Are you calling a Balk?

[SanDiegoSteve]

Originally Posted by jicecone

As far as the balks, I agree that it can be a learning process by calling all of them, whether technical or mechanical, its discretion and I continue to refine even that, if I think it will make me a better official. Not just because some has told me too. There are often some different schools of thought on it and I was just trying get some more opinions from others.

Thanks

I will continue to argue that neither one were technical. The runner in each case is illegally deceived by both taking the hand out of the glove in the former and by stepping off with the free foot in the latter. In each case, the runner is put at a HUGE disadvantage. What would you have done in Play #2 if after the pitcher stepped off, the runner decided to steal and the pitcher threw him out at the base? Go back and say "Oh, that was a balk, by the way?" Just wondering what your reasoning is for considering either of these balks "technical," when each one has effectively killed the runner's chances of a stolen base.