|
Not where I work, but maybe elsewhere...
No.
HHH,
I have to disagree with you, just a little...
I know you are a good umpire and enjoy reading your advice, but I travel all over the West and Midwest for my college ball and have never encountered another umpire signal an uncaught third strike. (Am I to assume you are making the "Safe/No Catch" signal?)
At this level, we rarely encounter the guy that is unaware of the drop or the catcher that won't fire it to first.
On a swinging third strike that is not caught, signal it and take your mask off. That is all that either team needs to know. Most of us remove our masks anyway when a ball is in the dirt and a play will ensue. Witha called third, hopefully our younger umpires aren't calling it until a second after it hits the mitt, you'll have a different approach to your "Punch out". Signal the call like a swinging third strike - i.e. closed fist up and out. Take yur mask off and watch what happens.
Much like we don't call "Ball Four, take your base" or "Strike Three, You're Out!", we shouldn't do too overt of an action to assist a player.
I'm sure that you meant well with this and maybe I'm missing something, but a lot of our younger members might get the wrong idea. (Especially with leagues that wish they had catchers who could hold a pitch!)
All the best to you and if you want a laugh or two, check out the latest soap opera on the Football Board about overruling your partner. He just couldn't let it go.
|