Slowpitch "mechanics"?

[Stat-Man]

The other night, a friend invited me to his team's slow pitch game, since I know about half his team and he said I should come see them play some time. After finally finding the right diamond (doh!), I watched the remainder of the game.

On some of the pitches that were balls, the umpire would make what I thought were odd gestures. Examples included touching his shoulder (imagine trying to call a 20 second time out in basketball), or pushing his right hand away from the plate.

Are those official slow pitch mechanics or just a personal thing? Personally, I'd just as soon balls be called "Ball" without a pantomime act.

(For what it's worth, I believe the league uses ASA rules)