They say that gentlemen are supposed to play a fair game. But then, all is fair in love and war, isn’t that also said? This can be said in connection with a baseball game too. I mean yes, you are supposed to play a fair game, but then who doesn’t want to win? Moreover, to win a game then sometimes there are minor and not very apparent tactics which are used by players from two teams against each other. However, in this case, the players cannot get away saying that all is fair in love and war. A player does something funny and he can be penalized by the game officials. That can affect the overall situation of the game too. One such rule in baseball is the infield fly rule. There is actually a lot of confusion about it amongst the players about this rule, though I am going to try and explain that through the text below.
What is Infield Fly Rule
To begin with, basically, this rule came about for preventing infielders to purposely drop pop ups in a quest for easy double plays or triple plays. This rule is one of the highlights of Major League Baseball. There are three fundamental things which, if and when they happen get the infield fly rule in place.
- There have to be less than 2 outs in the inning.
- An infielder will catch the “pop up” in fair territory which the umpire may consider as a routine play or “sure thing”.
- At the third base or home plate, there has to be a force play.
This is what is the infield fly rule. Once the rule is invoked, the batter is declared out, even if the ball is caught or not. It then also negates the possibility for double or triple plays through force outs. If this rule is not there, the defense can convert a pop up in a double play.
Two Infield Fly Rule Scenarios
There are a couple of scenarios where this law can be explained well. The umpire has the complete authority to decide if the rule has to be invoked or not. » Read more: Infield Fly Rule
