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The severe penalty undoubtedly discourages umpires from calling borderline IPs. Call an IP that nobody would have said anything about, and you've just awakened a large sleeping dog that could chase you the rest of the game. Maybe the penalty should be simply a ball, as in SP. Would the same number of high or flat pitches be called in SP if runners advanced as penalty? The advance of runners could be reserved for outrageous IPs, like failing to release the ball on the delivery.
The crow hop, the most common IP, is almost never called unless the pitcher performs an actual hop in the air. Let's face it, if they drag the foot, the risk of IP being called is very low.
As far as the leap goes, I can't understand why pitchers do it, since it's hard to get anything on the pitch. Maybe they figure the motion will fool the batter.
Last season I called zero IPs in 125+ FP games. I also got zero arguments.
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greymule
More whiskey—and fresh horses for my men!
Roll Tide!
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