Quote:
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Originally Posted by mkolton828
Situation:
We have runners on first and second with one out. Our batter hits a ball that has little bit of loft on and the 2nd baseman camps under the ball in the infiield grass. Umpire does not call infield fly and 2nd drops ball on purpose and throws to 3rd (force out). third bsaeman throws to seond (force out). End of the inning.
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As others have stated, this could have also been interperted as an Intentional Drop (ball dead, batter out). Both the Intentional Drop and the IFF are intended to prevent exactly what happened to your team - the defense put the offense at a disadvantage.
Quote:
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Originally Posted by mkolton828
i go to umpire and ask why there was no IFF called. He said that the ball did not high enough to warrant the call. He claims that the ball has to get higher than the backstop fence to call it. I claimed you can call IFF anytime b/c the rule is to protect the runners on base.
Tell mje your opinions, was I wrong or was the umpire wrong.
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Let's look at OBR 2.00
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An
INFIELD FLY is a fair fly ball
(not including a line drive nor an attempted bunt) which can be caught by an infielder with ordinary effort, when first and second, or first, second and third bases are occupied, before two are out. The pitcher, catcher and any outfielder who stations himself in the infield on the play shall be considered infielders for the purpose of this rule.
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.”
The ball is alive and runners may advance at the risk of the ball being caught, or retouch and advance after the ball is touched, the same as on any fly ball. If the hit becomes a foul ball, it is treated the same as any foul.
If a declared Infield Fly is allowed to fall untouched to the ground, and bounces foul before passing first or third base, it is a foul ball. If a declared Infield Fly falls untouched to the ground outside the baseline, and bounces fair before passing first or third base, it is an Infield Fly.
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 infielder—not 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 umpire’s 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 umpire’s judgment must govern, and the decision should be made immediately.
When an infield fly rule is called, runners may advance at their own risk. If on an infield fly rule, the infielder intentionally drops a fair ball, the ball remains in play despite the provisions of Rule 6.05 (L). The infield fly rule takes precedence.
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Now, I colored (in blue) the only reference to height and it just shows that it really is the umpire's judgment - but there is no "height requirement" (such as higher than the backstop).
Now for the other rule that could have come into play in your game, also from OBR 6.05(l).
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(l) An infielder intentionally drops a fair fly ball or line drive, with first, first and second, first and third, or first, second and third base occupied before two are out. The ball is dead and runner or runners shall return to their original base or bases;
APPROVED RULING: In this situation, the batter is not out if the infielder permits the ball to drop untouched to the ground, except when the Infield Fly rule applies.
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So in your case, the IFF rule applied because of your situation (runners on 1st & 2nd with 1 out). You did the correct thing in questioning as to why the IFF was not applied but once you got the umpire's lame excuse, you should have protested. Even though it was judgment, his "height requirement" was a clear misunderstanding of the rule and thus a mis-application of said rule!
That mis-application should have been protested!
Quote:
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Originally Posted by mkolton828
By the way we lost the game by 1 run.
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That was not the umpire's fault! The call may not have helped,
but scoring more runs than the opposition is the job of your team, not the umpire!
Regards