Dropped Infield Fly
Brad Gettle from Regina, SK asks:
Infield fly rule with the bases loaded. The ball falls in and the runner on second advances to third and touches third base. Can he retreat to second if not tagged out or is it a force play? Outcome was that the shortstop touched second.
The infield fly rule means that the batter is automatically out but does not mean that the fly ball will be caught. The runners are allowed to advance at their own peril. What this means is that if the fly ball is dropped then the runners will be allowed to advance without tagging up. If the ball is caught then the runners must tag up before trying to advance.
In your situation this is not a force play and the runner from second must be tagged to be retired. However, since he has already touched third, he must retouch third before returning to second of else he could be called out of appeal for missing third base.
Answered by: Jonathan Bravo
Keywords: Batter