Pitcher must drop hands to his sides
 

8.01 "....When the pitcher disengages the rubber, he must drop his hands to his sides."

How long does the pitcher have to drop his hands to his side?

I've always understood this requirement to be an effort to prevent a quick pitch. In other words, the pitcher needs to have his hands separated BEFORE he returns to the rubber.

However, guys in/from Europe see it quite differently. They seem to have been instructed to call a balk if the pitcher doesn't separate and drop his hands within about one second of his pivot foot hitting the ground after disengagement.

Any thoughts or points of clarification are greatly appreciated.

Any idea where in the rulebook they find that this is a balk?

Good question, but I don't have a proper answer. I ran into this in Italy a few years back in a European Championship tournament and the guy couldn't speak any English to explain why he made this call.

Last week, an A-level, senior league umpire from Germany called with me and called a balk on a pitcher who didn't "immediately" separate his hands. We spoke about it after the game, but I didn't ask the question you offered, but will try to discuss it with him this week, or the next time I see him. I did tell him that in the States (where I'm originally from) I had never seen it called that way, but that I realize in Europe they do call it that way. He acknowleged that they do, in fact, emphasize it in Europe and was surprised that in the States it isn't called the same way.

Thanks for your question, it's a good followup question.

4:45 into the Evans Balk Video he says "after disengaging, the pitcher must separate his hands before stepping back on the rubber". On the next slide is the penalty: "Warning! 9.01(b). Repeat offenses or defiance to comply may result in ejection!".

It's on the Balk Video and he says it's a warning, so that's good enough for me.

Thanks, DG. I thought I remembered seeing that on the Evans' video, but didn't have it handy to review. Now, I have to find my Evans tape.

Thanks, again.