Dropped third strike signal

[Chris101]

Which signal should be made for dropped third strike, whit on hand or whit both hand ?

[beerguy55]

"He didn't catch the F*#King ball" would be clear and concise communication.

[jimurrayalterego]

39 minutes ago, Chris101 said:

Which signal should be made for dropped third strike, whit on hand or whit both hand ?

Most of us have transitioned to what we saw MLB change to. Right hand out. I've seen some lower level coaches ask what was that signal.

[SeeingEyeDog]

7 hours ago, Chris101 said:

Which signal should be made for dropped third strike, whit on hand or whit both hand ?

Every time I go to a camp or a cage session, it seems this mechanic and verbal changes...

My current arsenal is:

Called U3K: point the strike and announce the strike, come out in front of the plate, and make what I call a half-safe signal (left arm remains at my side, right hand is palm down with right index finger against chest which then swings straight out to the side of my body extended...I do this motion twice) while also saying loudly, "NO CATCH! NO CATCH!" and then remain arm extended briefly

Swinging U3K: point the strike with NO verbal...and move on to everything else above

Stay tuned for another update on this later in the year, I'm sure...
 

~Dawg

[BLWizzRanger]

Sorry, not directed to you, but when I read this, the hoky-poky song popped in my head.

Put your right hand in, put your right hand out, put both hands in and extended them out....and do the hoky poky....

[noumpere]

13 hours ago, jimurrayalterego said:

Most of us have transitioned to what we saw MLB change to. Right hand out. I've seen some lower level coaches ask what was that signal.

Which is why I continue to recommend the full safe sign with a verbal “no” ( or no catch— but be sure it can’t be interpreted as “catch”— or “ball’s on the ground “—I really don’t like that one. 
 

if you make it to some level where an assigner cares, use the recommended signal. 

[TheLovejoy]

I was taught it should be a 'safe' signal, then just leaving the right arm out. 
A guy from the AP Western States clinic joked with us saying it developed from a safe signal, to just leaving the right hand out signaling that he was only 'half safe' at that point. It made us chuckle.

[BigBlue4u]

On 4/5/2026 at 2:41 PM, SeeingEyeDog said:

Called U3K: point the strike and announce the strike, come out in front of the plate, and make what I call a half-safe signal (left arm remains at my side, right hand is palm down with right index finger against chest which then swings straight out to the side of my body extended...I do this motion twice) while also saying loudly, "NO CATCH! NO CATCH!" and then remain arm extended briefly

 

On 4/5/2026 at 9:29 PM, noumpere said:

Which is why I continue to recommend the full safe sign with a verbal “no” ( or no catch— but be sure it can’t be interpreted as “catch”— or “ball’s on the ground “—I really don’t like that one. 

I completely agree.  Giving a full safe sign indicates the batter is not out.  Making a half-safe signal makes no sense at all.

[jimurrayalterego]

55 minutes ago, BigBlue4u said:

 

I completely agree.  Giving a full safe sign indicates the batter is not out.  Making a half-safe signal makes no sense at all.

The absence of the out signal indicates the batter is not out. The no catch signal indicates the uncaught third strike. The right arm pointing a strike and no catch seems to work at pro, college and in my area, high school.

[noumpere]

If the ball skips into F4’s glove, or F7 dives and the ball bounces up into his glove, do we give a half-safe signal?

 

I don’t understand why D3K would be different. 
 

I accept that it’s what MLB and many NCAA coordinators want, and that it works because the coaches and players know how to interpret it. 

[jimurrayalterego]

13 minutes ago, noumpere said:

If the ball skips into F4’s glove, or F7 dives and the ball bounces up into his glove, do we give a half-safe signal?

 

I don’t understand why D3K would be different. 
 

I accept that it’s what MLB and many NCAA coordinators want, and that it works because the coaches and players know how to interpret it. 

On a swing the no catch signal would be unambiguous. On no swing with a called strike it would come after the strike signal. In either case you might be making a "safe" signal when F1 is tagging the B-R and then would transition to the out signal. After using the no catch for many years with no problems I then transitioned to what I saw in MLB and continued to not have problems.

[wolfe_man]

Perhaps I am doing it wrong, but I tend to signal the strike with my  hammer.  If uncaught, then I give a safe signal and point out to the side with my right hand at shoulder height (half-safe signal I just learned) to indicate that the pitch wasn't caught and keep it held there until the runner either is put out, or arrives safely, at first base.  I used to just do the point-and-hold, but started recently doing the safe signal for some reason. 

I don't vocalize anything on uncaught third strikes which ought to be another sign to the batter/runner and coaches that I don't have a caught strike three or I would be doing my K3 mechanic and vocalization.

[JSam21]

On 4/7/2026 at 11:12 PM, noumpere said:

If the ball skips into F4’s glove, or F7 dives and the ball bounces up into his glove, do we give a half-safe signal?

 

I don’t understand why D3K would be different. 
 

I accept that it’s what MLB and many NCAA coordinators want, and that it works because the coaches and players know how to interpret it. 

The reason why is because it looks terrible to give a safe signal, followed immediately by an out call for the tag. Just point the strike and hold it out. 

[JaxRolo]

The reason why is because it looks terrible to give a safe signal, followed immediately by an out call for the tag. Just point the strike and hold it out. 

I don’t think it looks terrible. Makes more sense than just 1 hand.

[BigBlue4u]

On 4/9/2026 at 7:09 AM, JSam21 said:

The reason why is because it looks terrible to give a safe signal, followed immediately by an out call for the tag. Just point the strike and hold it out. 

It may look terrible to you, but there is a reason behind it.  You have two different plays.  1) the 3K strikeout and 2) the dropped ball.  

[JSam21]

 

7 hours ago, BigBlue4u said:

It may look terrible to you, but there is a reason behind it.  You have two different plays.  1) the 3K strikeout and 2) the dropped ball.  

 

On 4/11/2026 at 10:24 AM, JaxRolo said:

I don’t think it looks terrible. Makes more sense than just 1 hand.

You hold the point for the strike... then you make a signal if there is a tag attempt... it is much cleaner and eliminates confusion.