Illegal pitch

[Tim C]

Rock wrote:

"You can't balk unless there are base runners, right?"

Garth opined:

"Did he move the runners up?"

As always things aren't as easy as it may seem:

OBR -- There is no penalty for a start/stop with no one on base.

NFHS -- When Brad Rumble wrote the opinion in the 1995 Spring NFHS Newsletter he called a start/stop with no one on base a "balk."

The philosophy of Rumble in all NFHS Rules when he was editor is that if something is illegal with runners on it should also be illegal without runners.

This means that the action of start/stop, even with no one on in NFHS rules is illegal.

As to calling it a "balk" the 1995 NFHS Newsletter is the ONLY place I have seen this interpretation and Rumble's initial error of calling it a "balk" rather than an "illegal pitch" or "illegal activity" has never been changed (according to my research).

Rumble wanted there to be a penalty (rather than a "Don't Do That" warning) so he directed the penalty of a "Ball" to be added to the count.

So Rock, I don't know what rules you were playing under but in NFHS rules, using the exact wording of Rumble's directive, a "balk" can be called without runners on base.

After all this . . . I would ignore that activity with no one on.

Regards,