Posted By:
Marc S.What we do not know is if anything was AUDIBLY indicated to the batter/runner after the play. I have no reason to believe the umpire - and really have no basis for speculation on that point.
But, for what it's worth - Josh Paul should have been vigilant, and he wasn't. On any low third strike, the catcher should either turn to the umpire to confirm he caught it, or just simply tag the runner. My wife is a baseball neophyte - and I have had to explain this "dropping of the third strike" rule to her dozens of times. If you watch baseball during the regular season - you will see many times per game instances where catchers just tag the runner or throw to first to be absolutely sure. Even when they clearly did not need to.
I fault both umpire and catcher in this case.