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This one was real crazy. Bases loaded, no outs, 14 year old game being played on 60-90 varsity field. Batter hits a looper over the shortstop's head. Shortstop does not get a real good jump on it, and ball lands about 20-25 feet on the outfield grass with shortstop still 10 feet away.
I was in the dugout as scorekeeper and I did not hear the field ump call the infield fly rule. Others told me he did call and signal but not until the ball was almost on the ground. I don't really have a beef with the infield fly rule being invoked - it was terrible judgement as the ball was clearly uncatchable by a 14 year old shortstop and it was called way too late, but it was a pure judgement call.
But then it got more complicated. The runner on second saw the ball drop and told me later he did not hear the infield fly rule being called. He broke for third and the left fielder picked the ball up and threw to third. The home plate ump called him out at third but there was not even an attempt at a tag. The runner got up and started for the dug out, but the bench yelled at him to return to the bag since there had been no tag. He tried to return to the bag, was tagged and called out again! Then the runner on first, with a very confused look on his face, was caught in a run down between first and second as he was sent by the first base coach, who did not know the infield fly rule had been invoked. What resulted was basically a quadruple play as the runner at third was called out twice.
Then to top it off, the field ump wanted the disallow the run scored by the guy who had been on third and who saw immediately that the ball was not catchable. He was in the dug out by the time the fourth out was recorded! The plate ump over ruled on that point, and the run was ultimately allowed. We went on to win the game by coming from behind in the bottom of the seventh.
We were then able to laugh at the whole comedic event, and the kid who hit the ball will always be able to brag that he hit into a quadruple play. But should some other result have occurred? It would seem to me that the wrong call at third showed that the plate ump was not aware that the infield fly had been called by the field ump and that resulted in an unfair outcome.
Life it not always fair and maybe there is no other option than to let the play stand. But here the umpires caused the very thing the infield fly rule is supposed to prevent.
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