[UmpJM]

Originally Posted by LakeErieUmp

Coach JM - I'm letting the rule book trump the comments on this one. If the catcher jumps WAY out of the box before a pitch to nail R3 stealing home I AM calling catcher's balk. There are some rules we don't particularly care about, this being one. But I'm not letting the "gee, catcher had a toe outside his box on a pitchout should we balk him" attitude of "of course not!" let catcher get away with a blatant disregard of the rules to gain this kind of an advantage.

LakeErieUmp,

I'm pretty much a "rules guy" myself - in the sense that I believe the rules of the game should be properly enforced. However, I can't for the life of me think which rule you might be referring to.

Perhaps it's:

4.03

When the ball is put in play at the start of, or during a game, all fielders other than the catcher shall be on fair territory.

(a) The catcher shall station himself directly back of the plate. He may leave his position at any time to catch a pitch or make a play except that when the batter is being given an intentional base on balls, the catcher must stand with both feet within the lines of the catcher’s box until the ball leaves the pitcher’s hand.

PENALTY: Balk

If one were to read this rule, it is clear that:

1. In order for the ball to be put "in play", the catcher must be "directly back of the plate". Althought the rule doesn't actually say this, I would stipulate that this means he must be in the "catcher's box".

2. When the defense is intentionally walking the batter, the catcher is constrained to the catcher's box. I believe he is constrained (despite the wording of the rule) until the pitcher initiates his delivery. I would agree that this is NOT what the rule says, but I believe this IS how the rule is properly enforced. But that's not really the question at hand.

3. If the defense is NOT intentionally walking the batter, I believe that the catcher may "...leave his position at any time to catch a pitch or make a play.... I believe this because that IS what the rule says, the JEA case play makes it perfectly clear that it is legal, and there is NO rule (or interpretation) that says otherwise.

If you were to call a balk because the catcher left the box to catch a "pitch out" - whether he did it before the pitcher initiated his delivery, after the pitcher intiated his delivery, or after the ball had left the pitcher's hand - you would be wrong. You would be "making up a rule" - which, as we all know, is a prerogative reserved for coaches.

What have you got that says otherwise? I'm all ears.

JM