I understand the rule and why we have it, but here's my question: At what point during the play does the umpire have to call it? In our game last night we had runners on 2nd & 3rd. The batter hits a high pop-up which was caught by the pitcher. It wasn't until after the runner was at 1st, the pitcher was walking back to the rubber, that the umpire called the runner out due to IF. I was sitting maybe 10 yards behind and to the side of the umpire, and although my hearing isn't the best, I certainly never heard him yell anything while the ball was in the air.
This is the same umpire who was calling strikes when the balls were coming across the plate as high as the brim of the batting helmet, and sent a girl to 1st on a 3-2 count, but I'm not criticizing
This is the same umpire who was calling strikes when the balls were coming across the plate as high as the brim of the batting helmet, and sent a girl to 1st on a 3-2 count, but I'm not criticizing