Ruling and OBR/FED cites please

[LakeErieUmp]

Thanks for the replies - we have two umpire associations in this area and the other one apparently teaches its umpires that a throw has to be to a BASE, not to a fielder. Never made any sense to me, either.

[Tim C]

Not almost . . .

IIITBTSB

Regards,

[mbyron]

This is not a balk. I had a coach complain about this last week (stupidly, as F6 was literally 2-3 feet from 2B, and so close enough even if there were a requirement that F1 throw "to a base").

One thing you can say is: "you're thinking of the rule about 1B: the pitcher must throw to the base, and it's a balk if F3 is off the base AND can't make a play." I tried this, and the coach told me I was wrong.

Another way to explain: if it is not a balk to feint to 2B, why would it be a balk to throw to a fielder away from the bag?

Once again, the balk rule emerges as the most widely misunderstood rule in baseball.