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Originally Posted by scarolinablue
Taken from 6-1-1: "...He shall take his sign from the catcher with his pivot foot in contact with the pitcher's plate. The pitching regulations begin when he intentionally contacts the pitcher's plate."
...in 6-1-3: "PENALTY (Art. 1, 2, 3): The ball is dead immediately when an illegal pitch occurs. If there is no runner, a ball is awarded the batter. If there is a runner, such illegal act is a balk."
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There IS no penalty for taking a sign while off the rubber: there is also no penalty for taking a sign from the dugout, the pitcher's hot g/f in the stands, or from the Great Hairy Thunderer [or other "higher power"/deity of choice].
There IS a penalty for NOT "taking his sign from the catcher ..." [which is universally enforced as "
appearing to take a sign from the catcher"] ... while in contact with the rubber and before beginning the pitching motion.
The enforced intent of the rule is to prevent quick pitches, NOT to outlaw signs from the dugout, etc.
SOOOO... as long as F1 "looks in" and APPEARS to take a sign from the catcher, while in contact and before pitching, DO NOT penalize him for any "extra" sign(s) he may get from elsewhere/when, and DO NOT concern yourself with whether F2 did or did not actually give a sign.