Didn't the home plate ump not only call the third strike but then also give the "out" mechanic?
Doesn't that mean the batter was out?
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I copied this from my answer above in the general items forum....Clearly there are a number of things that occured during this play that caused the issue.
I will not go into the "did he catch it or not" issue....that was decided on the field during the play. No amount of 3rd party video or super slo mo is available at that moment so the call stands....
Clearly the mechanic used by the Umpire aided this problem, however, it is an accepted and taught mechanic at pro school. I have not attended pro school, but have attended the short pro clinics. The Hammer to the front call as was used last night is taught as an accepted strike mechanic. Some point, some hammer...I use the hammer for all strike calls. That being said if the ball was not caught, the mechanic we use is a verbal call "strike" followed by "no catch"......
If caught, we are taught to say "Strike", then batters out, pumping the fist repeatedly to demonstrate the out...and not just the strike.
In the 2 man system, that most of us work in, if the ball is not caught, the base umpire will signal with an open palm to assist the UIC to know it was not caught. I assume that this is used in MLB.
My 2 cents.........
I will not go into the "did he catch it or not" issue....that was decided on the field during the play. No amount of 3rd party video or super slo mo is available at that moment so the call stands....
Clearly the mechanic used by the Umpire aided this problem, however, it is an accepted and taught mechanic at pro school. I have not attended pro school, but have attended the short pro clinics. The Hammer to the front call as was used last night is taught as an accepted strike mechanic. Some point, some hammer...I use the hammer for all strike calls. That being said if the ball was not caught, the mechanic we use is a verbal call "strike" followed by "no catch"......
If caught, we are taught to say "Strike", then batters out, pumping the fist repeatedly to demonstrate the out...and not just the strike.
In the 2 man system, that most of us work in, if the ball is not caught, the base umpire will signal with an open palm to assist the UIC to know it was not caught. I assume that this is used in MLB.
My 2 cents.........
yes i would blame this more on the field umpire for basically saying 
when scocisa came out.
when scocisa came out.
As a high school coach, I teach my catcher to go ahead and tag the batter, or at least turn to the umpire, show him the ball, and listen for what he has to say.