Strike 3 in the dirt situation

IEBSBL1,000+ posts

I was scouting a league opponent the other day and saw the following. 2 out strike three in the dirt homeplete umpire indicate nothing. Not strike three, not live ball absolutely nothing. Starting catcher made bonehead move and flipped the ball towards the mound. The head coach argued that the umpire gave absolutely no indication on what happened on the play. The umpire said he did not have to and there is no mechanics behind the play. I know in the end the catcher screwed up but is the umpire right in what he said?

4/17/1212:12 PM

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dash_riprock1,000+ posts

What's the call ump?

I can't tell you, coach. It's a secret.

4/17/1212:42 PM

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POLOGREEN1,000+ posts

There are mechanics for this situation yoou should give a sign crossing you arms and hands towards the ground and announcing "No Catch"..... at least that's what I've been taught.

4/17/1212:43 PM

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luv baseball5,000+ posts

Give the strike signal but not the out call. That's part of why Umpires are taught to have a distinctive Strike 3 out call.

4/17/121:27 PM

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dash_riprock1,000+ posts

quote:
Originally posted by POLOGREEN:
There are mechanics for this situation yoou should give a sign crossing you arms and hands towards the ground and announcing "No Catch"..... at least that's what I've been taught.

I use a safe signal instead of the incomplete pass signal.

4/17/121:55 PM

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karjam10+ posts

We have been taught to give the safe sign by crossing our arms and pointing to the ground. We never verbalize. The Batter and Catcher should know what happens and what they should do on a 3rd Strike Pitch in the dirt. We do not Coach the Players we just rule on the plays.

4/17/122:25 PM

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dash_riprock1,000+ posts

quote:
Originally posted by karjam:
We have been taught to give the safe sign by crossing our arms and pointing to the ground. We never verbalize. The Batter and Catcher should know what happens and what they should do on a 3rd Strike Pitch in the dirt. We do not Coach the Players we just rule on the plays.

Alerting the catcher and batter that the pitch was not caught is not coaching. It is making a call. Each needs to know the status of the ball, i.e., the umpire's catch/no-catch decision, and since both have their backs to the umpire, a verbal mechanic is appropriate.

Crossing ones arms and pointing at the ground is not a "safe" sign.

4/17/122:39 PM

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