Quote:
Originally posted by David Emerling
Quote:
Originally posted by briancurtin
Quote:
Originally posted by David Emerling
The ALCS incident with Doug Eddings was a wake-up call for me. And *should* be for all the hammer guys out there.
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im not sure i agree with this. i wont be changing anything this season, i see no need to. i use the hammer, and i use it effectively. there is not, or i should say there hasnt been, any confusion for me when using the hammer on a third strike not caught. not everyone uses the hammer exactly as eddings does.
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I would be curious as to your handling of this exact situation. I'm not challenging - I'm sincerely curious because I can be convinced to return to the "hammer" if somebody could come up with an acceptable mechanic that is not prone to confusion.
The batter swings and misses a pitch that is low.
You signal strike with a hammer?
Then, as the PU, you are convinced (a) the ball was caught, or (b) the ball was *not* caught.
What further signals (or verbalization) will you make for (a) or (b)?
David Emerling
Memphis, TN
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in situation A, where i believe the ball is caught, i am coming up with an agressive fist. i will also verbalize 'out', but not 'batters out'. by agressively signaling the fist, pumping it a few times and verbalizing the out, everyone *should* get that the batter is now out. this somewhat normal, nothing new here, never had a problem.
now in situation B, i will take a step out and point at the BR (left hand) and come up with a regular old fist (not the agressive multiple timed fist from before where we have an out). this signifies that yes he swung, yes it is a strike. i will then verbalize "no catch" a couple of times. since this is the situation where i feel that the ball isnt caught; i feel that i have signaled that we have a strike on the batter, which is the third, and i have stepped out and verbalized that i do not have a catch. some have used the safe mechanic here adding to the "no catch" verbalization, but i havent tried that myself.
that may or may not work for everyone and where they work. it might not even be acceptable to some, and hell it might not even be acceptable to my evaluators (when the time comes). i have not found trouble with it, and have not found any partners to oppose my stance on it. i am definitely open to becoming better at any aspect of umpiring, but i dont feel that i need to look away from the hammer. some things on third strikes might change, but at the moment im alright.
[Edited by briancurtin on Mar 9th, 2006 at 11:49 PM]