Infield Fly Fiasco

[Jerry]

"No one could have caught."

Those are probably the operative words, my friend. The term "ordinary effort" in the rules is very akin to "reasonable and prudent person" in the legal world. It assumes certain "givens." I.E. The Infielder is playing in a physical location that would be normal for an Infielder. If a fielder (or his coach) chooses to position himself in a different location in order to gain some advantage, it is tacit acknowledgement that an Infield Fly could be called, absent the player from that normal/usual/accepted spot on the field. "Ordinary effort" also gives an umpire some leniency regarding a "popup" versus a "line drive" as it relates to the call of Infield Fly. Just because a fielder (from a usual and accepted position on the Infield) has the opportunity to backup a few steps to catch a ball that is beyond the Infield, for example, doesn't alter the proper call of "Infield Fly-Batter is Out." If however the ball is just a bit lower than a fly ball and would cause that same fielder to run heroically and dive at the "Texas Leaguer" attempting to catch a defined "fly ball", you'd probably not yell "Infield Fly".

That's the reason for the "ordinary effort" phrase. It's not there to give the defense the liberty or luxury of wandering all over the field in the hopes they can avoid having an Infield Fly called.