What's the call?

[jicecone]

Originally posted by David B
Saw a variation on the pitching move last summer and I had almost forgotten.

Tonight at a basketball game I ran into the head baseball coach and he was still giving me a hard time about my call.

Here's the play.

R3 and F1 toes the rubber in windup position with hands together in front of his body.

F1 then steps back with his pivot foot and hesitates for an instant.

F1 then swings his arms up and in one motion makes a move to F5 who tags the runner out by several steps.

What's your call?


The first time I saw it I thought that's a balk, but I let it go, but a few games later when I was PU they ran the same play and I called it a balk.

Coach of course says "we've been running this play all year and nobody has called a balk"

Let me be the first then. I tried to explain to the coach that they were violating 6-2-5 - basically simulating a pitch without being on the rubber.

So what is the call? I want to get all of our umpires on the same page next week at our meeting.

Thanks
David

First of all, this is probably one of those had to be there situations but, I'll give it a shot.

Did the pitcher simulate his motion used in a windup after he stepped off? Then by all means it was a balk. Or did the pitcher, (and from your description it sounds this way) just raise his arms to throw. Which I believe he would have had to do to get the ball to third. After making that decision, the rest would be easy.

I have caught pitchers begining their motion and at the same time step off and throw to third. Which does'nt seem to be the case here.