IF Situation

[BretMan]

I had pretty much this same call about a week ago.

Runners on first and second, one out. Batter hits high pop fly in vicinity of F4. This one wasn't so deep- just a few feet behind the baseline, well within the infield area.

At the apex, I call the Infield Fly. F4 is stationary, camped beneath the ball, glove overhead, in a standard position to make the catch. Both runners are tagging up.

And then...the ball lands just a few feet right behind F4! The usual Chinese fire drill breaks out- runners confused, coaches yelling. Both runners take off at the urging of their base coaches and reach the next base. The (already retired) batter-runner is now standing on first base.

At the end of the play, I call time and reiterate that the batter is out. The ofensive coach wasn't happy, but I stuck with the call and tried to explain it to him (I don't think he was getting it). His team seemed convinced that the big, bad umpire had robbed them of a base hit.

Maybe next time I'll just ignore the IFR and hope the defense turns a double play on this one!