[greymule]

I think that balks present a unique problem. There are so many technical violations. And they are rare, so when they occur, they often surprise us. The runner unexpectedly breaks from 3B, and the pitcher is suddenly in front of the rubber and making a play. Did he step off backward? Didn't notice! Should have noticed, but didn't. Just wasn't looking for it on every pitch.

Perhaps because we know we may have missed a balk here or there during the game, we sometimes hesitate to call anything but the obvious.

If there were 8 or 10 balks in every game—if they were a larger part of the game—we'd get proficient at calling them. We'd be watching every move the pitcher makes every time. But in college, semipro, high school, American Legion, I don't remember ever seeing a balk called. Did nobody balk between 1964 and 1972?

Perhaps truly proficient and accurate balk-calling requires the type of attention and concentration that few people short of full-time professional umps can give.