this play will be scored as a base hit because even had the shortstop thrown the ball to first base, the batter-runner still would have been safe.
Example 5: With a runner on first base, the batter hits a ground ball to the shortstop. The shortstop throws to second base to put out the lead runner. The second baseman then turns and attempts to complete a double play by throwing to first base. The batter beats the throw and is safe at first base. This play would not be recorded as a base hit for the batter, but as a fielder's choice to retire the runner at second.
A fielder's choice is also recorded when a fielder attempts an out on a runner, and another runner advances due to such an attempt. This type of fielder's choice is unrelated to the batter reaching first base; it happens with other runners or with the batter-runner after he reaches first base. For example, if a batter sends a base hit to the outfield, and the fielder throws to home plate in an attempt to put out a runner trying to score, the batter may decide to advance to second base since he can see that there will not be a play there. The batter is only credited with a single, and is said to have taken second on a fielder's choice (or "on the throw").
Additionally, a runner who "steals" a base may not be credited with a stolen base statistically if the defensive team is indifferent to his advance. This usually occurs in the late innings of a game with a wide scoring margin, where allowing one extra base would not have any impact on the outcome. For this play, the common usage is to say that the runner advanced on a fielder's choice, although in this particular case, it was the choice not to attempt a play at all.
