In baseball, an assist (denoted by A) is a defensive statistic, baseball being one of the few sports in which the defensive team controls the ball. An assist is awarded to every defensive player who fields or touches the ball (after it has been hit by the batter) prior to the recording of a putout, even if the contact was unintentional. For example, if a ball strikes a player's leg and bounces off him to another fielder, who tags the baserunner, the first player is credited with an assist. A fielder can receive a maximum of one assist per out recorded. An assist is also awarded if a putout would have occurred, had not another fielder committed an error. For example, a shortstop might field the ball cleanly to a first baseman who drops his throw. In this case, the first baseman would score an error but the shortstop would score an assist.