Balk or Illegal Pitch

[Jim Porter]

Originally posted by Gee
I'll also stick with what I said concerning the dropped ball. You can't call a balk on that until the pitcher is in a legal pitching position. That only comes when he is ready to pitch.

He is not ready to pitch until he is set. Further, I said when you drop the ball during the stretch it is NOTHING, not a ball, NOTHING. 8.01(d) only applies AFTER the pitcher is set and not during preliminary motions as in stretching. If you don't buy that we'll have to A2d on it. i.e. Agree to disagree. G

But, Gee, the dropped ball situation would be a balk under 8.05(k). Whether he's in a stretch or a set doesn't matter. If he drops the ball while touching the plate, it is a balk with runners on base.

[Edited by Jim Porter on Jun 4th, 2001 at 02:25 AM]