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By now, the "new kid" must realize the interpretation of "reasonable effort" has nothing to do with a specific person or his/her position on the field. Using your definition, a shortstop could be ogling his (or someone else's) girlfriend, daydreaming about a vacation in Tahiti, looking at his/her shoes, clutching his chest because he's suffering a heart attack, etc. etc etc, and have a pop-up soar a mile high directly above his/her head, and make no "effort" whatsover to catch that ball. Of course it is NOT an Infield Fly! The fielder, because of his lapse of memory or inattention, has no reasonable opportunity at all. What if he comes to as soon as the ball hits the ground, though? You've got a mis-call and argument just waiting to happen, my friend.
Listen to the "old-timers" and interpeters . . . "If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it." "If an Infield Fly is hit and there's no one around to catch it." is the same.
By the way, for arguments sake . . . all the infielders ARE lined up with their backs against the outfield fence . . . runners on 1st and 2nd or 1st, 2nd and 3rd with less than two outs . . . a high fly ball is hit to the warning track . . . all the fielders have a reasonable opportunity to catch the ball. What do you have?
Doesn't my argument . . . and Carl's . . . and Peter's . . . and Tim's . . . and many more "objective" arguments (who aren't doing World Series but do have a grasp of the rules) make much more sense than your "subjective" one?
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