Tie goes to the runner

Tie goes to the runner is a popular and inaccurate interpretation of baseball rules. However, umpires generally reject the concept that baseball provides for a tie in this way, and instead rule on the basis that either the player or the ball has reached the base first.

The wording of rule 5.09(a)(10), formerly 6.05(j), of the Official Baseball Rules is that a batter is out when "After a third strike or after he hits a fair ball, he or first base is tagged before he touches first base". Therefore, the runner must beat the throw to first base, or they are out.

In response to a question from a Little League umpire, Major League Baseball umpire Tim McClelland has written that the concept of a tie at a base does not exist, and that a runner either beats the ball or does not. In 2009, umpire Mark Dewdeny, a contributor for Bleacher Report, citing McClelland, also rejected the idea of a tie, and further commented that even if a "physicist couldn't make an argument one way or the other" from watching an instant replay, the runner would still be out.