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I have also had difficulty figuring out the best way to watch this. It seems like I might miss it the first time, and catch it out of corner of my eye, then pay closer attention after that, and the runner stays put. I've had one veteran umpire try to teach me to give a quick look at the runner, then back to home right at the moment that the pitch leaves the hand. In theory, it works since if you see the runner off the bag at that point, she done left early. It's harder than it sounds however, because you really have to make sure that your eyes get to where they are supposed to be after the pitch (home plate) to look for the things mentioned in a post above (check swing, etc.) Now for the tale...

Had a runner on 2nd that I thought left early out of the corner of my. Next pitch she left even earlier and I banged her out. She slid into third, popped up and went right in to the dugout. The fans were all over me, and her coach (from the 3rd base box) turned to them and told them that I had it right, she was at least a mile off base when the ball left the pitcher's hand. You gotta love it when the coach sticks up for you!