In baseball statistics, an error is the act, in the judgment of the official scorer, of a fielder misplaying a ball in a manner that allows a batter or baserunner to reach one or more additional bases, when such an advance would have been prevented given ordinary effort by the fielder.

The term error can also refer to the play in which an error was committed.

An error does not count as a hit but still counts as an at bat for the batter unless, in the scorer's judgment, the batter would have reached first base safely but one or more of the additional base(s) reached was the result of the fielder's mistake. In that case, the play will be scored both as a hit (for the number of bases the fielders should have limited the batter to) and an error. However, if a batter is judged to have reached base solely because of a fielder's mistake, it is scored as a "hit on error," and treated the same as if a batter was put out, hence lowering his batting average.

Similarly, a batter does not receive credit for an RBI when runs score on an error, unless the scorer rules that a run would have scored even if the fielder had not made a mistake. For example, if a batter hits a ball to the outfield for what should be a sacrifice fly and the outfielder drops the ball for an error, the batter will still receive credit for the sacrifice fly and the run batted in.

The word error entails different meanings and usages relative to how it is conceptually applied. The concrete meaning of the Latin word "error" is "wandering" or "straying". Unlike an illusion, an error or a mistake can sometimes be dispelled through knowledge (knowing that one is looking at a mirage and not at real water does not make the mirage disappear). For example, a person who uses too much of an ingredient in a recipe and has a failed product can learn the right amount to use and avoid repeating the mistake. However, some errors can occur even when individuals have the required knowledge to perform a task correctly. Examples include forgetting to collect change after buying chocolate from a vending machine, forgetting the original document after making photocopies, and forgetting to turn the gas off after cooking a meal. Some errors occur when an individual is distracted by something else.

One reference differentiates between "error" and "mistake" as follows:

In human behavior the norms or expectations for behavior or its consequences can be derived from the intention of the actor or from the expectations of other individuals or from a social grouping or from social norms. (See deviance.) Gaffes and faux pas can be labels for certain instances of this kind of error. More serious departures from social norms carry labels such as misbehavior and labels from the legal system, such as misdemeanor and crime. Departures from norms connected to religion can have other labels, such as sin.

Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond. Players on the batting team take turns hitting against the pitcher of the fielding team, which tries to stop them from scoring runs by getting hitters out in any of several ways. A player on the batting team can stop at any of the bases and later advance via a teammate's hit or other means. The teams switch between batting and fielding whenever the fielding team records three outs. One turn at bat for each team constitutes an inning and nine innings make up a professional game. The team with the most runs at the end of the game wins.

Evolving from older bat-and-ball games, an early form of baseball was being played in England by the mid-eighteenth century. This game was brought by immigrants to North America, where the modern version developed. By the late nineteenth century, baseball was widely recognized as the national sport of the United States. Baseball is now popular in North America, parts of Central and South America and the Caribbean, and parts of East Asia.

William Joseph "Bill" Buckner (born December 14, 1949) is a former Major League Baseball first baseman. Despite winning a batting crown in 1980, representing the Chicago Cubs at the All-Star Game the following season and accumulating over 2,700 hits in his twenty-year career, he is best remembered for a fielding error during Game 6 of the 1986 World Series against the New York Mets, a play that has since been prominently entrenched into American sports lore.

Bill Buckner was born in Vallejo, California and grew up in American Canyon, California. Buckner graduated from Napa High School in 1968 after playing on the school's baseball and football teams. While playing football, he was a two-time All-State wide receiver Coaches and also achieved All-America honors twice. Buckner was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the second round of the 1968 Major League Baseball Draft. His friend, Bobby Valentine, was the Dodgers' first round pick. Upon signing with the Dodgers, Buckner was assigned to the Ogden Dodgers of the Pioneer Baseball League, where he played for manager Tommy Lasorda. He also briefly attended the University of Southern California and Arizona State University and became a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity while a farmhand with the Dodgers.

William Oliver Ripken (born December 16, 1964 in Havre de Grace, Maryland) is an American radio personality for XM Satellite Radio, a studio analyst for MLB Network's "MLB Tonight," and is a former infielder in Major League Baseball from 1987–1998. He threw and batted right-handed.

When Ripken made his major league debut on July 11, 1987, it marked the first time a father has managed two sons on the same team. Ripken played alongside his brother, Cal Ripken, Jr. and was managed by his father, Cal Ripken, Sr. as a member of the Baltimore Orioles from 1987–1988. When all three Ripkens appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated on May 2, 1988, the Orioles had lost their first 18 games of the season (they would lose three more before collecting their first win against the Chicago White Sox), and the photo was used in an emblematic fashion to symbolize frustration at the team's struggles.

Ripken remained with the team through the 1992 season and returned for a short stint later in his career (1996). While Ripken came up to the Majors as a second baseman, he did play two games at third in 1988. During the latter part of his career with the Texas Rangers (1993-1994, 1997) Cleveland Indians (1995) and Detroit Tigers (1998) he became a utility infielder-- playing every position on the infield, except catcher.