Balk Called by Coach....

[johnnyg08]

Originally Posted by greymule

johnnyg08: If the pitcher reflexively reacted to something the batter did, like hold up his hand or turn his head toward you, I'd give the pitcher the benefit of the doubt and not call the balk.

You make a good point and I can appreciate that comment especially without having seen the play. The batter was still in his regular hitting stance and simply said the word time in a normal speaking voice that really only the catcher and I could hear. After watching the video of that game, I also noticed that the catcher seemed to assume that I'd give the batter time and he relaxed his action. After watching the play on video it appeared that the pitcher balked more because of the fact that his catcher relaxed as he was starting his motion. While I often give the benefit of the doubt to the pitcher in these instances, this was one that I feel I got right based on all of the circumstances around how the play developed. Nobody came out to talk to me about the play...and honestly, I think the call could've gone either way and nobody would've argued either way. I guess that's the judgement piece of umpiring.