Phillies Victim Of Obscure Baseball Rule In Home Opener
By Mike DeNardo
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The Phillies' loss in their home opener hinged largely on one of baseball's most arcane and little-understood rules.
The infield fly rule.
With runners on first and second -- or bases loaded -- and less than two outs, an umpire can rule a batter who pops up automatically out -- cancelling the forces -- if he believes a fielder can catch the fly with ordinary effort.
The reason for the rule is so that fielders won't intentionally drop balls to attempt a double or even triple play.
Can big-leaguers be expected to hear an umpire call "infield fly, batter's out" with 45,000 screaming fans? Bob Mueller, a longtime PIAA umpire, says yes:
"It's certainly incumbent on the offense to know. I mean, it's incumbent on the third base coach to know -- I mean, he's looking at the play. He can see the umpire. It's not just the runners, it's the whole team," said Mueller
And the "ordinary effort" part? That's completely up to an umpire's judgement.