Dead ball (association football)

Dead ball is a term in many ball sports in which the ball is deemed temporarily not playable, and no movement may be made with it or the players from their respective positions of significance. Depending on the sport, this event may be quite routine, and often occurs between individual plays of the game.

In gridiron football, a dead ball is a condition that occurs between football plays, after one of the following has occurred:

The ball remains dead until it is snapped to begin the next play. During the time in which the ball is dead, the offensive team may not attempt to advance it and no change of possession can take place. The clock may or may not be stopped during this time, depending on the circumstances.

In the past, in the NFL, the ball was also dead if it came into the possession of the defense for any reason during the try after a touchdown. This rule was changed for the 2015 season, allowing the ball to remain live so that the defense could attempt to return it for a defensive two-point conversion.

In baseball, when the ball is dead, no runners may advance beyond the respective bases they are entitled to, and no runners may be put out. The ball becomes dead when:

In general, the ball does not automatically become dead after playing action ends. So, for example, although the recording of a third out generally winds down a half inning, the ball is not automatically dead. If it is to the advantage of the defense to attempt to record a fourth out for any reason, the ball is live and such a play is permitted.

After a dead ball, the ball becomes alive again when the pitcher stands on the pitcher's plate ready to pitch, the batter, catcher and umpire are ready, and the umpire calls or signals "Play."

Players and coaches may ask an umpire for "time," but they themselves may not call "time" and cause the ball to become dead. Nevertheless, "time" is usually granted by the umpire when asked, and thus, colloquially, it is often said that players or coaches indeed can "call time." Unlike sports which have clocks to time the play, the phrase "time out" is not used in baseball. Likewise, there is no limit to the number of times a team can "call time."

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Wikipedia