OG:
There seem to be two separate items covered in the original post (the way that I read it):
1) A hitter who after swinging at the ball strikes the catcher with the backlash of the bat and,
2) A hitter that steps out of the box with both feet while taking a sign and is “directed” back into the box under the threat of a strike being called.
If I have misunderstood these points I apologize.
All that said these are my two specific points for these items:
1) I will not get into an inane discussion about safety. It is important. All umpires should have safety in their mind . . . however it is not the only thing going.
The example of the batter swinging through is an example of a “big boy” ball hazard. That is just the “rub of the green” in ball played by older players. No umpire has the right to tell a catcher where to set up or to tell a batter how to bat . . . an umpire has the responsibility to NOT insert himself into a game other than just to “report” what happens. Any umpire that tries to position a catcher is guilty of being OOO.
2) The second issue appears to me to be quite simple (if I read the question correctly). We all know that a hitter, under any set of rules, must take a stance with both feet within the lines of the batter’s box (if not a hitter could legally take a stance where his feet where actually on Home Plate) so that cannot really be the issue.
This means that we are dealing with a hitter that steps out of the box with both feet to take a sign or re-compose himself.
Since the rule was rewritten I do not know one umpire in my local or college association that has called a “penalty” strike.
Now I ‘think’ this is what the question asks in the original post. So the ONLY time a ‘penalty’ strike is called if the game is delayed. This is not just a FED rule as we know that OBR has a directed pitch.
OG, safety is “A” priority but not the “ONLY” priority.
Tee