Quote:
Originally Posted by stevecatcher34
I am a catcher and have been for 12 years and have never heard of a balk on the catcher. The catcher is allowed to move around as much as possible as long as he does not get in the way of the batter attempting to hit a ball. But the catcher must be in the catcher's box unless it is an IBB or a PO. The balk is only allowed to be called on the pitcher when there is a runner on base. It must be a made up rule kind of like "the runner has the right away in the basepath."
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Steve,
A balk can be called by the actions of a catcher. It is very rare, and is normally not called, as has been stated. The balk is credited to the pitcher, however, so it's not "called" on the catcher. The catcher is supposed to remain in his box until the pitcher has released the ball, but that is not strictly enforced at all.
The runner does have the right of way in the basepath unless the fielder is fielding a batted ball. The fielder must not alter or block the path of a baserunner without possession of the baseball (or imminently receiving a throw).