Rick Klein, 10/1: ‘I Used to Love the Infield-Fly Rule. . . . Now I Loathe It and Want It Repealed’

Here is what ABC News’ Klein had to say about the infield-fly rule to NRO before the NL wildcard game mayhem at Turner Field took place:

I used to love the infield-fly rule for its gentlemanly spirit; now I loathe it and want it repealed.

Why should you be rewarded with the guarantee of only one out if you hit a fly ball, with two or three runners on base, that doesn’t even leave the infield? You’re not similarly rewarded if you hit a sharp ground ball or a rocket of a line drive that leaves the defense a chance of turning two.

Think of the extra action if the runner has to go a quarter or half way — a game of chicken on the basepaths while the infielder decides whether to risk letting a sure out drop on the grass.

[Note: Immediately following the Cardinals–Braves wild-card game, in which the controversial application of the infield-fly rule in the bottom of the eighth inning hurt Atlanta’s chances of a comeback, I asked Klein for a follow-up comment. His response: “P.S. Braves fans, I rest my case.”]

More here, including Charles Krauthammer’s take on Bryce Harper’s right arm and Fox News’ Adam Housley’s explanation as to why experience does matter in the postseason.