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Originally Posted by Justme
FED rule....
6-1 states in part "Turning the shoulders to check the runners while in contact with the pitcher's plate in the set position is legal. Turning the shoulders after bringing the hands together during or after the stretch is a balk."
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And in a classic case of unintended consequences, this relatively new FED rule has actually increased the separation between the FED and the OBR enforcement. As Bob Jenkins and others noted, the OBR enforcement principle is that the pitcher cannot feint to first while in contact with the rubber. The FED rule now allows the pitcher to do exactly that, as long as it is before he begins his motion to join hands.
Under OBR rules, the judgment of whether the pitcher is legally checking the runner vs. illegally feinting towards the runner is based more more on the speed of the move, than whether the shoulders turn (within reason).