Quote:
Originally posted by Jim Porter
I'm going to change my answer.
The ball was indeed dead the moment the pitcher failed to complete the delivery of the throw to first.
Jim Evans puts it this way:
"When a pitcher balks, one of three contingencies may occur: (1) the pitcher stops his delivery and retains possession of the ball, (2) the pitcher continues his delivery and completes his throw to a base, or (3) the pitcher continues his delivery and completes a pitch to the batter."
Since the pitcher did not complete delivery of his initial throw, the ball is dead at that moment, and the balk is enforced.
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Hmmmm.... looks like I might have been
dead wrong on this one (how's that for a sick pun, eh?)
Curse you, Fronheiser!
It appears that the mechanics at NAPBL Sect 6.7 #1 and #8 may conflict on this one.
The bottom line appears to be that the ONLY way that OBR 8.05 Penalty AR1 can apply is by a breach of OBR 8.05(c) - failure to step directly to the base. There is no other instance, given this ruling, that can result in a balk immediately followed by a wild throw to a base, and the corollary is that the ball is ALWAYS
immediately dead any time the pitcher feints to 1st.
Cheers,