When I started the this thread I already knew how I was going to answer the question if it was asked of me. The reason I posted the quesiton is that it was brought up yesterday afternoon in a Fall baseball league for H.S. players. The umpires for this league are assigned by the H.S. umpires association of which I am also a member.
My younger son (freshmen in H.S.) was the starting pitcher in his team's second game of a DH. In the first inning with a runner on first base, my son straddled the pitcher’s plate with the ball in his pitching hand and looked at the runner on first base then looked to his catcher then looked back at the runner at first base and then looked to his catcher. He then engaged the pitcher’s plate with his pivot foot and took his signal from his catcher and then proceeded to pitch to the batter. This is a regimen that he has done since he started pitching. When the inning was over the BU came over to his coach and told him that he could not take signals from his catcher while he was straddling the pitcher’s plate. Since I knew both of the umpires for the DH, I did not say anything about their misapplication of the rules. (I just gave my position away, didn't I.)
As I stated in my original post, NFHS R6-S1-A1 states that: He [the pitcher]
shall take his sign from the catcher with his pivot foot in contact with the pitcher’s plate. Nothing in the rules prohibits a pitcher from taking a signal from the catcher or even looking at the catcher while straddling the pitcher's plate (of course that presumes that the pitcher is holding the ball while straddling the pitcher's plate.
After I made my original post, I remebered that there had been a thread about the pitcher taking signals while not in contact with the pitcher’s plate on the NFHS Officials' Discusion Forum,
http://www.nfhs.org/cgi-bin/ultimate...;f=10;t=001034. The thread ran about 50-50 as to whether the pitcher was committing a balk or not. I did not contribute to that thread but I remembered that Jim Thompson (a past member of the NFHS Baseball Rules Committee) posted that the pitcher had not balked. In fact, Jim stated that the pitcher can take a signal from anywhere he likes as long as he takes or simulates taking a signal from the catcher after he has come into contact with the pitcher's plate.
Now here is where I really get to name drop. Jim and I first met seven years ago at an AAU Boys' Baseball National Championship tournament becuase we both are friends of the tournament's UIC. So last night I sent an email to Jim about this situation and Jim called me earlier this evening.
Jim told me that to his knowledge the NFHS's position is that it is not a balk, because it is not prohibited by rule. That is the key to this play. While the pitcher shall take his sign from the catcher while in contact with the pitching plate, it is not prohibited, by rule, for the pitcher to take a sign from the catcher while not in contact with the pitching plate. The key is that the pitching rules do not take effect until the pitcher comes into contact with the pitcher's plate, therefore the important thing is that the pitcher takes or simulates taking a sign from the catcher while in contact with the pitching plate before he starts his pitching motion.
So, the best thing to do is don't go looking for problems where there are none.
MTD, Sr.