Dropped third strike

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by socalblue1

Jeff,

I could not disagree with you more. The mechanic is taught by both pro schools and every clinic I have attended.

The reasoning behind the mechanic is sound - ensure everyone is on the same page in regard to an uncaught third strike.

It's your choice, but I know for a fact that the NCAA region & super region umpires were evaluated on this mechanic in 2006.

Is the mechanic in the book? If it is not in the book then you will have different points of view on this. Also when I talked to Minor League guys and fellow college guys, I did not ever hear of "one size fits all" mechanic with a ringing consensus. Now I am not disputing this was an issue on the NCAA playoff level, but I did not read anywhere where something was adopted across the board. Guys that work playoffs get a different set of directives sometimes than everyone else. Also, what works for NCAA does not necessarily apply for all other levels. I know in my state we do things differently than what is stated in the NF book on purpose. So what you just described might go completely out of the window if you are not working an NCAA game. I also know what happens in one conference can greatly be different from another conference. There is an NCAA conference that requires one of the base umpires to use an indicator along with the PU and you know how that subject gets thrown around here.

Peace