Verbalizing the Count?

PeteBooth · #1 (**permalink**) Fri Apr 03, 2009, 10:54am

Quote:

Originally Posted by Freddy

Partner on Wednesday verbalizes the count, when necessary, as I've been accustomed to do, that is, "TWO...TWO", signalling with fingers, of course, with one hand for the balls and two for the strikes. We post-gamed it, agreeing on the clarity of using fewer words, skipping the "and" between the TWO's, and omitting the words BALL and STRIKE.
Partner on Thursday commented to me, "You're supposed to say "TWO BALLS...TWO STRIKES", not just the two numbers." He said, "That's what the book says."
I thanked him for his input, since I'm always willing to yield to "the book" in order to comply with Fed mechanics. But I can't find anything specifying one way or the other.
I know different officials have different habits and preferences, and I come down on the side of clarity with the fewest words necessary. But there a preferred Fed mechanic for verbalizing the count?

As with most of these type OP's do what your association wants you to.

MAIN POINT - EVERYONE knows the count.

Pete Booth

David B · #2 (**permalink**) Fri Apr 03, 2009, 03:31pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by PeteBooth

As with most of these type OP's do what your association wants you to.

MAIN POINT - EVERYONE knows the count.

Pete Booth

Or i would add, should know the count. Maybe just me, but saying the count if not that important. As long as I know and the battery know I'm fine.

We give the count, and two seconds later what do we here, "what's the count blue?"

Thansk
David

Rich Ives · #3 (**permalink**) Sat Apr 04, 2009, 10:49am

Quote:

Originally Posted by David B

Or i would add, should know the count. Maybe just me, but saying the count if not that important. As long as I know and the battery know I'm fine.

We give the count, and two seconds later what do we here, "what's the count blue?"

Thansk
David

Yes, they should know.

But the batter, runners, and defense need to know too, not kust the battery. It affects potential actions.

BretMan · #4 (**permalink**) Sat Apr 04, 2009, 01:37pm

Whatever you do, don't do what a guy I worked with last year did!

First inning, he is behind the plate. When he held up the count on his fingers, he made no verbal announcement. Okay, I can live with that. But for some reason, I kept having the wrong count- or, at least, a different count than he was showing. I'm scratching my head, trying to figure out how I'm missing pitches.

I decide to huddle up with him between innings, just to see if we're on the same page. As it turns out, we definitely were not!

As he explained it to me, he always shows the number of balls on the right hand, the number of strikes on the left hand. His explaination for why he did that: So the count would look the right way to the pitcher!

Don't be that guy...

yawetag · #5 (**permalink**) Sat Apr 04, 2009, 04:04pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by BretMan

As he explained it to me, he always shows the number of balls on the right hand, the number of strikes on the left hand. His explaination for why he did that: So the count would look the right way to the pitcher!

Don't be that guy...

I was that guy for the first two games I did behind the plate. My grandfather was in town for my second, and asked me after the game why I did it that way. My answer was the same as your partner. My grandfather straightened my mechanic fairly quickly.

mbyron · #6 (**permalink**) Sat Apr 04, 2009, 01:52pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by David B

We give the count, and two seconds later what do we hear, "what's the count blue?"

I answer, "Still 2-2." Usually gets a giggle from F2.

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