In the dirt or not?

[SanDiegoSteve]

Originally posted by rulesmaven
If the ruling had been that the ball was caught cleanly, what would Eddings have done differently on that play, if anything?

Should the umpire tell or signal to the BR that he is out if he is out? Seems like a straightforward question, but what if there had been a man on first there (and less than two outs)? Gets a lot more complicated. Telling him he's out there could give a real advantage to a catcher who doesn't know the rules who might otherwise make a bad decision that lets the runner advance a base.

Seems like third dropped strike scenarios can get really tricky.

If there is a runner at first, and less than 2 out, I will say "the batter's out" loud and clear, that way the runner stops running, the runner at first doesn't think he is forced to run, and a whole world of crap is avoided. There is nothing wrong with calling an out when there is an out.