2. Steven Saslow has held a number executive positions with
the Blackstone Group. Presently semiretired and assisting
Blackstone as a consultant, Steven Saslow spent many
years coaching his sons’ little league baseball teams.
Beyond ensuring the safety and well-being of his or her
players, the primary job of a little league baseball coach is
to instruct players on the basic rules of and fundamentals
of the sport. One rule many coaches struggle to explain is
the infield fly rule. The rule can come into effect whenever
runners occupy first and second base and fewer than two
outs have been recorded. A runner on third base does not
negate the chance of an infield fly rule if runners also hold
both first and second base.
3. The remainder of the rule is subject to some
interpretation, though the basic call occurs after
a batter hits a pop fly that can be caught by an
infielder with no more than standard effort.
Deciding whether or not a fly ball qualifies as an
easy catch is up to the umpires. Ideally an umpire
should make the call once the ball has reached
its highest point. Should an infield fly call be
made and should the ball land in fair territory,
the batter is automatically declared out and the
base runners do not need to advance.
4. The purpose of the infield fly rule is to
prevent unfair double-play situations during
which an infielder allows a seemingly easy fly
ball to drop to the ground before quickly
making a third-to-second or second-to-first
double play. While the base runners are no
longer forced to run after an infield fly call is
made, they can still choose to do so. In other
words, the infield fly call only rules out the
batter, but does not cause a total stoppage of
play.
