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thepainguy,
Welcome to a whole new level of coaching youth baseball! You've got a lot to learn and a lot to teach. I know because I was in pretty much the same position you are in about five years ago. And I know I'm still learning.
In the leagues I coach in, base stealing with lead-offs, as well as balk enforcement, is introduced at the 11 yr. old level. Some leagues don't introduce these until the players are 13 yrs. old, while in other leagues I have heard of them being introduced with players as young as 7 & 8 yrs. old. In my experience, it doesn't really matter what age the players are introduced to these aspects of "real baseball" - they will generally struggle a bit early in the season and then adjust to some degree of competence somewhere around halfway through the season.
On to your questions. There are a number of different schools of thought on what is "the best" thing to teach young RHP pitchers in regard to making pick-off throws to 1B.
One school of thought says that a RHP should be taught to "disengage" the rubber before attempting to throw to 1B. There are a couple of different rationales for this. One is that it is very unlikely that the pitcher will be balked while doing this. Another is that, by disengaging, the pitcher has the option of feinting a throw to 1B rather than being required to actually make the throw.
Unfortunately, I fear that the most common reason the "disengage" is taught as the "preferred" move for a RHP going to 1B is that a lot of coaches "know" that it's ILLEGAL for a RHP to throw a pickoff to 1B "from the rubber". They are dead wrong, but this does nothing to weaken their conviction. Further compounding the misfortune is the fact that some of the umpires who officiate at this level are also possessed of this "common knowledge". Unless my experience is completely atypical, you are sure to run into at least one of these umpires during a game in which you are coaching.
(In my experience, it is virtually impossible to disabuse an umpire of this mistaken belief during the course of a game. Therefore, in addition to balks, you should also thoroughly educate yourself about protests. But, I digress.)
So the "disengage" is legal and should be taught. Personally, I don't think it's the "best" for two primary reasons:
1. You will never pick a runner off with this move (unless he's totally clueless or exceptionally) slow). You won't even be able to cut down on the size of the lead-off of a good runner if this is the pitcher's only move.
2. In the event that your pitcher should throw the ball out of play (a not uncommon occurrence at this age) after having disengaged, the runner will be awarded two bases rather than the one he would be awarded if your pitcher either threw the ball out of play "from the rubber" OR balked in throwing from the rubber.
Personally, I believe the "best" move for pitchers of this age is the "pivot and step" move you saw during the MLB game you attended. This move is perfectly legal under MLB (aka OBR) rules. Reference:
"8.01...(b) The Set Position. Set Position shall be indicated by the pitcher when he stands facing the batter with his entire pivot foot on, or in front of, and in contact with, and not off the end of the pitcher's plate, and his other foot in front of the pitcher's plate, holding the ball in both hands in front of his body and coming to a complete stop. From such Set Position he may deliver the ball to the batter, throw to a base or step backward off the pitcher's plate with his pivot foot.
"...(c) At any time during the pitcher's preliminary movements and until his natural pitching motion commits him to the pitch, he may throw to any base provided he steps directly toward such base before making the throw. The pitcher shall step "ahead of the throw." A snap throw followed by the step directly toward the base is a balk."
Also, there is nothing in rule 8.05 that prohibits this. I'm a little puzzled about what you were reading in the MLB rules that led you to think this was a balk.
Althought it is perfectly legal for a RHP to throw to 1B from the rubber (as long as he does so properly), it is also very easy for a RHP to commit a balk when attempting to throw to 1B from the rubber.
The most common reason that a RHP is (properly) "balked" when throwing to 1B is for his failure to "...step(s) directly toward such base before making the throw...." .
Let me try to explain.
You've probably seen a LHP lift his non-pivot foot up and lift his knee, just as if he were about to deliver a pitch to the batter, and then, just before shifting his body momentum towards home to deliver the pitch, step towards 1B and throw to first. This is perfectly legal for a LHP (assuming his "free foot" didn't cross the back plane of the rubber).
However, once a RHP has lifted his "non-pivot" knee to any significant degree, he can no longer step directly towards 1B. It's virtually physically impossible to lift that knee of the "non-pivot" leg without moving the foot in the direction of 3B (try it yourself, and you'll see what I mean). Since he's "started" to step towards 3B, he can no longer step "directly" towards 1B. This would be a balk under 8.05(c).
For a RHP to throw legally, he must almost do a "slide step" (i.e. free foot "low to the ground") towards 1B as the first move of the pickoff.
He could also be balked on this move if he "hesitates" during its execution, fails to complete the throw, or throws to F3 who is nowhere in the vicinity of 1B (as well as a number of other ways). But it's really not that difficult to do it properly.
Also, you mentioned that you saw the MLB pitcher pivot off the heel of his pivot foot in executing this move. I'm a liitle skeptical. It is much more natural and effective for the pitcher to pivot off the "ball" of his pivot foot, and this is perfectly legal.
I think this is the "best" move for a young RHP because:
1. It is not terribly difficult to do properly.
2. You will occasionally pick-off an opposing runner (especially if his coach has taught him this move is illegal) and you will usually cut the lead-off of opposing runners. As you said, it's simpler and faster than disengaging.
3. If your pitcher does balk or throw the ball out of play the runner ends up on 2B. At this level he's going to end up there more often than not anyway (on a steal), so what's the harm.
This move is most effective when used in combination with the disengage move. That is, use the disengage move first to "lull" the runner; and then follow with the "good" pivot and step move. It's particularly effective if initiated after the pitcher has looked away from the runner and the instant before his hands come together in going from "stretch" to "set".
Potentially even more effective moves are the "jab step" and "jump spin" moves commonly used by RH MLB pitchers in pick-offs to 1B. But, in my experience, these moves are significantly more difficult for the youngsters to learn how to do properly and have an accurate throw. (Both are also considered moves "from the rubber".) I will introduce the "jab step" move to my better pitchers, but it is typically quite a while before this move is "game ready".
So, that's my opinion. I would wholeheartedly endorse thumpferee's suggestion to get a good official to come help you at practice. The best way for the pitchers to learn is to try their moves and have a knowlegeable ump tell them when they are and are not balking.
Also, another subject I'd spend some time learning and teaching my players is all the nuances of the "third strike not caught" rule, assuming that rule is also in effect for your league.
Good luck.
JM
[Edited by CoachJM on Apr 26th, 2005 at 05:01 PM]
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