why is the hammer strike taking over?

[SanDiegoSteve]

Originally Posted by briancurtin

I personally like the hammer for called strikes, and the point (with head still facing the pitcher) on swinging strikes.

I use the exact opposite: I give a sharp, crisp point on called strikes, with a casual Tim Tschida-style semi-hammer for swinging strikes, more as an afterthought, since everyone in the house knows it was a swing.

On check-swing "yes, he went" strikes, I point with the hand of the batter's box of the hitter, and then give a sharp hammer to go with the verbal.

On uncaught 3rd strikes with a BR situation, I do not give a hammer in this case. I point to the side several times, and everyone gets the idea. Never has anyone questioned the status of the BR whenever I did it this way.