The Quick Pitch Issue
I think that skill level of the league also enters into the equation, but there are some things to heed, as suggested by all of our colleagues here:
1) Was the batter given a reasonable amount of time to get set? In not, it's our job to protect the hitter. The rule book gives us the tools to do that. If you're worried about being a "hard-a$$", you can always tell the pitcher to slow down, or have the catcher go out to the mound with that message. After that, any further occurrences result in the balk/illegal-pitch call.
2) Stops. For some delivery motions a stop is shorter than others. The pitcher only needs to convince the umpires that they are in compliance with the stop rule. In some cases, the pitcher needs to take longer to prove to the game officials that he is actually coming to a stop.
Everyone is giving great answers, I think all are valid. But I have to get on the "physics side" of the fence (LOL). I mean come on, every bit of a game official's job is technical isn't it? At least that's what the coaches are saying to me! I ALWAYS respect the coaches' opinions!
Just kidding!
One last thing, don't get crazy-go-nuts about calling these types of infractions. It's the same as out-safe, ball-strike and fair-foul. Just call 'em. The people will react to those calls just the same as they do to everything else we do!
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Snrmike
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