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Inbaseball, asingle is the most common type ofbase hit, accomplished through the act of abatter safely reachingfirst base by hitting afair ball (thusbecoming a runner) and getting to first base before a fielder puts him out. As an exception, a batter-runner reaching first base safely is not credited with a single when an infielder attempts to put out another runner on the first play; this is one type of afielder's choice. Also, a batter-runner reaching first base on a play due to a fielder'serror trying to put him out at first base or another runner out (as a fielder's choice) is not credited with a single.
On a single hit to theoutfield, any runners onsecond base orthird base normally score, and sometimes the runner from first base is able to advance to third base. Depending on the location of the hit, a quick recovery by the outfielder can prevent such an advance or create aplay on the advancing runner.
Hitters who focus on hitting singles rather thandoubles orhome runs are often called "contact hitters". Contact hitters who rely on positioning their hits well and having fast running speed to achieve singles are often called "slap hitters".Ty Cobb,Pete Rose,Tony Gwynn, andIchiro Suzuki are examples of contact hitters; of these, Rose and Suzuki might be called slap hitters.
Unlikedoubles or other types ofextra base hits, singles do not remove the possibility of multipleforce plays on the nextfair ball; in fact, the batter achieving the single will be forced to advance to second base on the next play, creating the possibility of aforce double play.
There is no universally accepted symbol for a single. Most often, singles are not reported; rather, the total number ofhits, doubles,triples, and home runs is reported; then, hits minus these "extra base hits" yields the number of singles.
Sometimes,1B is used as the symbol for singles; however, this symbol is more commonly used for thefirst baseman or forfirst base itself. Another possible symbol is a horizontal line,-. The letter S is never used as a symbol for single, because it is the symbol forstrike.
Johnny Burnett holds the record for most singles in a game. He hit seven singles on July 10, 1932, for the Cleveland Indians in an 18–17 loss to the Philadelphia Athletics.[1] 19 players have hit six singles in a game.[1]
