What is "Borderline"?

[MikeStrybel]

Originally Posted by Welpe

Borderline is technically illegal in that he's not coming to a full stop but it is so slight that it'd probably be picking nits to call it the first time he does it. This is the one you want to remind the pitcher to come to a full stop.

Do you really remind pitchers to come to a stop in Fed or NCAA rules ball? I worked with a guy who would tell a fielder to talk to his pitcher about coming to a stop. He finally got caught doing that and spent a few minutes tap dancing about why he was helping a team avoid breaking a rule to an irate coach.

The term borderline here means that the umpire didn't know how to respond. Call the balk unless the league allows warnings.