universal mechanic for strike three

[bob jenkins]

Originally posted by Tim C
3. Today, the official and accepted MiLB mechanic is to signal the strike, then make "safe" signal and verbalize, "no catch". Out's are the same, with a clear and slightly exagerated out signal (As needed), seperate from the strike signal.

Many umpires in our area use this mechanic (with a possible excpetion of the exact verbage of "no catch"). It's become more prevalent over the past couple of years.

And, of course, it's used only when there's confusion. A clearly caught pitch, or one that goes to the backstop, for example, doesn't get any "extra" mechanics.