Pitcher taking signals.

[MD Longhorn]

Originally Posted by jicecone

I agree Tim, I am also balking the pitcher and the only thing I can back that up with is a OBR statement "Umpires should bear in mind that the purpose of the balk rule is to prevent the pitcher from deliberately deceiving the base runner. If there is doubt in the umpire’s mind, the “intent” of the pitcher should govern," but certainly apppropriate here.

"Deceiving the base runner," which is the ONLY intent of this move.

Hold on. Perhaps you've forgotten the original post. We were talking about a pitcher who took his signs from off the rubber, stepped on the rubber, paused (whether to take another sign, or to simulate that - doesn't matter), and then pitched. How is the "intent of this move" to deceive the baserunner?

I can see stretching the rules you refer to in the case where a pitcher take signs (or simulated it) from off the rubber and uses that to dupe the runner off the base, and then fires to first without having to abide by the rules a pitcher who was ON the rubber would have to abide by. But to balk a pitcher simply for doing something not listed at all in the "it is a balk when..." section, when such action has no effect or intent to deceive the baserunner, is simply OOO, and against every clinic I've ever attended.