Balk Or No Balk
 

My first post...

Last night I was calling a game on the 14 year old field.

Runner on 1st, no outs, I'm standing somewhat behind the pitcher between 1st and 2nd..the pitcher is a RHP.

The pitcher comes set, looks over his shoulder, and then before stepping off the bag, throws the ball towards first. I call an obvious balk...

Apparently I was wrong?

What I've read is that a few things have to happen before the pitcher can make the throw to 1st..
a-he's gotta step off the bag, thus making him a fielder.
b-he has to step towards the base in which he's throwing to.

The coach argued that he can throw it anywhere he wants and it doesn't matter if he's on the bag. I told him that he has to step off the bag first before he does anything..it turned into a big ordeal and the coach was so-very-close to getting ejected by me.

What hacks me off is that it ended up going to some board members from these coaches, who I'm sure didn't get the full story, and those board members informed me and the umpire in chief that he doesn't have to step off the bag?

We use the utripp rules around here, and I've been pretty adamant about studying these rules, but this is just my 2nd year of calling.

I have no problem in admitting I made a mistake, if someone can just tell me what mistake I made? Was I wrong?

If he throws to 1B, he doesn't have to step off. There's more to it, but he does have to throw to 1B if he's on the rubber...if he steps off, he doesn't have to throw over.

He can throw to any base for the purpose of making a play...(just keeping it simple for now)

So it doesn't matter if he comes set and never steps off the bag? He can still turn and throw to 1st?

OK, first off the pitcher is in contact with the "pitcher's plate" or the rubber. There's no "bag" there.

Second, I don't know "utripp" rules, but I'm surmising that like a lot of league rules it's OBR with some safety modifications. If that's right:

Once the pitcher has come set, he can legally do only 3 things:

1. pitch to the batter
2. step and throw (or feint) to a base
3. legally disengage ("step off")

I can't follow your argument. At one point it sounds as if you said the pitcher didn't step ahead of the throw (you allow "b-he has to step towards the base in which he's throwing to."). If that's what you called, then you were correct: balk. All you have to say is "Coach, no step." If he doesn't know what that means, you can add "he has to step toward the base to which he's throwing."

On the other hand, you seem to have insisted to the coach that he had to step off first before throwing to a base ("I told him that he has to step off the bag first before he does anything"). That's wrong. The pitcher can step toward a base and throw directly from the rubber. In OBR he can do that from either the windup or the set position.

The relevant OBR rule is 8.05. You might wish to purchase a manual like the Jaksa/Roder manual, which does a terrific job explaining the rules. Here's a link to it.

As long as the other requirements are met, then the pitcher needn't step off. After all, a lefty does this all the time, and no on has an issue with it.

And, it's called a pitcher's plate, or rubber. It's not the pitcher's bag.

correct. as long as he steps to the base and throws to the base for the purpose of making a play. in fact, if he throws to 1B, he doesn't even have to come set...he can throw to 1B at any time. just not after he's committed himself to pitch...

Yeah it was pretty much a 2 part question now that I think about it.

I know that he was on the "rubber" (thanks) when he threw the ball, which is what I thought was a balk, so I was wrong there.

However, because of his body angle when he threw the ball, I can guarantee he did not step towards the base when he threw the ball.

The more I read about these rules, the more I figure out it was a balk for sure, but not for my reasoning.

Thanks for the link too..I'm ordering one as we speak.

If a RHP's windup usually consists of him stepping to the side with his free-foot, is there a good rule of thumb for distinguising between the start of his windup and his stepping to throw to first? I mean, even if his foot isn't turned and pointing towards first base, it seems that he would still be able to argue that a step to first base. It's like he'd have the option to throw to first or pitch with the same movement.

In FED they can't throw to a base other than to pitch from the wind-up.

Under OBR, the pitcher can aruge whatever he wants...he must step directly to the base he's throwing in order to make a play on the runner. Otherwise it's a balk.

What do his arms / body "look like" when he's going to pitch? What do they "look like" when he's throwing to first? It shouldn't be hard to distinguish this.

You can't just concentrate on one body part / rules issue. It's the entirety that makes it a balk or legal.

Buy the Jim Evans Balk Video, it's the best video IMHO on the market for balks. You can find it at his web site. All your questions will be answered and then some. This is the same video he uses in his five week school. A must for all umpires.

This is a great video on balks from Jim Evans - it teaches you visually so you can see the different infractions and is great for a beginner like yourself!

Jim Evans Academy of Professional Umpiring Balk Video

1. Why is he pitching from the windup with R1?

2. I distinguish it like this: in the windup, he steps back with his free foot. In a pickoff, he steps forward with his free foot.

3. As Bob said: watch his whole body. If you can't tell what he's doing and he throws over, it's probably a balk for simulating a pitch.

Can someone please clarify for me...

Pitchers can either step off and throw, or they can "jump turn." As a coach, I'm not familiar with all of the umpire lingo, but I am trying to figure out. When you guys say disengage, I am assuming you are talking about the step off move.

When you guys are saying that he must step toward the base, does that mean both feet must go to the base?? I only say this because it is sounding that the pitcher can pivot off his backfoot, still be engaged with the rubber, and still legally make a play on the runner. I know that is not the case, so can someone please clarify??

Thanks

He only needs to step with one foot. He can pivot with his, well, pivot foot (the one on the rubber), then step toward a base with his non-pivot foot (or free foot), then throw, and it's legal.

Yes, the pitcher can be engaged with the rubber and step to the base and throw (first base) or throw and/or feint (second or third base). He does NOT have to step off the rubber to do this. If he throws the ball out of play while in contact with the rubber, the runners advance one base. If he steps backward off the rubber first (the only legal way to step off), then throws it out of play, it's a two-base award. The pitcher is only required to step toward the base with his non-pivot foot (the one not on the rubber).

Does this help?

It's not what we don't know that gets us in trouble, it's what we know for cetain that just isn't so.

Coach, there are many legal moves to 1B for a RHP, so it's not realistic to catalog them all here.

You need to understand that a pitcher who has engaged the rubber may do one of three things:

1. Pitch to the batter
2. Step and throw to a base
3. Legally disengage (step off)

#2 requires a step BEFORE the throw. A "step" is defined as the free foot (front foot) gaining distance and direction toward the base to which he's throwing.

That rules out, for example, a LHP picking up his free foot and setting it down in the same spot while flipping the ball over to 1B. It also rules out a RHP stepping toward the plate while turning his shoulders and throwing to 1B.

The "jump turn" and "jab step" are moves that RHPs use, and by interpretation they are legal at all levels. A RHP jumps, turns his whole body including his feet, so that his free foot gains distance and direction toward 1B. Then he throws (the throw may happen at roughly the same time).

Once you understand the basic principles, judging a legal move is much easier.

Can you really just pivot off of the back foot, and it's completely legal with a RHP to 1B??

The only reason I ask is because I have NEVER seen a pitcher do it, and it seems so much faster.

I guess I am having a hard time trying to say this correctly. I know a pitcher doesn't have to disengage from the rubber, but even when a pitcher jump turns, both feet come up in the air, and therefore his back foot does separate from the rubber.

If this is the case, can someone point to the rule book/case book where I can reference this point, because there would be a lot of coaches (and umpires) that would be stunned!!

The rule says that he must step ahead of the throw. It does not require that the pivot foot come off the rubber when he does so.

Try it; you might not find it so easy. Remember that nothing can be moving toward home when you do it.

You can't really think of it that way. Watch a week of MLB baseball. Then maybe you'll see what we're trying to point out to you. I seems like you're not understanding the rule properly.

Yes.

Can you point me to the rule book/case book??

I am just trying to figure this out, because this is against everything I have ever learned/heard.

Thanks

ss17,

From OBR Rule 8.01:

Any umpires who are "stunned" by this really ought to take a look at the rule book.

JM

Did you also learn that the hands are part of the bat?

In general, if it's a baseball move, it's legal unless it's prohibited by rule. So it's a fool's errand to go hunting in the rule book to find a rule that makes something legal.

Yes. He does not have to step off the rubber in any way, shape, or form.

Well, I'm sure you have, because it is rare to see a big league pitcher step off before throwing to first. If you are trying to pick off a runner, why on earth would you want to tip him off by stepping back off the rubber first? You would never pick off a single runner that way. Duh.

Jump turns and jab steps are done while in contact with the rubber. The fact that the pivot foot separates from the rubber does not mean that they are considered "off the rubber." Off the rubber means that the pitcher has legally disengaged the rubber by stepping backwards off the rubber with his pivot foot prior to doing anything else. A pitcher need not do that before throwing or feinting to a base.

As has been stated, if there is no rule to prohibit something, then it's considered legal. There is no need to make a list of legal activites in the rule book.

I seriously doubt any umpire would be stunned by the pitching rules, but I can see how many coaches might be. Most coaches (Sparky Anderson, UmpJM and Rich Ives excluded) don't make much of a study of the rules. They usually, like you are doing, go by what they think are the rules, or what they heard are the rules, or the myths they heard growing up on the playground (such as "the hands are part of the bat," or "tie goes to the runner").

Then it's a good thing you came here and got an education!:)

Before Pitcher becomes SET....
 

With all this info got me thinking then...
1. Is there a difference in the terms stretch vs. set?
2. Preliminary movements? Is there a definition for this?

Example: If the pitcher is in the stretch...as I understand stretch,(foot on the rubber, hands apart, taking signals) and his motion begins,bringing his free foot back as he brings his hands together.... but before he becomes SET,(bringing hands together and pauses) he steps towards first and throws. Legal?

JPaco54,

1. Yes there is a difference, if we're talking the lexicon of the rules of baseball. Set is one of the two legal pitching positions defined in the rules (the other being windup), while the stretch is a "preliminary movement" which is explicitly legal for the pitcher to do before bringing his hands together and coming to a complete stop when pitching from the set position.

Colloquially, the two terms are often used interchangeably by people who have not actually read a rule book or when the discussion is not a technical "rules" discussion.

2. No, there is no definition of "preliminary movements" in the rule book, other than that they are something the pitcher does after engaging the rubber in the set position and prior to bringing his hands together. The stretch is specifically mentioned as an example of a legal "preliminary movement".

It is perfectly legal for a pitcher who has assumed the set position to make a (legal) pick-off throw to a base. He need not bring his hands together and stop before doing so. As a matter of fact, it is perfectly legal for him, in an attempt to deceive the runner, to begin his motion to come set and then change to a pick-off as long as he does so in a continuous motion without interruption and steps legally to the base.

That always struck me as slightly odd in the context of the "...without alteration or interruption..." language. Nonetheless, it is so.

Finally, don't think, it can only hurt the team. ;)

JM

UmpJM - thanks for taking the time to explain my questions. Very helpful. Almost like you read my mind. I am trying to take the advise of many as to not "over think" the rules.