Adventures With The Infield Fly

Infield Fly Rule controversies are to baseball what sharks are to the Jersey shore. You’ve heard about them enough that you have a vague idea of what will happen if one shows up, but you don’t ever expect one to actually impact your day. Unless you’re the 2016 Phillies, evidently. For the second time in just four days, the Phillies found themselves victims of the typically mundane rule.

In the eighth inning of Friday night’s game against the New York Mets, Odubel Herrera came up to bat with runners on first and second, one out, and the Phillies trailing the Mets 7-2. Herrera worked the count full, but popped the ball straight in the air and, well, this happened:

While the ball was in the air,…