dropped third strike

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The only reason I mentioned this is that when folks talk about "dropped" third strikes, it can lead to the misunderstanding that the catcher must actually drop the ball for the rule to be in effect.

One post in this thread even said something like "the catcher dropped the ball, so it must be a passed ball". But the first post doesn't really mention how the third strike came to be "uncaught" or if the catcher even touched the ball. There are many ways you can have an uncaught third strike without a passed ball.

A pitch for the 3rd strike that hits the dirt before the catcher gain control is considered a "dropped ball". So a pitcher that throws a nasty drop ball that the batter swings and misses for strike three and the ball bounces next to the plate and fielded cleanly by the catcher is considered a "dropped 3rd strike".

 

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Completely correct. some people think that the assist goes to the pitcher and the put out to the catcher, but in fact the putout goes to the pitcher. Sometimes talking to parents can really make you second guess yourself as a stat keeper. As long as you read the ATEC you are good to go. I keep it with me and when parents give me a hard time, I ask them to read it and get back to me with any questions. The parents on my DD's team this year are pretty good except for a couple of Dads who don't think that women who played the sport know the right stats. It can get confusing, but that's why I have you guys to keep me straight:yahoo:

The catcher gets credit for the putout for all caught strikeouts. The pitcher gets credit for a STRIKEOUT in her pitching stats.

So does this mean that you are going to have to go back and correct all of the stats for this summer?

 

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A pitch for the 3rd strike that hits the dirt before the catcher gain control is considered a "UNCAUGHT ball". So a pitcher that throws a nasty drop ball that the batter swings and misses for strike three and the ball bounces next to the plate and fielded cleanly by the catcher is considered a "UNCAUGHT 3rd strike".

There, William...I fixed that for you!

The rule states that the third strike must be "caught". By "caught", that means that the ball must be airbourne, or in-flight, all the way from the pitcher to the catcher. In other words, the "catch" of strike three must meet the exact same definition of "a catch" as does a batted ball caught for an out (ie: it must be airbourne, it cannot have touched anything other than a defensive player, it cannot be caught with detached equipment and it must subsequently be securely held in the hand or glove).

Once the pitch touches the ground, it can no longer be legally "caught"- even if it does bounce right into the catcher's glove and she hangs onto it.

 

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It's semantics, but it's important here. Dropped and uncaught are two entirely different events, and could be handled differently both in umpire ruling and scoring.

 

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There, William...I fixed that for you!

The rule states that the third strike must be "caught". By "caught", that means that the ball must be airbourne, or in-flight, all the way from the pitcher to the catcher. In other words, the "catch" of strike three must meet the exact same definition of "a catch" as does a batted ball caught for an out (ie: it must be airbourne, it cannot have touched anything other than a defensive player, it cannot be caught with detached equipment and it must subsequently be securely held in the hand or glove).

Once the pitch touches the ground, it can no longer be legally "caught"- even if it does bounce right into the catcher's glove and she hangs onto it.

Bret, I knew what I was trying to say but my brain kept getting in the way.

Thanks

 

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Finally, pitchers do not get credit for an assist on a strikeout.

Garden variety strikeout, yes.

But, I have seen 2 k's since March where the ball bounces off the catcher's skin guards and rebounds toward the pitcher, who in turn picks it up and tosses it to the 1st basewoman, to retire the batter/runner on a K1-3.

 

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I know everyone is discussing the defensive stats, but I think its worth mentioning that offensively, it would be recorded as On By Error.

 

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I know everyone is discussing the defensive stats, but I think its worth mentioning that offensively, it would be recorded as On By Error.

No, it's recorded in the batter's stats as a strikeout.

Offense: Strikeouts
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The batter is charged with a strikeout
a - when her third strike is caught by the catcher before striking the
dirt,
b - when she is put out running to first base on a dropped third strike,
c - when she safely advances to first base on a dropped third strike,

 

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Keeping stats is silly anyways. All we need is the count until the batter is out or on base, the outs until that half of the inning is over and the score. Rest is just a waste of lies.

 

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The catcher gets credit for the putout for all caught strikeouts. The pitcher gets credit for a STRIKEOUT in her pitching stats.

So does this mean that you are going to have to go back and correct all of the stats for this summer?

No actually that is what I meant, just typed it wrong . Catcher's stats, pitcher's stats, and fielding stats. So many pages. Kepping it all straight can get time consuming for one at bat. I was just hoping that people weren't giving the catcher an error every time it was an uncaught third strike. My catcher has all the put outs for strikeouts. Don't like that stat, but what are you gonna do. Same as a Short stop making an amazing play and throwing to first. 1st base gets the put out, but short stop did most of the work and gets the assist. One of the strange things that always bugged me in statland.