PRESEASON JITTERS – NEED HELP

[David Emerling]

This is my first year as a "pointer". I have always used the first as my strike mechanic.

The ALCS incident with Doug Eddings was a wake-up call for me. And *should* be for all the hammer guys out there.

The fact that a strike mechanic is IDENTICAL to an out mechanic can cause serious problems in certain circumstances.

Everybody who uses the hammer as their standard strike mechanic needs to ask themselves, "How would *I* have handled the same situation that Doug Eddings found him in?"

I have seen this topic discussed much on various internet umpire forums and I really haven't read what I considered a particularly good mechanic that maintains the hammer as the primary strike mechanic. Almost every solution involved a lot of TALKING since there is no signal remaining that describes the situation.

So, now, I point. I point for the strike and I hammer for the out. It's clearer to the participants and fans.

David Emerling
Memphis, TN