To Point or Not To Point
 

The issue of pointing came up in another thread, but didn't want to clog up that conversation with this topic.

For the most part, I have used the point to indicate that a necessary act occurred to get a strike or an out. For example, I would point to the bat to indicate that the batter swung. I would point to a swiped tag to show that the defender did in fact tag the offensive player. I would point to a base to indicate that the defender either kept her foot on or got it back on in time for the out.

I would also use the point to indicate that an offensive player committed an infraction (out of the base path to avoid a tag, leaving early on the pitch, interference). The point would be preceded with either a delayed dead ball, dead ball or no signal at all, depending on the infraction.

I wouldn't point at a bat and say "she held up" so I wouldn't point to a base to indicate that the defender came off the base or that a tag was missed.

I welcome any discussion on this matter. I would be interested to hear what "you were taught," "what you do" and "what you think might actually be best, despite what you may have been taught or what you currently do."

Thanks!

From EA....

Save the point for when you need it. If you start pointing at everything, the point loses it's meaning and just becomes part of your regular signal.

Use the point if F3 drops a ball right at her feet and it is not clearly visible, for example. Another time that the point is valuable is if you have a close play, you can use the point to buy you a couple of seconds to replay what just happened and make your call.

The reason you should use the point spariningly is so that when you do, it looks different and conveys the message that something unusual happened and you saw it and are drawing attention to it. If you are pointing too much, it loses its effectiveness when you really need it.