Taking signs from the rubber

[Roger Greene]

John,

If using OBR then it is not a balk. You instruct the pitcher to comply and then have him replaced if he refuses. (Remember, there is no violation for the pitcher taking all the signs he wants, from whoever wants to give them before he steps on the rubber, as long as he takes some sign from F2 after he steps on the plate. If he looks at F2 you should assume he took a signal. After all, F2's signal could be as subtle as a blink.)

Under Fed rules, failing to take a signal from F2 after taking the pitcher's plate is a balk. There are a number of ways to balk in Fed that are not a balk under OBR.

Roger Greene