Fixing a Missed Infield Fly

So as I have said in other threads in the Coaching section I am back coaching helping a friend with his 12u Rec team. Last week opposing team has the bases loaded and nobody out. Batter hits an impressively high popup. Our 3rd baseman takes a few steps in, few steps back, few more steps back in, and declares she has it. It promptly lands about 5 feet behind her or about where she started. Unfortunately no infield fly was called. So our 3rd baseman gets to the ball and tags the runner who at some point obviously left second and was headed for 3rd. She then notices for some odd reason the runner who was on 3rd and had broken for home reversed course and was headed back to 3rd and she tagged her. Did I mention this was 12u rec? And then finally she looks up and realizes the batter is barely running with her head down and throws her out at first. Triple play!

Well the third base and first base coach come unglued. Parents screaming. I honestly wished we cared as much about voting and government as we do the outcome of a 12u softball game, but I digress. After a conference or two and more screaming, the field umpire who is probably about 16 comes over to us and he looks like he is delivering news of a pending asteroid hitting Earth. He says basically Coach I should have called infield fly on that one. I said Yeah I think so too. And before he could say anything else I just said lets fix this by saying the batter is out and the runners all go back to their bases with one out. Lets assume if you called it they would not have tried to advance. His demeanor suddenly changed from doom to one of hearing the asteroid will actually miss Earth by a wide margin and sighs in relief. Audibly sighs. I would not usually give an umpire advice but this poor kid looked like he wanted to dig a hole and hide in it, just for missing an infield fly call in a softball game.

Now the real question. Can you go back and fix the situation like I proposed? And side question when you experienced umpires are training new umpires do you talk about when to eject coaches?

At 12U rec I think you did the perfect thing.

At a sanctioned game from one of the alphabets or HS I'm not sure it can be changed after the fact but I'm sure some ump will chime in with the correct ruling.

Yes, the IFF can be called after the fact and runners put back on base that were put in jeopardy. Well, except in NCAA. For whatever reason their approved ruling is that unless the umpire actually calls the IFF, it is not and cannot be corrected.

Yes, the infield fly can be retroactively invoked if it was not properly called. Not only can it be, but it should be if the delayed call put either team in jeopardy. The "non-call" here may have put several runners in jeopardy, if they thought that they had to run when they really didn't.

The rule book gives the plate umpire the ability to fix this. But there's no set-in-stone, one-size-fits-all solution. The umpire's goal should be to enforce outs and place runners to best replicate what would have happened if the call had been properly made in the first place. Calling the batter out and returning the runners might be the right solution, in some cases. It really depends on how the players reacted on the play.

Suppose all the runners tagged up on the fly ball, then didn't run until the ball dropped uncaught. Then you could truly say that the lack of an infield fly call did put the runners in jeopardy of being tagged out. This would call for the classic "enforce the infield fly and put 'em back" type of correction.

But what if a runner or two took off at the crack of the bat and got themselves tagged out? That's just bad baserunning and the lack of an infield fly call didn't have anything to do with that. Those outs could still stand. And you could have any number of variables on one play, with runners running when they shouldn't or fielders thinking they had force outs when they didn't. The umpire has to take all that into account and try to craft the "best fit" solution for that particular play.

Thanks everybody. I knew I would get definitive responses. I still say you guys should start a for fee service where knucklehead coaches/parents like me can text you in real time in games and get a response!

Thanks again.

Comp said:

Yes, the IFF can be called after the fact and runners put back on base that were put in jeopardy. Well, except in NCAA. For whatever reason their approved ruling is that unless the umpire actually calls the IFF, it is not and cannot be corrected.

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It's the same for Major League Baseball. If it wasn't called, then it ain't one! But most amateur codes do allow this correction.

AndyS said:

Well the third base and first base coach come unglued. Parents screaming... After a conference or two and more screaming... the field umpire who is probably about 16 comes over to us... talk about when to eject coaches?

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In rec we would quite often have youth umpires, often with relatively little training. IMO, any rec coach who screams at a youth umpire, or allows the parents of his team to do so, has no place coaching rec softball. (Not that screaming at an adult umpire is ok, but in my experience, they're more than capable of taking care of themselves )

AndyS said:

I just said lets fix this by saying the batter is out and the runners all go back to their bases with one out. Lets assume if you called it they would not have tried to advance.

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You, sir, are a class act.

AndyS said:

I honestly wished we cared as much about voting and government as we do the outcome of a 12u softball game, but I digress.

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Amen!

NoVa, thanks for the kind words but I disagree slightly. It might have been classy of me if it was some 18u Gold national championship, but it was a darn 12u rec game!!! All kidding aside thank you.

I will just say having been through this once before with my oldest and now not having a DD on the team has dramatically reduced my "inner crazy"! But I do see crazy all around me now.

Should also note that I don't know why the BU talked to you as this is the PUs call.

Also, the manner the player moved about trying to catch the ball indicates the umpire may not have believe this could be caught with ordinary effort. People tend to forget or don't know that this is not an automatic call just because the ball is in the infield.

But Bretman and Comp have it covered if it was an IF

MTR, thanks for pointing out the PU should have been the one talking to us. I can add that to my feedback. They are always looking for that kind of specific feedback on how they can improve and I missed that completely.

You make an interesting point on whether it was an IF. It was a very high popup especially if you think about 12u. So even though it landed probably about where she was in her ready position I guess it could be a judgement call. To be clear the umpires never mentioned that point but you are obviously correct. Just to provide a little funny context, I always ask the team after the game if they have suggestions on what we should work on at next practice. This little 3rd baseman said "I think we need to work on scary high popups." How do you not love it? I still laugh everytime I think of it and the very serious look on her face as she told me.