Quote:
Originally posted by Rich Ives
Quote:
Originally posted by WindyCityBlue
No he wasn't.
He signalled "Safe"; the mechanic for anything else is to "Say and Display". Watch the replay - he did not say "No tag".
I'm not sure what mechanic they teach in your area, but we don't have a "No Tag" signal. We verbalize "No Bag", "No Ball/No Control" and "No Tag", while signalling the call. that way there is no confusion.
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Then why do they signal "safe" on a trapped ball?
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You're right, Rich.
It is a personal umpire technique to give a safe signal for any unusual event that could possibly result in a runner or batter being out. The umpire quickly signals safe and now everybody knows that, whatever they just saw, one thing is for sure,
nobody is out.
It's a good mechanic, in my opinion.
The safe signal has many meanings:
1.) Safe
2.) He didn't swing
3.) The ball was
not interfered with (by a fan)
4.) The ball was not caught (probably trapped or short hopped)
5.) A tag was missed - usually a swipe tag
During very unusual plays, sometimes the safe signal is used to convey, "That's nothing! Keep playing."
I might be missing some other meanings. These just came to mind.
David Emerling
Memphis, TN