Balk question

[tibear]

Originally Posted by bob jenkins

Yes. The ruling about "balking and throwing the ball wild" (or whatever the specific words are) is meant *only* for those situations where the act of throwing itself is illegal and, thus, a balk.

In this sitiation, you had a balk for feinting without a step FOLLOWED BY a disengagement and a wild throw. It's two separate moves, so the balk is enforced.

Had, for example, F1 merely thrown the ball away without stepping (just turned his shoulders and threw the ball into center field), then the play would be kept live.

So Bob, are you saying that F1 balked to second base?

[mbyron]

Nope, sorry, he balked for starting and stopping. But thanks for playing.

[tibear]

Originally Posted by mbyron

Nope, sorry, he balked for starting and stopping. But thanks for playing.

Bob said, "In this situation, you had a balk for feinting without a step FOLLOWED BY a disengagement and a wild throw. It's two separate moves, so the balk is enforced."

He indicated that the balk was because of the feint without a step not for starting and stopping.

Are you indicating that he was starting to pitch and stopped??? Or starting to feint a throw to second and stopped. (which would technically be called a balk to second wouldn't it??)

[cbfoulds]

Originally Posted by tibear

Are you indicating that he was starting to pitch and stopped??? Or starting to feint a throw to second and stopped. (which would technically be called a balk to second wouldn't it??)

"Technically" this is a balk for beginning a pitch [separating hands w/o a step toward a base first] and not delivering. Bob can describe it as he did w/o violence to the principle of IIITBTSB because he [Bob] knows the difference. Those who do not [understand the difference] need to stick with the mantra IIITBTSB, so that they don't invent non-existent balks [a favorite of the "balk to 2d" crowd is the throw to SS at his position].

[mbyron]

What constitutes a "feint" is a step + not throwing. Without the step there's no feint, just a balk for starting and stopping.

I had a game last week with one of our association's notorious Smitties, who urged me three times to review the "rule" that says F1 can't throw to F5 away from the base (with R3).