In
baseball and
softball, an
uncaught third strike (sometimes referred to as
dropped third strike) occurs when the
catcher fails to cleanly catch a
pitch for the third
strike. A pitch is considered uncaught if the ball touches the ground before being caught (a bouncing ball), or if the ball is dropped after being grasped (
see also catch). In
Major League Baseball, the specific rules concerning the uncaught third strike are addressed in Rules 6.05 and 6.09 of the Official Baseball Rules.