Game today - Calling Balkologists...

[TussAgee11]

Just graduated from school last weekend, so I am a few weeks late to the season up here. Today worked the dish in a Sr. Babe game. Seemed like the last 2 innings I could not get an easy pitch - every 2-2 or 3-2 count in a big spot were all just nipping the zone or just missing. I think I got every single one right, probably about 4 or 5 close ones in big spots in a close game. So that felt good, and I feel "into" the season now.

My question is this... OBR rules but I'm interested in FED as well. R2, RHP lifts leg and turns towards second. As his free foot is coming down, the pitcher sort of lost balance. His pivot foot stumbled - it looked to me that it came up off the rubber and then landed back where it was. All this happened BEFORE the free foot stepped directly to 2nd, although it was clear that a pickoff attempt was coming.

I balked him.

I did this because on the spot, it was one of those things that just didn't look right. But then I started thinking what rule the pitcher actually broke...

In OBR, 8.05 seems like a bit of a stretch.

8.05 - If there is a runner, or runners, it is a balk when—
(c) The pitcher, while touching his plate, fails to step directly toward a base before throwing to that base;

The free foot did go directly to the base, so a literal reading of the rule has no balk. But if we read a bit more abstractly, he didn't step directly because he jumped up with his pivot foot before doing so.

Any balkologists have a clarifying J/R play to chime in with? Or, perhaps I'm just reading to much into the rule, and the letter of the law has nothing to do with this play.