Go Phillies Go!!

i want to say something like “hey, we’re a Phillies bar, why pretend like we’re neutral?”.  but the truth is, Yankees fans outnumbered Phillies fans last night.  still, Cliff Lee pitched an absolute gem, and it was a great time.  those teams can light it up at any moment so it was exciting through the finish.  oh, and by night’s end no taco went uneaten. 

we have wireless internet at the bar, but i had the laptop at home.  so, i couldn’t look up the answer to the most loudly debated question of the evening . . .

Does the infield fly rule take effect with a runner on first only, or do you need runners on at least first and second?

two big thumbs up to Johnny Spears for knowing the rule.  one quarter of a thumbs up to his opponent(s) in the argument for their willingness to ignore evidence contrary to their point of view.  sticking to your guns and turning a blind eye is still worth something in this day and age. 

so, here it is, directly from the MLB rulebook:

“An INFIELD FLY is a fair fly ball (not including a line drive nor an attempted bunt) which can be caught by an infielder with ordinary effort, when first and second, or first, second and third bases are occupied, before two are out. The pitcher, catcher and any outfielder who stations himself in the infield on the play shall be considered infielders for the purpose of this rule.”

with clarification provided by Ralph Nelson, MLB’s VP of Umpiring:

“I would just like some explanation on a thing called the infield fly rule. I have been able to figure out the rules on my own mostly, but this one seems to confuse me a little. Could you please explain it to me. Thank you.
– T. Vergilio

The Infield Fly Rule was instituted to protect the offense from a possibly “unfair” double play. If there were runners on first and second (or bases loaded) and less than 2 out, runners would normally hold their base on a pop-up to the infield since the ball would, in all likelihood, be caught. Without the Infield Fly Rule, an infielder could drop an easy pop-up (or let it drop untouched) and turn a double play, since the runners would then be forced. The rules makers didn’t think this was fair and instituted this rule.

The Infield Fly Rule is only in effect when runners are on first and second (or bases loaded) and less than 2 out. It states that the batter is automatically out if he hits a fly ball “which can be caught by an infielder with ordinary effort.” The umpires loudly announce and signal, “Infield Fly, batter is out!” so that the runners are alerted that, even if the ball is dropped, they do not have to leave their bases.” 

of course now that this is settled, i fear i’ve lost what would have been a good trivia question for sports trivia!

SPORTS TRIVIA November 11th!!

that’s right, i’ve finally come up with a date for the next Sports Trivia contest.  mark it down on the calendar, Wednesday Night, November 11th we’ll meet and test our sports trivia knowledge for cash and prizes – and of course bragging rights