Unless you’re old and followed Puttsburgh Pirate baseball in the 1960s, you may not know Bob Prince was the radio announcer for the Pittsburgh Pirates on KDKA (“Kay-dee”).
Almost every game, Bob Prince would find a way to work in the “infield fly rule”, an obscure part of the rules of baseball that caused a near riot in Atlanta last night. The infield fly rule is called all the time, and few prople know when it happens. The official made the right call.
The reason for the rule is fairly obvious if you understand baseball. If there are less than two outs and runners on first and second (and possibly third), if a ball is hit high in the air and shallow enough it might be caught by an infielder, the batter is automatically out, which is signalled by the umpire which signals to the runners and 1st and 3rd base coaches what they need to do.
It’s entirely a judgement call – he has to quickly size up if an infielder is in range of where the ball will land, taking into consideration how high the ball is going and how deep it will go – wind can complicate that judgement.
Since the runners see the ball is going to be caught, they have to return to their last base. If they don’t the fielder will throw to their base and they’ll be out, double play.
So a clever fielder could drop the ball on purpose, then throw the ball to third and force out the runner at third and throw to second and force out the runner at second – double play. (Or maybe even triple play)
So the rule was created to plug the hole so the team on the field can’t benefit from deliberately dropping the ball.
The umpire makes the call immediately when he determines the rule applies. It doesn’t matter which players try to catch the ball, whether someone actually catches it, or where the ball actually lands. The batter is out the moment the arm goes up. If he had to wait until he was really really sure, that leaves the runners not knowing if they need to advance or return to base.
Atlanta’s “fans” proved they know very little about baseball. They can kiss that baby goodbye! until next year.
Thanks for the explanation, I doubt Bob Prince could find a way to work in the “infield fly rule” during a game in the way you stated it.
Another of his favorite topics was how barometric pressure and humidity affects how far a ball will go when hit. Forbes Field had an extremely short right field, so the pirates loaded up on left handed hitters – almost cheating, but not quite.
This was back when he was the only person doing the game – no computer full of stats in front of him, no diversity co-host to provide color. No TV monitor – you carried binoculars to see the ball, no instant replay, only 4 or 5 cameras…,
“This was back when he was the only person doing the game.”
Yeah, the good old days!
My problem with the call in the Atlanta-St Louis game is that the Umpire on the left field line did not raise his arm indicating the Infield Fly until the ball hit the ground (watch the replay and keep your eye on the ump closest to the play).
The call was correct, but it should have been made much sooner (at least according to the rules).
Snipped from MLB.com:
When it seems apparent that a batted ball will be an Infield Fly, the umpire shall **immediately** declare Infield Fly for the benefit of the runners. If the ball is near the baselines, the umpire shall declare Infield Fly, if Fair.
Rule 2.00 (Infield Fly) Comment: On the infield fly rule the umpire is to rule whether the ball could ordinarily have been handled by an infieldernot by some arbitrary limitation such as the grass, or the base lines. The umpire must rule also that a ball is an infield fly, even if handled by an outfielder, if, in the umpires judgment, the ball could have been as easily handled by an infielder. The infield fly is in no sense to be considered an appeal play. The umpires judgment must govern, and the decision should be made, immediately .
I accept that. I didn’t watch the game. If he didn’t raise his arm in the first second or two, ignore everything I said. He has to do it early enough so the runners can return to base. The rule is to protect the batting team, not punish them.
One source points out the rule is somewhat unnecessary if a team is clever, but would make it even more confusing. If the batters return to base, and then the fielder drops the ball, the batter can run past the runner standing on 1st. That immediately makes the batter out and removes the force play.
Art, if you (or anyone else) cares to see the call in question here is a link:
http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=25339711&c_id=mlb
At about 0:40 into the video watch the 3rd base and left field line umpires. They don’t raise their arms (indicating infield fly) until the ball hits the ground.
While technically correct on the call, I felt the left field umpire erred in that he seemed to ‘wait and see’ if the left fielder or shortstop was going to make the play.
It was just a freakish play that challenged the boundaries of the infield fly rule and the ump had to make a split second call.
The worst part of it for me personally is that I am a card carrying Cubs fan — so I dislike the Cardinals passionately. 🙂 — Go Nationals beat the Red Birds!