IFF Call on Obvious Foul Ball

[Nafxos]

Was watching a 12U Cal Ripken tournament game last night and saw a play I hadn't really given much thought to before.  R1 and R2 with less than 2 out, batter hits a pop fly that is obviously foul near the 1B dugout. PU calls "Infield Fly if fair". F3 catches the ball next to the dugout. No muss, no fuss.

What got me thinking was the umpire's call. My first reaction was "why is he calling that when it's obvious to everyone that it's not going to be a fair ball"?  But after thinking about it, I realized that in theory, F3 could miss the ball completely (especially at this age) and the ball could hit the ground and spin back into fair territory.  Which would make it a fair ball, and the batter would be out on the IFF.

Do people here always call (point and verbalize) IFF on balls that are coming down in foul territory by 20-30 feet or more?

[noumpere]

The spin on the ball will make it travel more toward foul territory, not more toward fair territory.

 

Sure, it's possible it hits a rock or something -- but that's so rare (when foul by 20 feet) that I wouldn't call it in this instance.  If you like wearing a belt and suspenders, you could do so.

 

(And, to stop the next question, I don't know if the "right" spot to call it is 8 feet or 10 feet, or 11.234 feet foul)

[JaxRolo]

It really doesn't matter if it's called or not. Personally I wouldn't call it if it was that obvious.

[ZebraStripes]

I probably wouldn't signal on one that far foul.  I have had a grounder that was 3 foot foul come back as a fair ball though.  

[LMSANS]

I had one earlier this year that F5 completely missed in fair territory (about 10 ft).  I don't know why but I added the "if fair" and sure enough the ball rolled foul without being touched.

[noumpere]

I had one earlier this year that F5 completely missed in fair territory (about 10 ft).  I don't know why but I added the "if fair" and sure enough the ball rolled foul without being touched.

​that's much more likely than a foul IFF becoming fair.

 

Note that it's foul ball whether you add the "if fair" or not.

[RingEmUp]

I usually don't add the "if fair" part and try to delay the call as long as possible.  I try to delay all calls as much as I can, I don't want to be that guy who calls a fair ball foul and have to eat that sammich.

[benjix4]

Good umpiring comes from not creating something that isn't there.  Obvious foul ball, just let the play develop.