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Well, the only comment from another umpire that caused us to consider this, is the "to the rear" part.
Once the arm moves past 90 degrees (or pointing toward 2nd base), and is still going up, is it no longer going rearward - in fact, it's going forward, if forward is defined as toward the plate.
I did not think this was the intent of the rule - but there was enough difference of opinion from various levels of officials that I promised I'd come out here and get a definitive answer.
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"Many baseball fans look upon an umpire as a sort of necessary evil to the luxury of baseball, like the odor that follows an automobile." - Hall of Fame Pitcher Christy Mathewson
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