AboutBrian Flaspohler Expertise Questions about baseball rules (ex. What is a balk?), general information about the game (ex. How many pitches does a pitcher throw warming up before an inning?), statistical analysis (How do you calculate ERA? and What is sabermetrics?), questions about players (ex. How old was Babe Ruth when he died?), questions about Baseball records (ex. What is the record for most RBIs in a season?) I am a member of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) and a lifelong baseball fanatic.
Experience Lifelong fan, article about player movement from team to team throughout history.
Expert: Brian Flaspohler Date: 7/10/2008 Subject: drop third strike
Question Two parter: 1) is a pitch in the dirt and batter swings and the catcher catches it clean off one bounce, is that considered a drop third strike?
2) Is drop third strike in effect if 1 out and the runner attempts to steal second on the pitch? Or is first base considered occupied?
Answer Mike,
1) Yes - this is a dropped third strike. Rarely called because typically the catcher will just reach out and tag the batter just to be sure.
2) Drop third strike is not in effect if the runner attempts to steal. In this case, it would be strike 3, batter out.
