Baseball rules corner: intentionally dropping infield fly with men on base is a risky play

Baseball Digest, Oct, 2005 by Rich Marazzi

TWO YEARS AGO I DESIGNED A program titled Ruleball. My mission is to communicate the rules in such a manner to help teams win ballgames. The idea has caught on.

Currently I am affiliated with several major league teams as a rules consultant. A part of my program is to give two 90-minute workshops to the coaching staffs and various organizational personnel during spring training. The remainder of the year I serve as a consultant for various issues and provide monthly reports about interesting plays.

Ruleball is divided into 46 lessons covering the hot spots in the rulebook. Over the years, I have identified areas where teams have gotten into trouble because a player did not know a rule. I have also provided examples where a player knew a certain rule that benefited his team.

Such was the case on July 2 at Shea Stadium when Marlins' first baseman Carlos Delgado allowed a fly ball to drop untouched to create a double play in a game against the Mets.

In the bottom of the third inning, the Mets had Jose Reyes on first base and one out when Carlos Beltran hit a soft fly ball to Delgado who allowed the ball to drop untouched. Beltran, thinking he would easily be erased, didn't run hard out of the box. Delgado saw this and let the ball drop. He picked it up and threw to second for a 3-6-3 double play.

This is a clever tactic normally used to exchange a speedy runner with a slower one. It's in the best interests of the defensive team to take the faster runner off the bases. Since Reyes, who can run like a rabbit, was frozen on the fly ball, he had to hold the bag. He thus became an easy out. Actually, Delgado could have completed the twin killing in a more practical way by tagging Reyes, who was forced to go to second, and then simply step on the bag to double up Beltran who fell asleep at the plate.

Keep in mind that the Infield Fly rule does not provide protection to the offensive team in the above situation. It can only be invoked when there are runners on first and second, or first, second, and third and less than two outs. In the mentioned scenario, the Mets only had a runner on first so they were not protected by the provisions of the Infield Fly rule.

What Delgado did was to utilize rule 6.05(1), a close cousin of the Infield Fly rule. The rule reads:

"A batter is out when a fielder intentionally drops a fair fly ball or line drive, with first, first and second, first and third, or first, second and third base occupied before two are out. The ball is dead and runner or runners shall return to their original base or bases."

But here's the opening that Delgado took advantage of. In addition, the rule states: In this situation, the batter is not out if the fielder permits the ball to drop untouched to the ground, except when the Infield Fly rule applies. The key word here is untouched.

The umpires make the determination as to whether or not a fielder intentionally drops a fly ball. In relation to 6.05(1), the umps could kill a play by calling "time" immediately if they think a fielder has intentionally dropped the ball.

If Delgado, in the mentioned play, dropped the ball intentionally, the umps could have protected Reyes at first by calling Beltran out and stopping the action. But since Delgado wisely allowed the ball to fall to the ground untouched, the ball remained alive and in play.

It is true that there is a risk in all of this since the untouched fly ball could take a bad hop and you can end up with no outs and runners on first and second. Just ask former Indians' third baseman Al Rosen.

In a game against the Yankees on August 22, 1952, the Yanks trailed the Indians, 5-0, in the bottom of the fifth inning. With Billy Martin on first for New York, Rosen tried to trap a pop fly hit by pitcher Allie Reynolds.

Rosen probably was thinking double play or at the very least trading Martin on the bases with Reynolds, a slower runner. But Rosen messed it up for an error and the Yankees ended up with runners on first and second.

Fortunately for Rosen, Hank Bauer hit into a triple play to end the rally.

Is there a risk in flirting with 6.05(1)? Sure, but I'll take my chances when the opportunity is right.

Keep in mind that the intent of the fielder is critical when interpreting 6.05(1). And of course, it's up to the discretion of the umpires as to whether or not intent is an issue.

Take what happened in a game between the Cardinals and Dodgers on July 4, 1988.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Kirk Gibson was batting for the Dodgers against John Tudor with runners on first and third and one out. Gibson hit a high pop fly to shortstop Ozzie Smith who dropped the ball. But the umps judged that Ozzie intentionally dropped it so they killed the play. Gibson was called out, but the runners were protected. If Smith allowed the ball to fall untouched, the results might have been different.

There is one situation covered in the Major League Baseball Umpire Manual that teams should take advantage of. MLB rule 8.4 states:

"If on an Infield Fly the infielder intentionally drops the ball, the ball remains in play despite the provisions of Official Baseball Rule 6.05(l).