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Old Thu Apr 08, 2004, 12:28pm
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Rich Rich is offline
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Re: Re: Re: Why must pitcher disengage?

Quote:
Originally posted by LDUB
Quote:
Originally posted by GarthB

Faulty logic.

Forget the specific rule for a second. Pitcher's are not allowed to illegally deceive a runner, right?

Now then, if a pitcher in the set position, in contact with the rubber, could step and "throw" to home as well as step and "pitch" to home, how could a runner differentiate between the two?

Also how can the batter know if he should swing. And how does the umpire know if he should call it a strike or if it is just a throw? That is why it is illegal because no one knows if it is a pitch or a throw.
And in OBR, the pitcher can throw to a base from the windup position. And the pitcher does not have to "wind up" to pitch....he can simply step and throw to pitch to a batter.

How could anyone tell the difference? Your "step to the plate to retire a runner" could just as easily be a shortened delivery to the batter.
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