stealing home - balk?

[Bfair]

Originally posted by Jerry
For the pitcher not to deliver a pitch to the plate, he must legally disengage the rubber. If he throws from the rubber, the throw is a pitch.

Steve,
Are those your words above, or J/R's? I'll go along with J/R's "Begins a motion to pitch" line that you cited, and call a balk if I judge that F1 has performed a "natural pitching motion (which) commits him to the pitch." I've got no reason to argue against the above interpretation either . . . if those are J's and R's exact words. Otherwise, I still have an attempted play on R3. Let me know what you've got.

Jerry

I indented J/R's words and not mine.
My words are my summary of J/R's verbage.

While on the rubber, any action of beginning a throw to the plate is a pitch, Jerry. The pitcher need not use the same motion everytime---he may vary his motions as long as all his motions are legal. Therefore, at some point, he uses a new motion for the first time. In this case, his throwing action from the rubber is, indeed, nothing more than another pitching motion---legal or illegal (balk). It's merely the first time he's used this pitching motion.

So, let's assume the runner was not advancing, and the pitcher made the same action:

1. Would you consider it a pitch?
   
2. Would you consider it a quick pitch if the batter was not ready?
   
3. Or would you consider it a play (since R3 is standing on 3rd picking his nose)?

Jerry, my guess is that considering it a play would be your last choice.

As long as it is an effort to deliver the ball to the plate from the pitching plate, then you need to consider it a pitch. All in all it's rather simplistic---if a pitcher delivers to home plate from the pitching rubber, it is a pitch. F1 needs to know he must disengage the rubber in order to make a play to the plate.

(Hmmmm....that seems to closely correlate with the Fed caseplay)!!!!


Just my opinion,

Freix