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Originally Posted by TussAgee11
Sometimes on the close outside pitch or inside pitch, I have the habit of calling ball and moving my head left or right, so everyone knows, if they are paying close enough attention, where I thought it was (as opposed to high or low). Lots of MLB umps do this.
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Contrary to what Bainer posted about ol' Smitty, ol' Smitty was right. There is nothing wrong with this, and you are right, many MLB umpires, as well as MiLB, D-1, 2, 3, JUCO, HS, and Adult Baseball umpires do as well, at least in this country. They only do it on in and out, not up and down. The rats can see up and down from their cages.
It is by far preferable to announcing verbally where a pitch is. It should not be an exaggerated thing, just a slight movement, well after (about a 2 count) you have called "Ball." If you do it too soon, it looks as if you tracked the pitch with your head instead of your eyes.