Valid pitching appearance?

[Rich Ives]

Originally Posted by pruett3

Yep. Until the kid throws a warm up pitch you've got nothing. Umpire needs to use common sense. Especially in a house league. I hope you're little third baseman doesn't jokingly pick up the ball between innings and jump on the mound. Umpires really need to crack down on that sort of deception.

On OBR you only need to toe rthe rubber - no warm-up pitch involved.

[fongw2]

Okay so if I'm reading this correctly, if my pitcher actually touched the pitching rubber as he bent down to pick up the ball, regardless of whether he throws a warm up pitch or not, it would count as an appearance which answers my question of whether he needed to actually pitch or just touch the ball.

I can't recall if he did that, (he might have), but it looked to me like he just walked over and picked up the ball which was just in the vicinity of the mound, (okay just the gravel as our parks don't have real mounds!), where the previous pitcher on the other team dropped it.

All in all, I guess what bugs me the most is that I didn't just get a courtesy 'warning' and instead had to re-juggle my lineup again as my closer was now effectively 'out' and everyone around me had a 'huh?' look on their faces.

Oh well, it was my mistake and it is a lesson learned and I won't be doing that ever again!

Thanks for the responses.

[MD Longhorn]

I have to admit ... of all the rules in all the codes of softball or baseball, this rule is the dumbest. Well, 2nd dumbest. This rule can thank the LL poof rule for letting it avoid being the dumbest.

[pruett3]

Originally Posted by mbcrowder

I have to admit ... of all the rules in all the codes of softball or baseball, this rule is the dumbest. Well, 2nd dumbest. This rule can thank the LL poof rule for letting it avoid being the dumbest.

I always thought the 3rd to 1st move by a right-handed pitcher was the dumbest. It's clearly deceiving the runner. I've never understood why a lefty has to throw to 1st but a righty doesn't have to throw to 3rd (on the same move).

[ManInBlue]

Originally Posted by pruett3

I always thought the 3rd to 1st move by a right-handed pitcher was the dumbest. It's clearly deceiving the runner. I've never understood why a lefty has to throw to 1st but a righty doesn't have to throw to 3rd (on the same move).

Might be because the rules say you can't feint a throw to 1B while in contact with the rubber. It says nothing about feinting to 2B or 3B other than you have to step in the direction of the base. RHP can't jump-turn and not throw to 1B, but a LHP can do the same move to 3B and not throw...

Not the "same move" - 1B is treated differently

A LHP raising his free foot straight up and coming to 1B is deceiving to the runner too. A pick off move is designed to deceive the runner.

[pruett3]

It seems like the same move to me. Just to a different base. I understand what the rule says. Why is 1st base treated differently than any other base?

[johnnyg08]

I really don't know other than that's just the way the rule is written. Maybe because that's where the most runners are as well as the move SB attempts...so they do it to keep the game fair for the offense and defense?

[bob jenkins]

Originally Posted by pruett3

It seems like the same move to me. Just to a different base. I understand what the rule says. Why is 1st base treated differently than any other base?

It's been that way for over a century. (First, feints to all bases were allowed, then no feints were allowed (this lasted for only a short time -- 1 year?), then the current rule -- no feints to first.)

I know that doesn't answer "why" it's this way -- but I don't see it changing soon.

[mbyron]

Originally Posted by pruett3

Why is 1st base treated differently than any other base?

1. Second base is the farthest from the catcher, which makes it the easiest base to steal.
2. Reaching 2B puts a runner in scoring position, so it's important to the offense to get him there and important to the defense to keep him on 1B.
3. That's why 1B is (almost always) the only base where the runner is held on.
4. More runners reach 1B than any other base.

All of these points apply only to 1B, which explains why it's treated differently. The intent of the rules is to balance offense and defense with respect to advancing a runner to 2B.

[TwoBits]

Originally Posted by fongw2

All in all, I guess what bugs me the most is that I didn't just get a courtesy 'warning' and instead had to re-juggle my lineup again as my closer was now effectively 'out' and everyone around me had a 'huh?' look on their faces.

If the rules don't allow for a warning, then you don't get one. While I can't say whether the rule was properly applied by the umpires going off your description of the event, I do know that this is a case where coaches and players don't get a warning.