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The infield fly rule
By Jerry Feitelberg June 23, 2010 |
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Baseball is a most interesting game. You never know what will happen at the park. So far this year, fans at the Oakland Coliseum have witnessed a triple play and a perfect game. In today’s game, fans got to see a heated argument over the application or, in this case, the non-application of the infield fly rule. The infield fly rule was adopted in 1895 and is applied when a team has men on first and second or has the bases loaded with less than 2 out. If the ball is popped up, an infielder could intentionally drop the ball and get an easy double play or even a triple play. The umpire must yell “Infield fly, the batter is out” The rule does not apply to bunts or line drives. The rule became a factor in today’s game between the A’s and the Cincinnati Reds. In the bottom of the 4th inning, the A’s loaded the bases with no outs. Gabe Gross hit a soft line drive to the infield that looked as if it were a pop up. The Reds second baseman, Brandon Phillips let the ball drop then fired to home for the force out. The catcher then threw to the 3rd baseman, Miguel Cairo who applied the tag for the second out. The Reds completed a very rare 4-2-5 double play. A’s Manager, Bob Geren , came rushing out of the dugout to argue his case with second base umpire, Jerry Crawford. After a very heated discussion, Crawford threw Geren out of the game. One thing to remember is that the infield fly rule is a judgment call by the umpire. The umpire must determine that a player can make the catch with ordinary effort. After the game, Geren stated that is was his opinion that the infield fly rule should have been applied. “I thought it was a pop-up” Umpire Crawford said it was a line drive. End of story as it is the umpire’s opinion that counts and Geren had to watch the rest of the game in the clubhouse. |
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