Quote:
Originally Posted by eagle_12
I was told by an clinician that in either case of the ball staying live (OBR,NCAA) or being dead (FED) that sometimes calling the balk a little louder goes a long way. He said that he had two reasons for it.
1. By being authoratative on the call, you show that you are 100% sure you saw a balk and it truly was a balk. You wouldn't have a weak call that may seem like you are unsure.
2. It tends to startle to pitcher to where he won't throw the pitch, or everyone freezes and then you can easily make your awards.
The downside is though in OBR where the ball is still in play, you could potentially harm the offense.
In my experiences everyone has just "frozen" no matter what level except for just one time. The pitcher balked in his throw to first base and overthrew the ball down the RF line. The ball is still live and the runner circled the bases. This is the only time when both teams didn't just stop playing, but the reason was the coach of the offensive team was also an umpire
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I saw a very good D1 ump this weekend call a balk by walking out from behind the plate calling it. Now that might be a strong call, but what if pitcher threw the ball? He would be way out of position.