[jumpmaster]

Originally posted by Rich Fronheiser

That would involve opening and reading.

Rich - don't go there. You have no idea how much time I spend in the rule book. But since you brought it up, as it is now August, I haven't looked at a FED rulebook since May. However, I have spent about 30 minutes a day in my OBR rule book this summer. During the FED season, I do the same in my FED rulebook. I will pull out my FED book tonight and post my answer. If I am wrong - I will eat crow.

As for this whole balk/no balk conversation - I pulled this info off the J/R website - http://www.rulesofbaseball.com/versions.html

“It is a balk if a pitcher does not have the ball but assists in a try to deceive a runner by


being on or astride the rubber, [8.05 Approved Ruling-a]
feigning a pitching position or pitch [8.05i], or
putting the rosin bag in his glove to make it appear he has the ball.

This is known as the ‘hidden ball trick.’ It is not necessarily a balk if a pitcher in this situation is on the dirt of the mound. [NFHS 6-2-5] [NCAA 9-3f]”

From
The Rules of Professional Baseball
By Jaksa and Roder


The NFHS and NCAA rule references indicate that it may be a balk if a pitcher is on the dirt of the mound during the hidden ball trick in a high school or NCAA game. Here are the NFHS and NCAA rule differences that you would find in the appendix:


NFHS 6-2-5 requires a balk if the pitcher is within 5 feet of the pitching rubber without the ball.
NCAA 9-3f requires a balk if the pitcher steps onto the dirt of the pitching mound without the ball.