Det-Oak batter in box

[Jimurray]

Just started watching bot 8, leadoff batter, back foot at least 6 inches behind erased back line of batters box. Verlander doesnt care, catcher doesn't care, umpire doesn't care. Batter strikes out. Next batter and one after him seem similar. Nobody cares. Seems like as I have assumed, if nobody complains let it alone. I did see an MLB umpire once or twice use the bat to draw the line when somebody complained. But it does bring into question the strike zone. The first batter I mentioned was quizzical about a strike call that he thought was a ball. It was a strike over the plate but with the batter and catcher back it could look like a ball. Thoughts on how to handle this at your/ my level? I leave it alone unless somebody complains or is not experienced enough to understand it.

[umpstu]

Exactly. Don't go digging for boogers type of thing.

[noumpere]

I have changed my mind on this over the years and at all levels I do I will just quietly tell the batter to move up or more frequently away from the plate a little.  I don't call time and draw a line (unless its needed -- and it hasn't been since I stopped doing less than HS games).  Just get the job done in a quiet way that no one really notices.

[Platejob29]

I would leave it alone. If no one is saying anything and he isn't so far out that it will attract attention I just ignore it. Now when I say that no one is saying anything I mean that they are oblivious to the situation completely. Naturally a player or manager that knows what he is doing is't going to bring up that the batter was out of the box until he puts it in play. No need to tell the other team what they are doing wrong when they are already making outs. The other side to this for me is also what kind of game am I in? Is it a HS Varsity, 14U USSSA majors, or an upside down 16-0 game and just now starting the 2nd. If i'm in that last situation I'm hunting for outs and a batter out of the box has just become a premium out to get.

[iankelleyumpire]

I generally will leave it alone unless it becomes a problem, or someone says something. I don't care so much about the depth in the box, but if they start to crowd in and over the plate a little, I will tell them quietly to scoot back a bit if there is no line visible anymore. This isn't something to pick at, but it can get in your way. When they crowd over the plate in, it jams you just like catcher does a little. Even more so, when you have a R/R or a L/L matchup, your vision of the pitcher can often be blocked and could lead to missed balk, or mess with your ball tracking out of the pitchers hand. 

[Texas Manny]

I don't know how it is looked upon today, but back in the day, those sort of things were the perverbial wolf. Don't go looking for trouble, because trouble will find you. The line gets erased as the innings progress. If no one says anything, then let it go. Believe me, any catcher worth his salt will bring it to the attention of the HP if it gets abused. If someone brings it to your attention, deal with it. If you can deal with it quietly, then do so. Otherwise, let the game play itself, and just umpire.