Mechanics

[Guest Mike]

B1 comes to bat with no outs ad no runners on, he hits the ball down the right field line and the ball hits the foul pole above the fence line.  What is the correct mechanic by the umpire?

[Kevin_K]

How many umpires? And which umpire are you asking about?

[Senor Azul]

The portion of a foul pole above the top of the fence line is over fair and dead ball territory, so a batted ball that strikes it is both fair and dead. If the batted ball is airborne (still in flight) when it hits the foul pole it is a home run. If the batted ball bounces in fair territory and then strikes the portion of the foul pole above the top of the fence then the hit is considered to be a ground-rule double, since the ball would have bounced over the fence. The ball is dead when it struck the foul pole over the fence.

Either way the umpire would signal dead ball and make the appropriate award.

[noumpere]

10 hours ago, Guest Mike said:

B1 comes to bat with no outs ad no runners on, he hits the ball down the right field line and the ball hits the foul pole above the fence line.  What is the correct mechanic by the umpire?

There's no special mechanic just because the ball hit the foul pole.  This is the same mechanic as any home run near the line -- point fair, then signal home run.

[beerguy55]

Twirly finger.

 

*I don't know if the "according to Hoyle" procedure is to signal a dead ball because it hit the pole, and/or signal that is was a fair ball, before signaling a home run, but I'm thinking giving the universal sign for a home run tells everyone everything they need to know....it's dead, it's fair AND it's a homerun...all which are true on every "over the fence" homerun, whether the ball hits the pole or not.

[BT_Blue]

15 hours ago, beerguy55 said:

Twirly finger.

 

*I don't know if the "according to Hoyle" procedure is to signal a dead ball because it hit the pole, and/or signal that is was a fair ball, before signaling a home run, but I'm thinking giving the universal sign for a home run tells everyone everything they need to know....it's dead, it's fair AND it's a homerun...all which are true on every "over the fence" homerun, whether the ball hits the pole or not.

You still want to point the ball fair. This way everyone knows its status. More often than not, as U1 in A on this play. You will point the ball fair with your left arm. And then, while pointing fair, give the twirly.

[beerguy55]

7 hours ago, BT_Blue said:

You still want to point the ball fair. This way everyone knows its status. More often than not, as U1 in A on this play. You will point the ball fair with your left arm. And then, while pointing fair, give the twirly.

meh - like I said...redundant. If it's procedure it's procedure, I get it.  And if it helps an umpire go through the steps and process the information in a consistent way, I get that too.  But I hope it's not an attempt to sell the call.  It is not necessary, practically speaking, as far as communicating to the coaches/players.  Even on balls on/near the line...I don't see how the extra emphasis is needed.  If I thought the ball was foul, the ump pointing fair before/while twirling his finger isn't going to change my mind, nor is it going to make the call any more clear or explicit.  The home run signal on its own tells everyone the three things they need to know - the ball is dead, the ball is fair, and the batter and all runners are awarded home base.   

[BT_Blue]

I'm not disagreeing with you. My statement was merely for process of procedure and order of operations. Im not even saying this signal has to be emphatic. If it is close enough to need a fair/foul signal, then we should do it because it is expected of us. YMMV

[Replacematt]

On 1/21/2021 at 9:26 AM, beerguy55 said:

meh - like I said...redundant. If it's procedure it's procedure, I get it.  And if it helps an umpire go through the steps and process the information in a consistent way, I get that too.  But I hope it's not an attempt to sell the call.  It is not necessary, practically speaking, as far as communicating to the coaches/players.  Even on balls on/near the line...I don't see how the extra emphasis is needed.  If I thought the ball was foul, the ump pointing fair before/while twirling his finger isn't going to change my mind, nor is it going to make the call any more clear or explicit.  The home run signal on its own tells everyone the three things they need to know - the ball is dead, the ball is fair, and the batter and all runners are awarded home base.   

If every participant was as logical as you, we wouldn't need to make multiple signals in most cases we do. Unfortunately, people in the heat of the moment are looking for an expected signal, which is fair/foul, and the lack thereof increases their uncertainty, which then gets projected onto the umpire.