The Infield Fly Rule: A Pro Player Explains It 

Could you explain the purpose of drop third strike? I never understood that one. Why is it a rule?

During the infield fly rule, is there still a tag up situation, or can say a runner take off for 3rd the moment the call is made if like it's a deeper ball for the 1st baseman?

@@EMTDawg even if the runner already took off, the infield fly call means he doesn't have to go back. There's no longer a force at third, but there isn't a force back at second for the tag-up either.

What the call? Runners on 1st and 2nd. A pop up which the 1st baseman and R2 get tangled up. The ball drops in fair territory.

Now it happened in the Yankees angles game too

They loose to everyone.

Glad you enjoyed the video! Thanks for watching.

I love your comment. It easily teaches young "know it alls" that they in fact don't know everything.

Thanks! Appreciate your contribution.

By what you’re saying if I’m on defense, see the infield fly ball going to hit the base runner on base, I’d attempt to make the catch, miss, let it hit him and get a double play. This rarely would happen but you just said “tricky”. It’s the rule right, just got act it out good 😂

I think the rule should not apply to minors Little League. The reason is that the purpose of the rule to prevent intentional dropping of the ball. But in minors they are not strategic enough to intentionally drop it. At least not in our minor league. These are 8 and 9 yr olds. So just let it play out. It just causes more confusion than is worth it.

@@ironcity4182 He said that the infield fly was an exception to that rule.

The umpire’s discretion is what people and younger players have an issue with in this rule. It’s not consistent. And, baseball, or softball, should be as consistent as possible for players of a young age. This rule when actually called does nothing but confuse younger players. And, btw, in my 10 years coaching . I have never seen an umpire explain the rule to children. Most good umps never enforce this rule on kids understanding the fallacy of this rule at younger ages.

Awesome! Thank you!

awesome. I'm working on more videos to help people watch baseball on a deeper level - subscribe and stick around.

You're welcome!

thanks!

appreciate the love from VanDelay Industries

Great to hear!

thank you! This rule is definitely confusing for some, so I wanted to help clear it up

@@SirJacko999 No. You can foul off pitches for all of eternity.

Actually the bunt is not protected by the infield fly because of the history of baseball. The bunt has always been considered a “dirty play”, so if the B/R attempts to bunt then they are on their own.

Yep- Mental mistakes like that happen even at the highest levels. Never completely outgrow them. Baseball is too hard. Thanks for the kind words 🙏

I thought of that, but in reality, there isn't much to be done except be mentally tough about it. You gotta pitch no matter what the mound looks like and there aren't any hacks, really, that can solve the problem. You just find a way to throw the ball over the plate; being resilient, mentally, and figuring out how to get it done is all it takes. Mounds were consistently horrible back in my youth, but you just live with it and learn that it doesnt really affect you.

so the team at bat just decided to send their runners even though the batter was out? Terrible blunder on their part.

Do runners have to tag up ?

@@DanBlewett -- The situation looked worse, because it occurred during a men's league game where the runners ignored the GET BACK commands of the 1st and 3rd base coaches, both of whom had played as high as AA and high A affiliate ball. Even after the inning was over, the two amateur runners were telling the former pros and umpires they didn't know the rules! Oh well.

@@alfalfa5705 All other rules are the same. IFF does not negate normal baserunning rules. So, any time a ball is caught, then players must tag to run; any time a ball is not caught, there is no need to tag up. In this case, it appears that the ball was not caught. It's important to remember that IFF merely declares the batter out immediately and ALL other rules of baseball are still in play and it's a live ball.

@@67L48 I was umpiring a game (just two umpires, me behind the plate and one in the field), runners on first and second, batter hits a fly close to the line so I called infield fly if fair. Third base loses the ball in the sun and drops it...but did so when the ball was foul. The ball scoots away, runners on first and second try to advance, I shoo them back. The coach comes out, ticked off, and starts yelling that runners can advance on an infield fly. I agreed, but the ball ended up being just a foul ball, and runners can't advance on a foul ball. Runners go back, batter goes back to the plate with a 2nd strike. He ends up grounding into a double play to end the at-bat. Coach is fuming because he thought I'd screwed them over. A few innings later, now they've got bases loaded and there's another close one near the line with one out. This time the third basemen catches it, again in foul territory. And then steps on third base as the runner, who'd taken a small lead, strolls back to the base. I call the runner out so, with the infield fly call on the batter, double play that ends the inning.. The coach explodes out of the dugout, screaming at me. "It was a foul ball!" I agreed with him again, but pointed out it was caught, which means runners have to tag up or else risk being put out like any fly ball, including ones in foul territory. He starts ranting that wasn't true if it was an infield fly because the batter was automatically out. It was frankly hilarious. There's nothing quite as funny as a coach trying to rules lawyer you without knowing the actual rule.

you said the ball dropped...so no one would have to tag up because the ball wasn't caught. Throwing to third wouldnt do anything since...again...the ball wasn't caught. Regular rules still apply. The batter being automatically out doesnt have anything to do with whether it's caught or not. If the fielder caught it, he could have doubled off the runner on third who left early. But he didnt.

Awesome - I’m making more videos like this one, glad it helped.

Why should the offense be rewarded with a best case scenario after hitting a weak pop up?

Those umpires should never set foot in Georgia again. That was still one of the most moronic IFR calls ever.

@@Turamwdd I was at a football game in Jasper and we went nuts there! The whole stadium.

Damn what happened?

Teenagers volunteering to umpire children's games don't have an "umpiring career"

It's up to the local little leagues to train their own umpires.

If an umpire doesn’t call it, then there’s no infield fly. You can complain to him that it should have been called, but it can’t be enacted after the play is over. In little league games, it may be debatable whether the ball con be easily caught by a player who can’t judge a pop up.

Yeah, they freak out for sure and go anyway...double play city when that happens

Thats why learning this rule is important for players. Its an important situation because you have multiple runners on and less than 2 outs. You dont want your runners running into more outs in that situation. And as a defense the opposite is true, if you drop it you might can steal some free outs if the opponent doesnt know what they are doing.

If they do that, they have to totally let it drop. This is true whether it is a pop up or line drive. If the fielder touches it with his gloves and then drops it in purpose, the umpires will call the batter out and the play dead. This is true if they only want to get the faster runner off the base, or if they "drop" a soft line drive to get a double play. But if they just let it bounce before touching it, it is fine. However, you really don't want to let a ball drop just to exchange a fast runner for a slow on. Too much risk of the ball having spin, or hitting the edge of the grass or some other deformity on the field and getting away

@@FUGP72 agreed - depending on the game situation (score, inning, type of ball hit in the infield, etc.) it might be worth it for the D to take that risk…the D just needs to be aware of this option should it present itself.

@@FUGP72 I've seen them rule both runners safe in that exact situation. The batter is safe at first because the ball wasn't caught, and the runner is safe at second because it was a deliberate dropped ball to make him think the force was off when it wasn't.

all normal rules apply. If it's caught, they'd need to go back and tag. If it drops, they don't have a force out forcing them to run, so they can run right away if they want, or not.

Runners still need to tag up on a caught/touched ball even when the batter is called out on a ball mid air.

@@matthewkellar9382 Thank you for answering that question. I have always wondered about that because the rule is badly worded in one spot: runners may advance "if desired" or "at their discretion." This certainly implies that they don't have to tag up, but that never made any sense to me and I always played it that you did have to tag up. I have played the game, watched the game, coached the game, acted as a volunteer ump, and even been an official scorer at the high school level on a couple of occasions over the course of 65 years and I never had that question fully clarified until today. Again, merci beaucoup!

@@MrEsMysteriesMagicks When an infield fly is called, the only thing that changes in the rules is that the batter is out and the force is removed. Thus the runners are no longer forced to advance and the chance for the "cheap" double play is removed. Everything else remains the same so all runners must retouch their time of pitch base if the ball is caught inflight just like on any other fly ball that is caught. Also, runners do not have to wait until the ball is actually caught to retouch and attempt to advance. As long as the runners retouch their time of pitch base when the fly ball is initially touched by a defensive player, they may attempt to advance at that point.

nah. if you know the rules of baseball, you can infer what will happen in all those situations.

Yes. Another commenter asked that as well. The outfielder could call an infielder off and the infield fly would still be in effect if the umpire deemed it so. Doesn’t have to be caught by an infielder.

@@DanBlewett Do you mean the plate umpire?

@@clintfox2056 No. IFF doesn't have to be called by the plate umpire. As has been stated, the IFF applies to a pop up that could be caught by an infielder with ordinary effort. However, a ball that could be caught by an infielder with ordinary effort might also be able to be caught by an outfielder, too. That's the point coach was making. Who ends up actually catching the ball is irrelevant, as is whether the ball is caught at all. It only matters if the pop up could be caught by an infielder with ordinary effort.

It was poorly designed if it was intended to protect the batting team. A better execution of it would be to simply have the Infield Fly call remove the need for runners to tag up. No automatic outs and you still prevent the fielders from getting a cheap double or triple play.

@@MikeDCWeld Your solution is poorly designed. If there's no automatic out, and the ball is dropped, where are you putting the batter if the runners don't have to move? And if they aren't in jeopardy of being put out on an infield fly, what's to prevent the offense from trying to hit popups and sacrificing the batter because the runners on 1st and 2nd, or 1st, 2nd, and 3rd can just run freely while the ball is in the air? So basically, under your rules, the offense would benefit from a free sacrifice fly ON THE INFIELD for a lousy hit. The truth is that the infield fly rule allows the offense to get away with only one out on a lousy short pop fly. That's a fair and appropriate result for that hit without completely ruining the offensive inning.

@@FactsMatter where did I say the runners wouldn't have to move? The only baserunning rule that would be affected is the tag-up rule. My version would avoid inherently punishing the batter for a poor hit without putting the runners in a pickle. This is the most fair way for both sides. The defense still has to make the catch or risk the batter making it on base, but the runners are still protected from potential defensive shenanigans. Also, what is stopping the offense from using the current Infield Fly Rule for a free sacrifice fly? Altering the rule as I've suggested would force the defense to play the fly ball honestly while allowing them the option of letting it drop to try for the double or triple play. If they do so, the offense may not even eat one out on the play.

@@FactsMatter Give them all one base from where they started, including the batter. The rule is meant to protect the runners from a cheap double or triple play, so there's no reason it needs to come into effect until the defense actually attempts a double play. If it's a straight up error, and they're not quick enough to recover and throw anyone out, why not give the batter first base? Calling him out just penalises the offense for the defense's mistake.

@@MikeDCWeld bottom of the ninth, tie score , runner on third, no outs. High fly to the short stop, runner on third scores before the ball is caught,,,,, game over!! No need to tag up!

Hi David, I am an umpire with 25+ years experience. You are correct that a batter, even one standing on their base, who is hit by a fair batted ball before a fielder other than the pitcher has had the opportunity to make a play on it is OUT. There is ONE exception, and that is if that runner standing on their base is hit by a ball called an infield fly. In that case, the runner is NOT OUT.

nice catch

What if the runner is stealing, though?

@@mattt.4395 it's based on the time-of-pitch base

@@mikekroboth5050 so if runner was stealing, the batter would still be out? isn't that unfair to the batting team? i always thought the runner had the option to advance (thereby giving the batter the chance to advance) and it was only if the runner RETURNED all the way to first, then the batter is out. i believe you are correct, but it would be a better rule to have it the way i said.

@@mattt.4395 Without the rule, you could force out the stealing runner at second (instead of having to tag) and still get the batter out at first. And then the offense has two outs against them through no fault of their own.

yes, and then they'd be out at 2nd base for a double play, because the rules of fly balls still apply.

@@DanBlewett thanks

Theyll yell INFIELD FLY IF FAIR. The hitter is not out if its foul.

both

ask google

I HATE the dropped third strike. It's so unnecessary. Does not improve baseball in any way. Just makes youth baseball, especially, a mess.

@@DanBlewettwhat was the point of the dropped third strike? Why not just call it a ball?

They can try, but if they don't tag up as with any other caught ball, they can be put out just like with any other caught ball.

For baserunners, the rules remain the same. If the ball is caught, they must retouch their base before advancing, but if it's not, they don't. The only difference with an IFF than with any other fly ball is that the batter is immediately out which removes any force. So base runners are not required to advance, but may do so at their own risk.

And that's why this rule shouldn't exist. Just let the runners run and if they make it to the next base, they're safe..

If you did that--say, you were a runner on 2nd base--the fielder would catch the ball and step on 2nd base (or throw to the 2nd baseman, and he'd step on 2nd base) and you'd be called out for leaving the base before the ball was caught. The infield fly rule does not negate the rule for tagging up.

@@highnrising I am not saying you are wrong because that is how everyone plays it, BUT nowhere in the rule does it state tagging up NOR does the defense have to catch the ball. I would challenge that declaration of batter is out negates tagging up.

@@bobbelf9762 And you would be incorrect. The rule effects the batter, not the runners (except removing the possibility of a force out). The runners still have to follow the same rules for running bases, one of which is that they have to tag up after a caught ball.

@@keith6706 Keith appreciate your response. My own brother sent me the MLB rule and it is stated in the last 2 lines about runners. Been coaching a long time and have never read those 2 lines in the rule.

this was addressed in the video and multiple places in the comments

Yes, if the ball is caught, the same as any other caught ball. From a runner's perspective, all the infield fly call does is prevent a force-out. It doesn't remove the requirement to tag-up, nor prevent them from being tagged out. Way back when I was umpiring there were several times the fielding team was paying attention and got a runner who had come slightly off the base but was strolling back, or took off to the next base because they thought they didn't have to tag up. On the other hand, I've also seen fielding teams get slack and let the ball drop to the ground, and the lead runner recognized it and took the chance it was going to happen and took off and made it successfully.

they can do anything they want at any time. runners dont have to do anything

Because it is

you make an established rule of baseball optional? Stop doing that immediately. It's baseball - umpires and anyone else should not be sifting through the rules to pick and choose which are applied. You're there to enforce the rules - full stop - that is your only job as an umpire. It's nice that you want the kids to have fun, but that also has nothing to do with you. And you're not making the game honest by omitting rules - you're teaching them the wrong way to play. If they don't know the rules, that's not your problem. Same with the law. It's their job to be informed and if they're not, life isn't fair in that moment. Enforce the rules.

Thanks. I can do that. Can you please explain to me how baseball is the only sport that is OK, and even common place to confront and badger the official. Some coaches, players, and spectators are so comfortable in doing so that it makes it hard, even dangerous. Please help me with some advice.

it's a bad part of the culture. treat others how you'd want to be treated; that's all you can control.

they made the wrong call.

could, but that never happens at higher levels

@@DanBlewett yeah I figured but could be a fun “trick play” kinda I think

pop ups have unpredictable spin. letting one bounce on a hard dirt infield is risky.

@@DanBlewett ah yeah that’s fair!

Having played my whole life, I think they get it right 99% of the time. I can’t remember a time in my own career when I felt it was improperly called. The Braves game though was 100% the wrong call. They screwed it up.

@@DanBlewett I agree about them usually getting it right for sure. What was so bad about that one time though was that MLB just defended the call and didn't own up to it. That call was at such a critical time as it was the first one and done wildcard game.

agree with that sentiment

I'd have a hard time believing that an 8-6-3 double play could be made before the batter made it to 1B with full effort. My guess is that the batter conceded the out and didn't, in fact, run hard to 1B. This, again, is why it's only an IFF rule and not an OFF rule. The rules protect the runners from defensive shenanigans that artificially manufacture a double play. The rules are NEVER meant to protect the batter from less than 100% effort. The other coach should indeed have been pissed ... at his player for not running hard out of the box.

@@67L48 it was an 8-5-4

@@backporchradio I considered that after my reply. It's still an awful lot of throwing to gun down what should have been a hard charge from at least 1/4 the way from 1B to 2B. I suspect that poor baserunning was at least partially to blame. But, I wasn't there (obviously).

yeah. it can be risky dropping pop-ups though - they come down with a lot of spin. its safest if they'll fall in the infield grass - they dont shoot away like they sometimes will on hard dirt

Yeah I guess most people would think that's a given. What's less obvious is when the infield fly rule is called is that runner do not need to tag up if the ball isn't caught although the batter is still out

Yeah I didnt explicitly mention that because it should be obvious; standard baseball rules still apply