Balk or not

[justanotherblue]

Actually you might see one of three ways on a jump turn that the pitcher balks. As mentioned, he doesn't throw, he throws while still in the air, or as I mentioned, he fails to gain ground. It's not uncommon during a jump turn that the free foot will rotate around and land behind where the pivot foot was during his initial set. Hence, not gaining distance toward 1B and a balk. It's not one I generally look for however if a pitcher is using a jump turn exclusively, I tend to pay more attention to his feet position. I'll bet a dollar to a doughnut you'll see it this coming season.