3rd strike dropped mechanic ?

[MD Longhorn]

Originally Posted by Manny A

From baseball clinics, I was taught umpires don't use the "Batter's Out" mechanic because there is a small but real chance it would be erroneously applied when the batter is not out on an U3K. Better to have just one mechanic of "Strike Three" for all called third strikes.

Also, the overwhelming majority of U3Ks occur when the batter swings at a bad pitch. Since we don't verbalize "Strike" or "Strike Three" on a swing, it would be strange to call "Batter's Out" when he/she can't advance to first, and stay silent when he/she can.

Strange because we don't do it... but not strange in comparison to every other out call we make. I've never understood the reluctance (in both baseball and softball) to call a player out when they are out. After all, it's our job to create clarity when things are not clear regarding whether we've ruled a player out or not. On a borderline D3K - why the silence?