Could You Be an MLB Umpire? Teaching the Infield Fly Rule.

Could you actually make the calls? 😏

Could You Be an MLB Umpire?

⚾ This week's eLearning Heroes challenge: build a short interaction that teaches one part of a sport. One concept, done well.

I didn't have to think hard about which one. For a few years, I was a Little League umpire while my sons were playing — and nothing started a bleacher argument faster than a routine pop-up with runners on base (well, other than their kids striking out). Half the parents were sure it was an automatic out. The other half were sure it wasn't. Almost nobody could explain why.

That's the Infield Fly Rule — the most confidently misunderstood call in baseball, and the obvious pick for this challenge.

The concept

Learners make the call on six different plays, and a very skeptical umpire (with 22 years behind the plate and zero patience) tells them if they actually know the rule — or if they're just loud. Each play shows a live diamond graphic with runners and outs, instant video feedback, and a final "umpire tier" ranking from Blue-Ribbon Blue 🏆 down to Section 214 Heckler 📣.

A build decision worth sharing

My first instinct was to script a custom reaction video for every possible outcome — 12 in total. Claude pointed out a learner only ever sees six reactions in one playthrough no matter what, so that was double the production work for content most people wouldn't see both sides of (was Claude being lazy?? 😛).

I cut it down to 4: one generic correct reaction, one generic incorrect reaction, and two "bonus" callback reactions for the two plays that trip up the most people.

Then, reviewing my own build, I caught a problem: nail all four regular plays and you see the exact same "correct" reaction four times (that is what I get for listening to Claude 🤣).

Not the payoff I wanted. So I met in the middle — a few more variants of each reaction, cycled at random with no back-to-back repeats. Landed on 10 videos total: more than Claude's pared-down 4, but still fewer than the 12 I first floated. No more deja vu, though.

I also picked up a couple of lessons the harder way: Rise 360 Code Blocks don't auto-resize based on content (fixed it with a set height and a themed scrollbar), and my first cut of the reaction videos kept playing right through the "Next Batter" button with no way to pause. Both got sorted before this one felt done.

The takeaway

Pick one concept and let it be a little absurd — "teach the rule that starts bar arguments" is a lot more fun to build (and play) than "teach the whole rulebook." And if you've got a personal story that connects, use it. That's the whole reason this one felt worth building.

Tools used: Rise 360, Rise 360 Code Blocks, Articulate AI Avatar (videos), and Claude (my AI creative partner).