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Originally Posted by CecilOne
And, if the pitcher is giving attention to the runner, not to pitching; then I would be reluctant to call LBR. Other hand, if I judge the runner is causing the pitcher's attention or is intentionally trying for a play; then that is what the LBR is about.
Bear in mind, that I always object to using the LBR as a "gotcha".
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Speaking ASA and probably a few others.
I wouldn't necessarily agree with part of this. It is not incumbent upon the pitcher to "look" or encourage the runner to go to a base. However, paying attention to a runner off the base is part of any defender's responsibility. OTOH, I'm not going to ignore a LBR violation because the pitcher is watching the runner.
You are correct, this is not supposed to be a gotcha rule, but as much as it is the DC responsibility to properly teach the pitcher on how to handle a runner off the base, it is equally the OC responsibility to teach runners how to react when the play is over.
Then again, if we just kill the ball when all obvious play is finished, we don't have a gotcha, we don't have an confrontation with the coach and this thread doesn't exist.