Hoax Hoax Hoax.... the umps made the correct call.... if you look at the slo mo replay, the ump called it before the ball hit the ground.... the infield fly rule hinges on whether the infielder or outfielder could have caught the ball.... the short stop could have had it and the ump called it.... by rule it should have been called at the apex and the ump was a tad late,,, but was the right call
I've seen the slo-mo several times and the shortstop was never under the ball and could not have caught the ball with reasonable effort.
Major League Baseball rules specifies that an infield fly is a fair fly ball that "can be caught by an infielder with ordinary effort." Rule 2.00 (Ordinary Effort) defines this standard as "the effort that a fielder of average skill at a position in that league or classification of leagues should exhibit on a play, with due consideration given to the condition of the field and weather conditions."
The call was late and the ump started his arm up after the shortstop had already started back towards the infield.
It is a judgment call but in slo-mo, it shows the ump was wrong, but once the call was made "it is what it is".
I expect MLB to back up the ump as they should ... just like UPS backs up it's management. That's the nature of the system.
I don't think the call affected the outcome of the game ... I think 3 errors by the Braves (plus the base-running error by Simmons) and the inability to get men on base across the plate affected the outcome of the game much more. The Braves lost this game not because of the umps but because of themselves.
With that said, that was an absolutely inept call by Sam Holbrook and he is such a jerk, he will never realize that he made a bad call.
The purpose of the infield fly rule is to protect the runners and that call had absolutely anything to do with protecting the runners.
The ball was over 90 feet into the outfield thus disallowing any "reasonable expectation of turning a double play" by letting the ball drop and forcing out the 2 runners on base.
His entire career is littered with "muffed" calls/decisions and he is a bully to the other umpires and anybody else that questions him.
In his mind, he has never made a bad call or bad decision in his whole life.
Oh well, there's always next year.