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From: stevev@tekchips.UUCP (Steve Vegdahl)
Newsgroups: net.sport.baseball
Subject: Is the infield-fly-rule necessary?
Message-ID: <57@tekchips.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 10-Jun-85 14:29:05 EDT
Article-I.D.: tekchips.57
Posted: Mon Jun 10 14:29:05 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 13-Jun-85 01:10:40 EDT
Distribution: net
Organization: Tektronix, Beaverton OR
Lines: 32

Disclaimer: it's been a long time since I've looked at a baseball rule book.
The following is based on the premise that if runner A overtakes runner B
on the basepath, that runner A (rather than runner B) is the one who is
called out.  Now, on to the main topic:

The purpose of the infield-fly-rule is to prevent the fielding team from
intentionally dropping a pop-up to create a double- or triple-play
situation.  It basically states that when there are less than two outs and
there are runners on first and second (and possibly third), that on any
pop fly in the infield, the batter is automatically called out.  (This does
not apply to foul balls, and I believe that the definition of "infield" is 
left to the umpire's discretion, and I may have gotten a few other details
wrong.)  The automatic calling of the batter out removes any possibility
of a force-out, and hence removes the motivation of a fielder to
intentionally drop a fly and get a force-out double play.

The purpose of this message is to question whether this rule is necessary.
On a pop fly, there is presumably enough time for the batter pass the runner
occupying first.  Once he does this, he is called out for passing the runner,
thereby removing the force-out situation.

Incidentally, this tactic could presumably work in the context of current
baseball rules to foil an attempt by the defensive team to replace a "fast"
runner at first with a "slow" runner by intentionally dropping a pop-up and
taking the force at second.

Any comments?  Am I crazy?

		Steve Vegdahl
		Computer Research Lab.
		Tektronix, Inc.
		Beaverton, Oregon