Last evening I was working a hs scrimmage game and the pitcher in the windup position, arms down by his side, with the ball in right hand. In this position while taking the sign, he kept "rotating" his hand left and right, akin to a nervous twitch. Never moved the hand forward as to start the pitch. Is this a balk? I have never seen this before.

John

I can't say for sure just from what you're describing but it sounds like something I see all the time. What I'm envisioning is the pitcher with his hands seperated rotating the ball in his pitching hand while taking his signs before he starts his motion to pitch.

If that's all your seeing and there has been no intitial motion to pitch with a subsequent alteration or interuption before he delivers the ball then it's not a balk.


Tim.

This may be a balk in FED, technically. I wouldn't call it in either rule set though. Too picky for me.

OK I'll bite, How So?

Ice:

The only thing I can think of is written in FED 6-1-2. It says the pitcher from the windup is limited to not more than two pumps or rotations.


Tim.

It also says in FED 6-1-2 that the pitcher is not restricted as to how he shall hold the ball.

I looked at the case play for 6-1-2 and it clearly defines what's meant when they referr to pumps or rotations. Both of them are arm movements and have nothing to do with a pitcher simply rotating the ball in his pitching hand. No balk from what I've read here in this play.


Tim.

The pitcher was not rotating the ball in his hand, he was rotating his wrist left & right. I found it very distracting.

Check casebook 6.1.2 D

In that scenario, the pitcher adjusts his cap and shakes off the signs with his glove. FED says it's an illegal pitch / balk because those are arm movements associated with the pitch.

But read the whole case play. I'm too lazy to type it out.

How did you find it distracting, and who do you think was distrated by it? Unless he was making an arm movement naturally associated with his pitch it's not a balk.

In this instance I would be trying to key off of the arm itself. If it's just dangling there with the wrist moving back and forth I have nothing. If he were to move the arm away from his body and bring it back to a dangling position then I would balk him with runners on base.


Tim.

Re: Not that hard
 

Reading the posts about the windup and its amazing to me how we can take something so irrelevant and completely go overboard with it.

Based on some of the statements about this windup twitch, then Greg Maddux would never be able to pitch in a FED game and neither would about half of the other MLB pitchers who have little "bad habits"

If its technically a balk then I haven't found it in my reading. I believe Tim said it above, its nothing.

I call it simply baseball.

Thanks
David

I agree with the last statement. One thing and umpire will get themselves into by calling balks with this type of action, is the other coaches will bark everytime they see the opposing pitcher do something that you don't.

If it's not obvious, not bothering the batter, why call it? Some umpires set themselves up for chaos.

WOW!
 

Unbelievable what some find "distracting" . . .

Call the game and don't be an OOO.

LargeOne you are not thinking this through. While it is a FEDBalk to adjust cap or wipe off nothing should be done to connect a wrist movement to the same ruling.

I never called the twitching a balk. My focus the three innings this pitcher pitched was centered on the hand. Thanks for the responses.

I agree with the others. I have nothing. No way I call a balk on that.