Just learned something new

[mbyron]

Actually, I think that the OP is right to bash the announcers. Almost everything they said was wrong.

• Catchers INT is not anything similar to a balk, either on the field or in enforcement
• one is called only on F1, the other only on F2 (and don't get me started on the so-called "catcher's balk," which is misnamed)
• when CI is enforced, the batter ends up on 1B; when a balk is enforced, he ends up at the plate
• when a balk is called, the offense never, under any circumstances, has a choice about whether to take the play or enforce the balk
• with CI, the offense does indeed have a choice under some circumstances

The outcome of CI and a balk can be similar, but it's actually quite rare, since most of the time balks end up being enforced. A very slight similarity? OK. The claim that these are "more or less the same thing" strikes me as absurd.