Earlier this week I had Jeff Conine on my fantasy baseball team. He's a player on the Cincy Reds whose is listed as a DH. So, the story goes, I was watching Baseball Tonight on mute when I caught Conine and his manager screaming at the umpires. I flipped the volume on and what I heard was the tail-end of a situation that resulted in my boy Conine not getting the RBI's nor fantasy points he and I so deserved. Conine's bat broke as he made contact with the ball that flew over an infielder's head and was not caught. Conine landed safely on first but was told a few seconds after his arrival that he was out under the Infield Fly Rule. There's an article from the local Cincinnati paper describing the incident here - article.
The Reds naturally were upset as they had been robbed of a base hit and some runs. I wish I had heard the beginning of the conversation on Baseball Tonight talking about what had happened regarding the rule and incident because I just spent the last little while flipping through the MLB rules trying to figure out what the fuck happened.
The purpose of the Infield Fly Rule is to squelch fielder's from easy double plays when there are less than two outs. The ump calls an infield fly when there are runner's on first and second or bases are loaded, but not when there is only a runner on first. The ball must be hit into the infield and catchable. When the ump calls it, the batter is out and the runners on base have to tag the bags as normal, even if the ball is subsequently dropped by the infielder.
One such circumstance where the rule becomes necessary is when there are runners on first and second and the ball is hit to third. Rather than catch the ball, a third baseman, say A-Rod could drop it (purposefully), pick it up, step on the base and then throw to second to get the advancing runner out, leaving only a man on first. So basically, the rule allows the runner's already on base to not be duped by the shyster that is A-Rod. Really, it allows runners to advance and runs to be scored.
The reason Conine and the Reds manager, Jerry Narron, made a big stink about the play and call was that the ball hit the top of the infielder's glove and did not look like it could be easily caught so the play should not have come under the rule.
Here's the wiki page, though it makes less sense then what I wrote but this article makes some sense of the rule.
Below is applicable parts of Major League Baseball's rules regarding the Infield Fly.
Section 6.05 states a batter is out when an infield fly is declared.
It is defined in Section 2 as 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.
When it seems apparent that a batted ball will be an Infield Fly, the umpire shall immediately declare “Infield Fly” for the benefit of the runners. If the ball is near the baselines, the umpire shall declare “Infield Fly, if Fair.”
The ball is alive and runners may advance at the risk of the ball being caught, or retouch and advance after the ball is touched, the same as on any fly ball. If the hit becomes a foul ball, it is treated the same as any foul.
If a declared Infield Fly is allowed to fall untouched to the ground, and bounces foul before passing first or third base, it is a foul ball. If a declared Infield Fly falls untouched to the ground outside the baseline, and bounces fair before passing first or third base, it is an Infield Fly.
Rule 2.00 (Infield Fly) Comment: On the infield fly rule the umpire is to rule whether the ball could ordinarily have been handled by an infielder—not by some arbitrary limitation such as the grass, or the base lines. The umpire must rule also that a ball is an infield fly, even if handled by an outfielder, if, in the umpire’s judgment, the ball could have been as easily handled by an infielder. The infield fly is in no sense to be considered an appeal play. The umpire’s judgment must govern, and the decision should be made immediately.
When an infield fly rule is called, runners may advance at their own risk. If on an infield fly rule, the infielder intentionally drops a fair ball, the ball remains in play despite the provisions of Rule 6.05 (L). The infield fly rule takes precedence.
Regarding the scoring of an infield fly section 10.09(c)(1) states, When the batter is called out on an Infield Fly that is not caught, the official scorer shall credit the putout to the fielder who the scorer believes could have made the catch.
If all that isn't enough for you the League's official rules can be checked out here.
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