The umpire invokes the infield fly rule when a ball is popped up over the infield and (1) the fielder is in good fielding position, (2) there are runners on first and second or the bases are loaded, and (3) there are less than two outs. When the umpire calls “infield fly” the batter is automatically out, no matter how the ball is fielded. The point of the rule is to prevent the fielder from intentionally dropping the ball to get an easy double play. The rule came into effect in 1895.
