Teams are always coming up with new plays for a pickoff.
Last night saw one I hadn't seen before.
R3 and pitcher is in windup. Coach calls some type of bunt so I knew something was on (two strikes on the batter), so F1 steps back with his pivot foot and then proceeds to act like he's pitching. He lifts his non pivot, like a pitch and wheels to third to pick off R3. (Actually I thought he was going to pitch the ball it looked like as PU)
My BU and I call a balk and my question is the coach said that they had done this all season long (in HS), and no one had called it a balk.
Now they play OBR rules, and I don't have my books with me but I know FED states that if he makes a move associated with his pitch while not touching the rubber its a balk.
That was the ruling we told the coach, so I told him I'd check on it for him. I hadn't seen this done before and it fooled everyone so that tells me its probably a balk but I thought I'd ask.
So did we miss something or is this a balk?
Thanks
David
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