Quote:
Originally Posted by CoachPaul
Some umpires signal each strike with a fist. I don't like that. We point and verbalize or simply verbalize the strike. With a ball in the dirt offered at by the batter we verbalize clearly "strike three" but don't ring him up like we would on a caught third strike. In the absence of the emphatic call, both the catcher and the hitter know something remains unsettled and there is still action to be taken
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There's really nothing wrong with using the hammer (i.e. fist) as the mechanic for calling a strike. Basically, umpires are either "hammer" or "pointer" guys. Both are perfectly acceptable and you see this at the MLB-level, as well.
In the case of an uncaught third strike, the hammer-guy is OK as long as he
immediately follows it up with the safe signal and says, "no catch". This seems to be the MLB mechanic that I've seen and it seems to work perfectly fine. This all evolved as a result of the Doug Eddings incident in the 2005 ALCS.
RealClearSports - Top 10 Blown Calls in Baseball History - Doug Eddings, Uncaught Third Strike, 2005 ALCS Game 2