Infield fly rule

[Pioneer_PA]

Dear umpires,

When there are runners at 1st and 2nd or bases loaded and less than 2 outs, and a ball is hit high in the air on the infield, please call out loudly "INFIELD FLY, BATTER IS OUT IF FAIR". If ball drops (ON THE DIRT no less), and the runner from third breaks for home...and the rightfielder throws it to the plate and he is tagged out, please call both he AND the batter out.

Do not argue with the coach that it was not an infield fly...when the ball hit the DIRT of the infield. Do not eject the coach as he walks away.

Also, please refrain from yelling at women and players in the parking lot. Escalating anger over your own missed call is not the way folks umpiring high school baseball should act.

Get over yourself and stop ruining fantastic, well-played games with your own ignorance.

Thank you,

A fan of baseball.

[tigernation]

95% of umpires get it right - if you are such a rules expert get your license.......we need more good umpires like yourself....

[Pioneer_PA]

Truth be told...you don't know if I have them or not. That's for neither here nor there, but for the record I do not. My job will require work most evenings, so I don't have that time available to do so. I know most of the umpires around here from growing up and playing...they're almost to a fault great guys who do the very best they possibly can.

But as you can clearly see, I know the infield fly rule. It is pretty simple. But when it is not called, and the umpire gets a major chip on his shoulder about it...that's when there is a problem. The umpire missed the call...all he had to say was that he made a mistake...instead, he basically tried to incite a fight over the matter. I truthfully think he lost track of the situation and didn't realize it was an infield fly.

For the record, the base umpire missed two obstruction calls that would have gone the other way. There was also a bang-bang play at first where the base umpire shrugged his shoulders and asked the plate umpire to make the call. The plate umpire's call was correct...but if the base umpire didn't see the tag, he should have specifically asked for help...not just shrugged his shoulders.

In all honestly, the guys called a pretty darn good game until the 8th inning...then the plate umpire made a MAJOR blunder and only made it worse with his actions afterward.

[Pioneer_PA]

To finish my thought, clarity will dissolve a lot of problems in any disputed situation. Barking out incorrect rules interpretations certainly do not.

[Pioneer_PA]

I've been going to games for well over 10 years now...and I played for about 10 years prior to that. Tonight was the first time I saw it NOT called in an obvious infield fly situation. There was no excuse for it not being called. It created a chaotic situation that did not need to happen...that carried over to the parking lot after the game and ended up with a coach being ejected in the final regular season game (while on his way back to the dugout after giving up on the argument, no less).

All I'm asking for is just to be clear about it...don't hedge, and don't tell someone a pop-up that hits the infield dirt (was at least 70 feet in the air or so...definitely not a blooper) was not an infield fly.

The umpire seemed to be arguing more with the coach than vice versa. That's what was so sad.

[mhs95_06]

Seems like the proper way to do it would be to rule what likely would have happened if the umpire didn't make the error, which would be batter out for infield fly rule. If he would have called that, the ball still have probably hit the infield dirt fair, and likely the runner would have broke for home, and there was a result for that part which was an out. So I think the proper corrected call would be batter and runner both out for two outs on the play.

[Orange and Brown]

Whining about it on here isn't going to make up for it! If you got a problem with a call that is fine. Trust me I know a couple of umpires who shouldn't be allowed to umpire coach pitch let alone high school baseball. If you wanna see better umpires than treat the good ones with some respect. Then they won't quit doing it because they get sick of being yelled at and then the bad ones won't get any work.

[Pioneer_PA]

All I'm hoping for is that someone will see what I'm talking about and at least reinforce it prior to tournament play. Not a thing will be changed about today...it's over and done with.

However, the umpire's actions after the game were downright disturbing. That's a 100% other matter.

And I do have empathy for umpires. They are right 95-99 % of the time and still take verbal abuse from people who most of the time don't know what they're talking about on a daily basis. But as long as they just put their heads down and go on about their business, it usually dies down quickly. When they get out of line themselves in the parking lot after the game, they need to be held accountable for their actions.

A lot of what happened tonight was completely unnecessary. And it had absolutely nothing to do with the team that won the game...they played hard and won. It was one of the better HS games I've seen this season, and I wish them nothing but well in the postseason.

[blockcharge]

could the "infield fly" have been caught with "reasonable effort" by an infielder. if not it is not an infield fly rule. Why was the pop up not caught?

[Pioneer_PA]

The popup was not caught because of wind. There were probably 3-4 balls hit by the team that was in the field in that direction that dropped because of wind over the course of the game. It was blowing hard toward the 1st base line. The ball landed probably 10 feet behind where the 2B was playing on the infield grass. He got back to the ball without much problem, but got twisted by the ball fluttering in the wind and never could get directly under it. Elements do not factor in the application of the infield fly rule, however.

That said, the infield fly should have been called once it was apparent the ball wasn't leaving the infield, before it was even apparent of how much trouble the 2nd baseman was having judging it. It was hit fairly high...not even within question of being a blooper or soft liner. The 2B never could get a bead on where it was coming down as it twisted back toward the line on its way down.

For the record, the game was in Ohio, but the umpire calls games on both sides of the river, so it's not an OH-WV dispute.

[bigmama42]

dont think the ball has to land in the in field to be ruled out for this rule. just as long as one of in-fielders should have caught ball in air.

[buckeyes41]

I was at this game and I must agree that infield fly rule should have been called. BUT if it would've been called, the runner on third was already retreating back to third. He was not going to go home. Since the second baseman dropped the ball and the infield fly was not called, he had to run home. He had no choice since the bases was loaded. Now what happened in the parking lot was awfull. No reason for the umps actions. I will say one thing that I heard from multiple coaches and players that when the coach was arguing the call, he made a remark that was not called for. He said to the umpire that he was umpiring in Ohio in bush league. The thing of it is the bush league team he was playing has beaten him twice this year. So maybe he needs to think before he speaks where others can hear him. I thought before this, he was a pretty good coach. But now I have nothing for someone who thinks or speaks about other teams like that.

[Orange and Brown]

dont think the ball has to land in the in field to be ruled out for this rule. just as long as one of in-fielders should have caught ball in air.

The ball doesn't have to be caught for an infield fly. It just has to be in the infield. If it was called then so be it. If for whatever it was missed then it was missed. Move on and don't let a bad call beat you!

[FANOSPORTS]

If the ball was in the infield or should have been easily caught (even if on the fringe of the outfield) the batter is out automatically. When the ball is touched or dropped the other baserunners can go "on their own" to the next base as it's not a dead ball but if they're tagged, they're out. If it happened as explained above, both are out.

[buckeyes41]

infield fly was never called!!!!!!!!!! bottom line is, it didn't cost them the game. it had nothing to do with the outcome

[turncoat-ump13]

Maybe this umpire didn't feel the infielder could catch it with "ordinary effort" since he was having trouble with finding the ball. I do not automatically call the infield fly just because the runners are on first and second. I pause for a second or two to see where the ball is and where the fielder is. Just because the ball is in the infield does not mean the infield fly rule is automatic either. If no player can get to it with ordinary effort in the infield then there is no infield fly.

[Pioneer_PA]

infield fly was never called!!!!!!!!!! bottom line is, it didn't cost them the game. it had nothing to do with the outcome

Bingo.

But that one non-call caused a lot of problems beyond the field and yesterday's game. The point of my original post was not trying to say it determined the winner...it did not and I apologize if it came off that way. The team that won flat out won the game, and it was a great game. The team that lost had 2 errors and and a hit batter in the bottom of the 7th...can't win doing that. My point was saying that if that rule had been properly applied, there would have been a lot less heat around the ballpark immediately after the game. Fewer words spoken, etc.

It wasn't between the teams at all. It wasn't between the fans of the teams either...we all got along great. The teams played hard and pretty well for the most part and it was a very good high school baseball game.

[coachperWHS]

The interesting thing about the infield fly rule is that its true purpose is to protect baserunners.

If it were not for this purpose, there would be no need for the rule. The rule is not to penalize the batter in any way. If the umpire does not make the call in a timely manner (soon enough to warn the runners that they do not have to advance to the next base) then the call should not be made at all.

Umpires (and I umpired for 20 years) need to make the read on this call very quickly in order to be able to accomplish the goal of warning runners. They should not try to determine if the wind is a factor or anything else, just this: is the pop up an ordinarily routine play for an infielder. The call, if made should be communicated loudly and clearly for the runners to hear.

[Cap'n Scoop]

On two seperate occasions I have seen (in fast pitch softball) an umpire call an infield fly rule out but the ball was not caught and runners advanced. The fielding team then took the ball to the base where one of the runners had left from (after the ball hit the ground) and stepped on it. The umpire in both situations called the runners out. I argued to no avail. I was right wasn't I? I brought it up to another umpire and he said he would have called the runners out too.