It’s that wonderful time of year when the tail end of baseball season overlaps the beginning of basketball season, with a whole lot of football thrown in for good measure. And it’s not only “The Big Three” that are playing right now. There are almost too many sports contests to count.
All this got me thinking about rules and about how it’s probably impossible for anyone to learn absolutely every rule for every sport. But those who like to play and those who like to spectate need to have at least a rudimentary understanding of the rules to enjoy any game. So I’ve chosen a handful of sports—a couple of handfuls, actually—to write about. And because of space limitations, I’ve narrowed it down to only one rule: OUT OF BOUNDS.
First, let’s talk about what that term means outside the context of sports. “Out of bounds” is defined as being beyond the limits of acceptable behavior. Forbidden, improper, outside the standards of decency. Not open to discussion or commentary. Off limits. Wow. I could write an entire column—maybe more—about all the people and things that are out of bounds right now in this big old crazy world. But I won’t.
I’m going to write, instead, about when a ball (or shuttlecock) is officially out of bounds.
You’d think the rule would be consistent across all games. Back when cave people first began throwing or kicking or striking a round object and keeping score, they almost certainly had out of bound rules, right? We’ll never know. But we do know that, these days, the rules need to be clear and easy to understand.
I got to thinking about this because I play pickleball a couple of times a week. At first, I found the rules so confounding that I almost gave up before I got started good. I’m not just talking about figuring out whose turn it is to serve or where everybody is supposed to stand or how to keep score or when you’re allowed to spin the ball and when you’re not, all which is initially quite baffling.
Nope. I’m talking only about learning when the pickleball is in bounds and when it’s out. Here’s the rule. If the ball lands ON THE LINE of the sidelines or baselines or the lines that separate each half of the court beyond the no-volley area called “the kitchen,” it’s in. (Let’s pause here to say no one has yet explained to me why that area is called the kitchen. I’ve never seen anybody cook or eat there.) The crazy part? If a serve lands on the horizontal line that separates the kitchen from the rest of the opponent’s court, it’s out of bounds, which makes absolutely no sense. But I don’t make the rules. I just follow them.
In tennis, all lines are considered part of the court. If even a small portion of the ball touches any line, it’s considered in. Ditto for badminton, which, of course, is played with a shuttlecock rather than a ball. Also for table tennis, the official name for the sport sometimes called “ping-pong.” If the ball lands on any of the lines on the playing surface, it’s in.
Other sports in which the ball is in-bounds if it touches the line are baseball, softball, volleyball and soccer. Golf, too, although I’m told that in areas marked by white stakes rather than actual lines, you’re supposed to imagine a line running between the stakes.
Are there sports where a line if out of bounds? Of course there are! Two of the most popular sports in the good ole USA—football and basketball—rule a ball out of bounds if any part of the ball or any part of the player holding the ball touches the line.
Holy smokes. I can’t help but wonder what the cave people would say about all this.
(October 18, 2025)