A batter in baseball is the player who, while, receiving pitches from the pitcher, tries to hit them into the field of play and reach a base safely.

Each batter is awarded up to four balls or three strikes. If the batter receives four pitches outside his strikezone, he is then granted a walk, and awarded first base. If the batter swings three times and misses every time, or the umpire calls three pitches as strikes, the batter is said to have struck out, and must leave the field of play, until the next time he is to bat.