The Infield Fly Rule Explained

In one of my games, we had the bases loaded with one out. Our batter hit a high fly ball in the infield and the umpire yelled, “Infield fly! Batter’s out!”. Most baseball players understand this means they should tag up and stay on their base, but the third basemen accidentally dropped the fly ball. After seeing the third baseman drop the ball, our runner on third base panicked and started running home. He was easily thrown out to end the inning.

This is a frustrating experience that a lot of teams go through because it gives the defense an easy out and it can sometimes end an inning. But an infield fly does not happen very often so seeing this play can also lead many people to wonder, what is the infield fly rule?

The Infield Fly Rule is when the batter is automatically called out because they hit an easy fly ball in the infield, there were less than two outs, and there were runners on first and second, or the bases were loaded. The Infield Fly Rule exists to prevent the defense from turning an easy double play.

But there are a handful of factors that go into determining what is an infield fly and what isn’t an infield fly. For the rest of this article, we’ll explore what makes a play an infield fly. The good news is the infield fly rule is the same for both baseball and softball games.

2 Scenarios That Make a Play an Infield Fly

The Infield Fly Rule can seem complicated, especially because a lot has to happen within a few seconds of the batter hitting the ball, but there are only 2 scenarios that make a play eligible for the infield fly rule.

Scenario #1 – Batter Hits a Pop Fly With Runners on First and Second Base

When the offense has baserunners on first and second base, four things need to be true before an umpire calls the batter out for an infield fly. Those four things are:

• There are less than two outs
• The batter hits a pop fly in the infield
• The pop fly is a fair ball
• The pop fly is easily catchable by an infielder (also referred to as using “ordinary effort”)

If these four things are true, the umpire will yell “Infield fly! Batter’s out!” while the ball is still in the air. If the umpire is not sure whether the ball will land fair or foul, they’ll usually call something like “Infield fly, if fair!”

After the umpire makes this call, the batter is automatically out and the runners are not forced to advance to the next base if the infielder drops the pop fly.

However, runners can still advance to the next base at their own risk during an infield fly. Although the tag-up rules still apply and it’s pretty rare to see runners advance during infield fly plays.

Scenario #2 – Batter Hits a Pop Fly With The Bases Loaded

The only other scenario that can make a play eligible to be ruled an infield fly is when the offense has runners on first, second, and third base.

When the bases are loaded, four things need to be true before an umpire calls the batter out for an infield fly:

• There are less than two outs
• The batter hits a pop fly in the infield
• The pop fly is a fair ball
• The pop fly is easily catchable by an infielder (also referred to as using “ordinary effort”)

Those four things are the same as when there are runners on first and second (described in the section above). The only difference is how many runners are on base.

When these four things are true, the umpire calls “Infield fly, batter’s out!” while the ball is still in the air. If the umpire isn’t sure the ball is landing fair our foul, they’ll usually say something like “Infield fly, if fair!”

After the umpire makes the infield fly call, the batter is automatically out and the runners are not forced to advance to the next base if the infielder drops the pop fly.

Runners Still Need to Tag Up During an Infield Fly

One question that throws off a lot of people is what they need to do if they’re already on base. Since the batter is already called out, do you have to tag up on an infield fly?

Baserunners are required to tag up during an infield fly. Tag-up rules still apply during an infield fly, even though the batter is called out.

If the infielder misses the pop-out, runners can advance at their own risk. But if the infielder catches the ball, they can try to get a baserunner out if that baserunner has failed to tag up.

The Tag-Up rule can be confusing too. That’s why I also put together this beginner’s guide to tagging up if you’d like to know more about what is the tag-up rule.

Because the tag-up rule still applies to infield fly plays, it’s pretty rare to see runners advance to the next base. It does happen though, which is why I came up with four scenarios that show when a runner can advance during an infield fly play.

Why Does the Infield Fly Rule Exist?

After you know what the infield fly rule is, the next question you’re probably asking is “Why?” The batter doesn’t even get a chance to be called safe and the defense gets an automatic out. Why is there even an infield fly rule in baseball or softball?

The Infield Fly Rule exists to prevent the defense from turning easy double plays. Without the infield fly rule, infielders could intentionally drop the fly ball, force all the runners to advance to the next base, and turn an easy double play.

After all, the tag-up rule still exists. This means baserunners are forced to stay at their base until the infielder either drops the ball or catches it.

While it may not seem like it at first, the infield fly rule exists to make the game more fair for the offense because the defense is unable to turn easy double plays and easy triple plays.

There Is No Infield Fly Rule When There is Only a Runner on First Base

The next question most people wonder about is if an infield fly can be called with only a runner on first base, but the answer is that there is no infield fly rule when the offense only has one runner on first base. But why is there no infield fly rule with a runner on first?

There is no infield fly rule with a runner on first base because the defense is not able to easily turn a double play. The infield fly rule exists to prevent the defense from turning a double play, but if there is only one runner on first, the defense can only put out the runner or the batter.

I also put together this entire article that gives 3 reasons why the infield fly rule doesn’t exist when only one runner is on first base, but the biggest reason is that the defense is unable to easily turn a double play in this scenario.

If the defense drops the ball, the runner on first is forced to run to second base. The defense will most likely get that runner out, but because the ball was hit in the air the batter should already be standing on first base.

On the other hand, the infielder could catch the ball and only get the batter out. Either way, the defense is only getting one out.

Additionally, the offense gets a very tiny advantage of not having an infield fly with only a runner on first base. Because if the defense misses the ball, the runner has a chance to make it to second base safely.

After all, the pop-fly could do some weird ricochet off the player’s glove that allows that runner to make it to second base.

Infield Fly Rule Examples in the MLB

The “Infield Fly” Rule Between the Braves and Cardinals NL Wild Card Game

One of the most controversial infield fly calls happened during the 2012 NL Wild Card game between the Atlanta Braves and the St. Louis Cardinals.

What made this call controversial was that the ball wasn’t going to land in the infield – it was landing in the shallow outfield. The shortstop didn’t catch the ball and all the fans expected all the runners to be safe. But the umpire called an infield fly and the batter was automatically out.

The fans were so upset by this call that they even started chanting “Infield Fly!” whenever a fly ball was hit deep into the outfield.

Cincinnati Reds Turned a Double Play on an Infield Fly

This play happened quickly and it’s understandable to see how the baserunner got doubled-off.

The pop-fly wasn’t hit very high, but there were runners on first and second and the umpire still called for an infield fly. However, the baserunner on first base didn’t realize the infield fly rule was in effect and he ended up trying to advance to second base after the infielder missed the catch.