Understanding the Infield Fly

[Skahtboi]

Originally Posted by ChampaignBlue

This has been added

"Noted added, 10 AM CDT: NY coach Richard Ives emailed to say: "The teaser included the phrase 'and drops untouched to the ground,' which makes it sound like you don't call the IFF until it hits the ground. This impression is shared by others on your softball forum. Is this really what you want?"

We certainly do not want that. The infield fly call – "Infield fly, the batter's out!" –should be made closely to the time the batted ball reaches its greatest height. To wait to make that call until the ball falls untouched to the ground is to defeat – in spades –the purpose of the rule. Whoever is arguing to the contrary is probably named Old Smitty."

Yeah. I saw that. Even more reason for me to not want to join the organization. Not a real professional answer!

[MD Longhorn]

What an absurd answer. An infield fly is an infield fly, regardless of whether it's caught or drops to the ground untouched. To put that into their "explanation" of the rule both misleads the uneducated reader and proves they've got no clue what they are talking about.

[Welpe]

That response makes it look like whoever "interpreted" that is an idiot.

"Please don't take what I say to mean what I actually intended to say!"

[ronald]

That note added by Dickinson, I assume, states that Richard Ives asserts that we share the impression that IFF is called when the ball hits the ground.

hogwash. moderator. write a letter to the ... at officiating.com and have them do a better job. this is unacceptable.

[Rich Ives]

Originally Posted by ronald

That note added by Dickinson, I assume, states that Richard Ives asserts that we share the impression that IFF is called when the ball hits the ground.

hogwash. moderator. write a letter to the ... at officiating.com and have them do a better job. this is unacceptable.

No - it asserts that my impression is shared by others. It does NOT say that this interpretation is shared by others. The note was added by or at the behest of Carl Childress who "got it" when I e-mailed him, and is why it was added to the teaser.

"The teaser included the phrase 'and drops untouched to the ground,' which makes it sound like you don't call the IFF until it hits the ground. This impression is shared by others on your softball forum. Is this really what you want?"