[PeteBooth]

Originally posted by His High Holiness

I am the assignor this week for high school tournaments! A situation has arisen that requires a ruling:

FED rules, district championship game:

R2, R3, 0 outs, bottom of 8th, score 3-3. Defense intentionally walks BR to load the bases.

Not knowing the rules about a dead ball, the defense sneaks the ball to F3, F1 toes the rubber, and PU says play. No one knows that F3 has the ball. R1 steps off first and is tagged out. U1 calls a balk on the pitcher for not having the ball and being on the rubber. Run scores on balk, game over, all hell breaks loose.

In OBR and NCAA, PU has put the ball in play illegally. Therefore, the out and the balk are nullified, the PU instructs the defense on proper procedure, and we would continue with bases loaded, 0 out.

Now U3 says that he has gotten a FED ruling from someone on the internet saying that in FED, the pitcher is required to have the ball when he toes the runner or it is a balk even if the ball is not in play. I doubt that this is true, but before I hang myself out to dry with a couple of AD's, can someone tell me if there is anything to this phantom ruling.

Peter here's the applicable FED ruling

FED rule 5-1-4

After a dead ball, the ball becomes alive when it is held by F1 in a legal pitching position , provided F1 has engaged the pitcher's plate , the batter and F2 are in their respective boxes, and the umpire calls "play" and gives the apprpriate hand signal.

In this play F1 NEVER held the ball in a legal pitching position to begin with, so by rule, the ball was not live at the time of the "hidden ball trick".

I believe it's been said many times. Whenever their is TIME on the field the Hidden Ball Trick is a dead issue.

Pete Booth