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Originally Posted by SanDiegoSteve
3. I use the mechanics that were taught to me by pro school grads and MiLB umpires, and I have a pretty darn good understanding of the game.
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What was your training from those pro school grads and MiLB umpires, with respect to calling illegal batting (batted ball with one foot out of the box)? Every clinic I've attended or heard about has training very similar to what several guys here are saying - foot out of the box is simply not a priority for the plate umpire.
And that's what they, and I, are trying to convey to those on the board who are looking for sound advice on what this rule means and how it should be enforced. Your strained hypothetical seems aimed only at forcing Tee et. al. to admit that yeah, OK, in that case you would have to call it. But that's an exercise in futility. Tee's maxims are carved in stone; I thought you knew that. Haven't you been around for one of his IIITBTSB threads?
Your hypothetical is distracting from the message the greenhorn (and some others who aren't so green) should be getting from this thread, and it is a message that is supported by professional trainers, and I bet you'll even agree with that. They say, consistently, the same things Tee and Rich are saying:
If you're properly tracking the pitch, then you can't be watching the batters feet. Call the pitch, forget the feet. Discreetly lose the front and inside lines, if they're there, and you can probably avoid having to deal with a whiney coach who picked up the same myth about how illegal batting should be enforced.
It's not about always having to be right; it's about being right, at least on the important points. And in this thread, I think you're right in your head but that's lost because you're racing to a how many umpires can dance on the head of a pin argument, needlessly. Needlessly, that is, unless you need to argue.