Infield Fly - F7 runs in from LF to the edge of IF

[Don Mueller]

Originally Posted by johnnyg08

R1 & R2, 0 out

windy day, B1 hits a fly ball that ends up falling about 6 - 10 feet from the edge of the infield onto the outfield grass. F7 calls F6 off and makes an attempt at the catch and does not make the catch (no intentional drop)...according to my interpretation in OBR about an outfielder who sets up as an infielder versus running in on a play from the standard LF position changes the Infield Fly rule to where it wouldn't be ordinary effort if F7 had to run in significantly to make a catch as was the case here. What do you guys think? Can an outfielder running in from his position qualify for Infield Fly?

It makes no difference how far F7 had to run in to make the play. If you feel F6 could have made the play with ordinary effort it should be an IFF.
As CoachJM stated in another thread, the intent of the rule is to protect the offense from a cheap DP. R1 and R2 are forced to stay very close to their bag in this situation and if the ball is dropped, intentionally or not it's fairly easy to turn the DP. You don't want to be rewarding the defense for screwing up. If it's a texas league bloop then it's not IFF, but if F6 was set to make the catch and F7 was overly aggressive in calling him off then it's definitely IFF.

[waltjp]

Don't be in a hurry to call the IFF. Make sure there is somebody there that can make the catch with ordinary effort. If I know it's a windy day I'll talk to my partner about taking even more time to make the call. As mentioned previously - there rule is there to protect the offense, not give away easy outs. What's the worst case situation if you wait too long or don't call it?

In nearly 20 years of umpiring I've never seen a problem occur because somebody waited or didn't declare a pop-up an IFF. I have, however, seen many problems because somebody called an IFF that shouldn't have been.

[FTVMartin]

No F7 can't be considered but F6 is the important player here. I always judge ordinary effort as "is the infielder camped underneath it?" If he is still moving into position then I don't call it.

I agree that it is better to wait to make the call than call it to early.

[johnnyg08]

But can't F7 move into the IF then the IFF rule would then apply to F7 as well?

[Rich Ives]

Originally Posted by johnnyg08

But can't F7 move into the IF then the IFF rule would then apply to F7 as well?

If he starts out there, yes.

But the criteria is could an infielder catch it with ordinary effort. If so, it doesn't matter who actually caught it.

[SAump]

Originally Posted by johnnyg08

But can't F7 move into the IF then the IFF rule would then apply to F7 as well?

Yes, F7 can move into the IF. Yes, the IFF rule would then apply to F7.

[SAump]

There is no outfielder fly rule. There is no infielder fly rule.
It doen't matter who on the defense does what.

The batter runner is out because there is an INFIELD FLY rule, caught or not, in effect.
This protects the runner(s) from running into an easy double or triple play.
The "force to vacate" from an uncaught infield fly is removed by rule.
The runners may keep their bases or advance at their own risk.
The rule protects the offense, not the defense.