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Originally Posted by tibear
If the batter's back foot is completely on the plate and you claim that "you're tracking the pitch" and not looking on the plate to see the foot. Perhaps you shouldn't be behind the plate. The batter's body is blocking most of the strike zone and you wouldn't notice?????
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So, you can both see the ball hit the bat and the foot on the ground at the same time? Do your eyes operate independently? Mine don't.
I will admit calling this maybe twice in my career. Both on bunt attempts. One was in front of the plate, about 4 feet out, and the batter was stationary when he hit it - I was sure the feet (both feet in this case) were still on the ground when I saw him hit the ball - but in that case, he was about 6-7 feet from me, so I could see both ball, bat, and feet in my field of vision. The other was a bunt attempt on a pitch out where the batter chased it. He was quite literally in the other batters box, and while I was not absolutely positive which foot was on the ground, it was ugly and blatant enough that NOT calling it would have been unthinkable. There was no way BOTH feet were airborne when he hit it.
But, absent absurd or ridiculous cases like both of these, it is nearly impossible, if you are doing what you are supposed to, to both see ball strike bat and foot touching ground at the same time. If you are calling this on a semi-regular basis, you are probably guessing. And "once or twice a year" is WAY too often, unless you are working in the Ringling Brothers Baseball League.