Quote:
Originally Posted by jmkupka
Not necessarily... the "ordinary effort" aspect of the rule is what brings umpire's judgement into the discussion, and which could prevent the possibility of protest.
A gusty day can turn a can o'corn fly ball over F1's head into a nightmare to catch, but still recoverable enough to turn a double play. Some would reverse it to be IFF.
But if that same dropped ball became a "safe all around" due to a panicky F1, we'd say play on, despite DC's complaints.
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My comment was based on the original posting, which seemed to indicate that the pop up was routine, and as such the IFF would be in effect.
Where the protestability part would come in if the umpires failed to apply the rule on a situation where it was clear (and maybe they even admit), they didn't call it and in their judgment it was a routine play.
I find it hard to believe a UIC would not uphold a protest if it was a calm day and the popup went to a player who had to move minimally to make a catch, even if the umpires don't admit it was a can o corn play. This would be a situation where the UIC needs to make a decision based on as much information as he/she has at the time.
I had a similar situation to what you mentioned earlier this season. I did not call and IFF because the level of play (12 U) and the fact it was a 30 mph wind that night. Off the bat it appeared to be a routine pop up to 2nd, but based on the conditions, the ball kept carrying away from the fielder who had to try diving to make the catch. The DC did approach me asking why an IFF wasn't called. My explanation was simple. Due to the conditions it a routine play, so the IFF was not called. (It was a play where the runners all advanced one base anyway)