Dropped third strike

[Chad]

Watching a girls game and the pitcher threw a one hopper that the batter swung at on the third strike. The catcher still caught it cleanly but the umpire called it a dropped 3rd strike since it made contact with the ground. I'm confused.

[FUBLUE]

You are confused by terminology...its an UNCAUGHT third strike, not a dropped third strike. Once the ball hits the dirt, it cannot be "caught" by the catcher. Same concept as the one that crosses the plate in the air, but lands right behind the plate, in the dirt, but catcher fields it cleanly. Is that ball caught? Nope! Did she drop it? Nope! That's why it's a uncaught third strike.

Some of the better umpires on this board, may be able to explain it better.

Simply put, it wasn't caught, that's why it was called as it was.

[WestMichBlue]

NFHS used to define a legal catch as a ball caught "in-flight." And "in-flight" was defined as a batted, thrown, or pitched ball that had not touched the ground. However, NFHS lost that catch definition when they copied ASA a couple years ago. Surprisingly, both organizations still define "in-flight," but I don't know where it is used anymore.

Anyway, today you get at a legal catch backwards. For NFHS it is NOT a catch if it is a TRAP. One of the Trap definitions is a "pitched ball that is a strike but touches the ground on a short hop before being caught by the pitcher. So it is not the Dropped third strike rule; it's not the Un-caught Third Strike Rule; it is the Trapped Third Strike Rule!

Interestingly, ASA defines a trapped ball the same, but does not say that a trapped ball is not a catch! (We just assume it to be true.) And ASA does not say that if the ball touches the ground it is not a catch. But we all know that it is not a catch, so we are not going to worry about a silly little detail like not being in the rule book!

Whatever, forget about trying to define this rule by "the catch" or failure to catch. Just go to Rule 8 in either NFHS or ASA and read that a batter becomes a batter-runner when the catcher fails to catch the third strike before the ball touches the ground . . . . . . . Simple!

And in ASA it is simply called The Third Strike Rule.

WMB

[kellerumps]

I'm not better, but FU explained correctly.

[JEL]

The rule book is the best source to answer this one. The term Dropped Third Strike is used in the index only. The rule is ASA 8-1-B; The batter becomes a batter-runner.

(Fast Pitch Only) When the catcher fails to catch the third strike before the ball touches the ground when;
1. There are fewer than two outs and first base is unoccupied at the time of the pitch, or,
2. There are two outs and first base is occupied. This is called the third strike rule.

If the ball bounces to the plate, it touched the ground, and wasn't caught "before the ball touches the ground".

Chad, This confuses a lot of people, players and coaches alike, but it becomes clear when you see the rule in balck and white. Hope it helps.