alteration of the pitching motion
 

guys,
Rule 8.01(a) The Windup Position. The pitcher shall stand facing the batter, his entire pivot foot on, or in front of and touching and not off the end of the pitcher's plate, and the other foot free. From this position any natural movement associated with his delivery of the ball to the batter commits him to the pitch without interruption or alteration.

what would you call an alteration during the pitching motion ? comming to a complete stop during the delivery (with no runners) ?

regards

Bruno,

The way I think of that phrase is that the pitcher can't start to do one thing and then change to do something else.

For example, a RHP lifts his stride leg to balance as he would in delivering a pitch or making a pick-off to 3B, but then suddenly turns and steps & throws to 1B. He illegally "altered" what he was doing.

If he stops, he has violated the "without interruption" clause.

JM

Sometimes you'll see a start/stop balk called which can also apply to the "w/o interruption" clause.

No, coming to a stop would be "interruption." "Alteration" means change: some umpires mistakenly read this as saying that a pitcher cannot change his delivery from pitch to pitch.

But I agree with JM's interpretation. F1 cannot start to do one thing, and then change to do something else (for example, start to pitch, and then step and throw to a base).

thanks a lot to you guys !