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- 9 years 1 month ago
- Posts: 2713
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WARLORD1863 wrote:nippythefish wrote:I agree....it didn't look like the ball hit the dirt. Also, the damn ump called him out. He made the gesture.
Read my previous posts on the hand motions.
I did.
According to every single commentator on Sportscenter, the signal meant 'out'. Not 'strike three'. The 'strike' gesture was made when he pointed his arm out.Are you sure you want to delete this post? Yes | No - 9 years 1 month ago
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nippythefish wrote:You got the link to your league?
I do, but it doesnt let guests log in. Ive tried before. I could post a screenshot if you really wanna see my league, but it's nothing special. i just got lucky in the draft.WARLORD1863 wrote:The problem, as the Angels see it, is not the possibility of the ball hitting the ground or not. It's the hand motion the home plate umpire made afterwards. The raised fist, to them, signaled the final out. But in reality, it was just to signal strike 3. There was, and is, no hand motion to let everyone know the play was still alive.
The REAL question is, should a separate hand motion be established for when the ball hits the ground on the 3rd strike? Should the umpire say anything to let everybody know that a play could still be made?
There should be a separate hand signal for an out compared to a strike, and it should stay consistent throughout every game by every umpire. When calling strikes, some umpires do a simple finger to their right, some raise their right hand in the air, some stick out their entire right hand.
Here's what should be done.
A) A strike caught by the catcher, as most are, should be called with an open hand sticking out to the right as he yells 'Strike!'. Most umps already do this, so it shouldnt be a big problem.
B) Strike three should be a strike call like above, followed by a closed fist pump, like a usual out call.
C) A dropped third strike, where the runner can run to first base, should be called by a raised right hand by the umpire while yelling "Strike." He should not do a closed fist pump in this situation unless the batter is tagged out or out at first after the drop.
Just start telling the umps now that they must follow these rules, or be fined a small amount of money. In the future, umps will be taught these hand gestures and situations like last night's will be avoided.
Any problems with this?
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- 9 years 1 month ago
- Posts: 518
nippythefish wrote:
I did.
According to every single commentator on Sportscenter, the signal meant 'out'. Not 'strike three'. The 'strike' gesture was made when he pointed his arm out.
I watched Sports Center right after the game, and I watch it every day. And Around the Horn showed the same message:
The commentators were confused, but the general consensus was that it was a "strike 3" gesture that he made. The confusion was that the gesture is also used for "out", but not in this case. They zoomed back (on sports center) to a situation of a dropped 3rd strike, and the umpire did the same thing that the home plate ump at the game did. Threw his hand out to signal the missed swing, and clenched the first for strike 3. But this was a time when the catcher knew the ball was dropped, so he tagged out the batter before he knew what had happened. This resulted in a SECOND clenched fist motion, signaling the out.
Clearly the system is flawed for these rare occasions where it's hard to determine if the ball hit the ground or not.
I have to agree with Oaf's suggestion, anything at all to help make the game more destinct in its rules is a blessing. I like the raised hand better than my suggestion of an open palmed pushing downwards motion. That way everyone could see and tell what was happening.You must enter a signatureAre you sure you want to delete this post? Yes | No