A foul ball is usually dead. A caught foul tip stays live.

The governing rule and version used here

This page applies the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball, Official Baseball Rules, 2026 Edition, in force for the 2026 Major League season. The rulebook also governs MLB's professional development league system, subject to league or competition supplements.

The controlling provisions are the Definitions of Terms for “Foul Ball,” “Foul Tip,” “Catch” and “Strike”; Rule 5.06(c)(5) on an uncaught foul; Rule 5.09(a)(1), (2) and (4) on batter outs; and Rule 5.09(b)(5) on runners.

Contact with the bat is only the first fact

• Uncaught foul ball: dead ball. Runners return and the batter receives a strike only if the count had fewer than two strikes, except for a bunt.
• Foul tip: sharp and direct from bat to catcher, then legally caught. It is a strike and the ball remains live.
• Caught foul fly or line drive: batter out because a fielder legally caught a batted ball in flight. It is not a foul tip unless it took the sharp-and-direct route to the catcher.
• Fair ball: remains live. A ball can begin near or even over foul territory and still become fair before first or third base, so the first bounce alone does not always decide it.

Where the ball is—not the fielder's feet—decides

The 2026 Definitions of Terms apply different checkpoints on either side of first and third base:

• Before first or third: an untouched ball is foul if it settles in foul territory or is touched there. It may roll or bounce back fair before the base and become a fair ball.
• At or beyond first or third: a ball that bounds past the base on or over foul territory, first falls beyond the base in foul territory, or is first touched there is foul. A ball that lands on or beyond the base in fair territory remains fair even if it then bounces foul.
• In the air: judge the ball's position relative to the foul line or pole when it is touched or leaves the field. The lines and foul poles are in fair territory.

A fielder standing in foul territory can therefore touch a fair ball, and a fielder standing in fair territory can touch a foul ball. The ball's location controls the call.

The ball is dead and runners must return

Rule 5.06(c)(5) makes an uncaught foul ball dead. No player may be put out and no base may be run while the ball is dead. Runners return without liability and the plate umpire does not put the ball back in play until they have retouched their bases. A separate rule can still enforce an award arising from another act during the pitch—for example, an enforceable balk—so “foul means everyone always returns” is not absolute.

Under the 2026 definition of “Strike,” an ordinary foul is a strike only when the batter had fewer than two strikes. At two strikes the count remains unchanged. This protects the batter from striking out on repeated ordinary swing fouls, but it does not override the bunt and foul-tip rules.

Ordinary swing, bunt and foul tip have three outcomes

• Ordinary swing fouled with two strikes: dead ball; the batter remains at two strikes.
• Bunt fouled with two strikes: strike three and the batter is out under Rule 5.09(a)(4). It does not matter that the catcher did not catch the ball.
• Legally caught foul tip with two strikes: strike three and the batter is out under Rule 5.09(a)(2); the ball remains live.

The decisive question is therefore not merely “Did the bat touch it?” It is whether the contact produced an ordinary foul, a foul bunt or a legally caught foul tip.

“Sharp and direct” plus a legal catch

The MLB definition requires both elements: the batted pitch must travel sharp and direct from the bat to the catcher, and the catcher must legally catch it. Height or how slight the contact sounded does not create a foul tip by itself.

The 2026 Rule 5.09(a)(2) Comment makes an important point that older shorthand can miss: the ball may first strike any part of the catcher's body or equipment and still be a foul tip if the catcher then secures it by hand or glove against the body or protector before it touches the ground. If it reaches the ground first, it was not legally caught and becomes an ordinary foul.

A foul tip does not require a tag-up

Because a caught foul tip remains live, Rule 5.09(b)(5) says runners need not retouch after it and may steal. A runner already moving on the pitch may continue at risk and can be thrown out.

That is different from a caught foul fly. On any legally caught fly ball, runners may leave from the instant the first fielder touches the ball, but a runner who left earlier must retouch and can be put out on appeal. On an uncaught ordinary foul, play is dead and runners return.

A pop-up is an out, not a foul tip

Rule 5.09(a)(1) retires the batter when any fielder legally catches a fair or foul fly ball other than a foul tip. A tipped pitch that rises, loops or otherwise does not travel sharp and direct to the catcher is therefore judged under the ordinary catch rule if a fielder catches it before it touches the ground.

A legal catch requires secure possession in a hand or glove and control long enough to show a voluntary and intentional release. A bobble can still end in a catch if a fielder finally controls the ball before it touches the ground.

A fielder may reach out of play, but not start there

Under the 2026 “Catch” definition, a fielder may reach over a fence, railing or dugout boundary from the playing surface and make a legal catch. For a foul near a dugout, at least one foot must be on or over the playing surface and neither foot may be on the ground in the dugout or another out-of-play area when the catch is made.

If the catch is legal and the fielder then steps or falls into an out-of-play area, the batter is still out. Rule 5.06(b)(3)(C) then makes the ball dead and awards each runner one base from the runner's last legally touched base when the fielder entered the dead area.

Not every rebound can complete a foul tip

If the ball goes sharp and direct to the catcher, rebounds off the catcher's body or gear, and is secured by hand or glove before touching the ground, it can satisfy the 2026 foul-tip rule. It is not a catch if it merely lodges in the catcher's clothing or equipment.

Rule 5.06(c)(7) treats an umpire rebound differently: if the tipped ball hits the umpire and a fielder catches it on the rebound, the ball is dead and the batter is not out. The same dead-ball result applies when the tipped ball lodges in the umpire's mask or other equipment. The rule's lodged-pitch provision awards runners one base when the ball remains out of play.

A ball can hit the batter and still be foul

Rules 5.09(a)(7) and (8) cover a common plate-area edge case. If the batter is in a legal position in the batter's box and, in the umpire's judgment, does not intend to interfere, a batted ball that strikes the batter or the bat is ruled foul. That is a dead-ball foul, not a live foul tip.

Intent and location matter. Deliberately deflecting a moving foul ball while running to first can instead retire the batter under Rule 5.09(a)(9), so “the batted ball hit the batter” is not a complete ruling by itself.

MLB reviews only specified fair-or-foul calls

MLB's current Replay Review Regulations do not make every fair-or-foul judgment reviewable. A non-home-run fair-or-foul call is reviewable only when the batted ball first lands at or beyond the set position of the first- or third-base umpire. Potential home-run boundary calls have their own review route.

If replay changes a reviewable call, the replay official places the clubs as they would have been had the correct call been made. Infield fair-or-foul judgment is outside this specified replay category, so replay is not a route for correcting that call.

A slow roller crosses the line before first

Situation: with a 1–1 count, a bunted ball starts in fair territory, spins across the first-base line before reaching the base and is first touched while over foul territory.

MLB 2026 ruling: foul ball, dead ball and strike two. The decisive fact is the ball's position when touched before first base—not where it first hit the ground and not where the fielder stood.

A ball lands fair beyond third, then kicks foul

Situation: a line drive lands in fair territory just beyond third base and then bounces into foul territory.

MLB 2026 ruling: fair ball and live play. Once an untouched ball first falls on or beyond first or third base in fair territory, a later bounce across the line does not make it foul.

The two-strike pitch hits the chest, then the glove

Situation: on a 1–2 count, the batter nicks a pitch sharp and direct to the catcher. It strikes the chest protector and the catcher secures it in the glove before it touches the ground.

MLB 2026 ruling: legally caught foul tip, strike three and batter out; the ball remains live. The first contact with the chest protector does not prevent the catch under Rule 5.09(a)(2) Comment.

The tipped pitch rebounds from the umpire

Situation: on two strikes, the ball goes sharp and direct past the catcher, strikes the plate umpire and is caught by the catcher before touching the ground.

MLB 2026 ruling: dead ball and no out under Rule 5.06(c)(7) Comment. A catch after the umpire rebound cannot complete the foul tip.

Two strikes, two different foul contacts

Situation A: the batter takes a normal swing on an 0–2 pitch and sends an uncaught foul into the screen. Ruling: dead ball; the count stays 0–2.

Situation B: on the next 0–2 pitch the batter bunts foul. Ruling: strike three and batter out under Rule 5.09(a)(4). The fact that neither ball was caught does not make their outcomes identical.

A caught foul fly can score a runner

Situation: with one out and a runner on third, the batter hits a deep foul fly. The outfielder touches and catches it; the runner leaves third after the first touch and reaches home before any further out.

MLB 2026 ruling: batter out, ball live and the run can score. The runner complied with the fly-ball retouch rule by leaving no earlier than the fielder's first touch.

How to rule the play in order

1. Confirm bat contact. If there was none, use the ball, strike or hit-by-pitch rules instead.
2. Test for a foul tip. Did the ball go sharp and direct to the catcher, and was it legally caught before touching the ground? If yes: live strike.
3. Test for a catch. Was another fair or foul ball in flight legally caught? If yes: batter out, live ball and normal tag-up rules.
4. Locate the ball. Apply the before-base, beyond-base, line and pole tests to decide fair or foul.
5. If it is an uncaught foul, stop play. Return runners and restore the correct count.
6. Check the batting action and count. Ordinary foul with two strikes means no added strike; a foul bunt on strike three is an out.
7. Check special facts. Catcher or umpire rebounds, lodged equipment, batter contact, out-of-play boundaries and MLB replay eligibility can change the procedure.

Five shortcuts that produce the wrong call

• “Any slight nick is a foul tip.” MLB requires sharp-and-direct travel to the catcher and a legal catch.
• “The catcher must glove it cleanly.” Under the 2026 comment, a body-or-equipment deflection can still be caught before the ball reaches the ground.
• “A foul can never be an out.” A legally caught foul fly retires the batter, and a two-strike foul bunt is strike three.
• “The fielder's feet decide fair or foul.” The ball's position relative to the line or pole controls.
• “Runners always return after bat contact in foul territory.” They return on an uncaught foul, but may advance at risk on a live foul tip or after properly tagging on a caught foul fly.

Governing-body sources and effective version

• Office of the Commissioner of Baseball — Official Baseball Rules, 2026 Edition: Rules 5.06(c)(5), 5.06(c)(7), 5.09(a)(1), (2), (4), (7)–(9), 5.09(b)(5), and Definitions of Terms
• Major League Baseball — current Replay Review Regulations: specified fair/foul and boundary calls

Checked on 26 August 2026 against the MLB rulebook in force for the 2026 season and MLB's current replay material. MLB's rulebook is the baseline here; league ground rules and competition regulations may supplement it. NCAA, NFHS, Little League and international codes are outside this page's scope.