Quote:
Originally Posted by IRISHMAFIA
But the OP is worded in a manner that states the ball WILL be caught by an outfielder. That isn't a may be or could be, but WILL. To me, that means it has been predetermined who will catch the ball. It seems many want to read into it with a "what if" scenario. That means the player had to start in the outfield at the pitch or, by rule, would have been considered an infielder.
That's almost like trying to read interfering with an IF because a runner was hit with a batter ball.  |
Quote:
Originally Posted by MD Longhorn
It doesn't matter that it will be caught by an outfielder. The ONLY thing that matters is whether it could be caught by an infielder (and you're making this decision near the apex, of course). In other words, for all intents and purposes, the fact that NFHS chose (stupidly, imho) to delineate who is an infielder and who is an outfielder in the definitions section doesn't make the application of this rule any different than ASA or anyone else.
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I think I see what Mike is saying. The OP says "will be caught" not "is caught". I don't know if the OP meant it the way Mike seems to be reading it, but consider this situation...
The infield is in an extreme right shift, with F6 playing shallow center-right and F5 is playing in the nominal SS position, but shifted more toward 2B. F7 comes in to cover third, but still plays a bit deep. (You don't see defensive shifts much in fastpitch due to the small infield, but...) There is a pop up near 3B, F7 is the player who can catch the ball with ordinary effort, since F5 is in her shifted position, and F7 does make the catch. Taking the Fed rule literally, is this an Infield Fly?