Balk call last night
 

I am seeking opinions regarding a balk call I made last night.

OBR - Runners on 1st & 3rd.

The pitcher comes set. The batter asks for “time” but I say “no, stay in the box”. As the pitcher begins his delivery the batter steps out of the box. The pitcher holds up and does not throw the ball. I call “balk”.

After I explain to the defensive coach that I had not called “Time” everything was fine.

After the game one of my partners said that I should not have called a balk in this situation. He said that the actions of the batter caused the balk and I should not have “rewarded” his actions. I was taught that it is the pitcher's job to throw the ball regardless of what the batter does.

Was I correct?

Your partner was right. Call time, reset, do over. For FED ball, if the batter steps out with both feet, you call a dead-ball strike (7-3-1).

OBR 6.02 COMMENT:
"If after the pitcher starts his windup or comes to a “set position” with a runner on, he does not go
through with his pitch because the batter has stepped out of the box, it shall not be called a balk. Both the
pitcher and batter have violated a rule and the umpire shall call time and both the batter and pitcher start
over from “scratch.”"

FED 6-2-4-d1:
"If the pitcher, with a runner on base, stops or hesitates in his delivery
because the batter steps out of the box (a) with one foot or (b) with
both feet or (c) holds up his hand to request “Time,” it shall not be a
balk."

"I was taught that it is the pitcher's job to throw the ball regardless of what the batter does."

This was good instruction if you received it as a player or coach. This was bad instruction if you received it as an umpire.
Called the dirty balk and used to score R3 when umpires don't know the rules.

OUCH! Kicked that one. Thanks for the feedback.

I am amazed at how many umpires don't know this rule. I had to explain it to a partner just last weekend when we were talking about it after a game.

Did you kick it or did the people who trained you kick it?

You're welcome. You'll own it now!

The more games you do and the more partners you work with, the more you will find this to be true for many rules. Having said that I believe it is more prominent at the HS and below level than College and above. But I have been proven wrong at those levels also, just not as much.

Just like every other thing that people do. There is the good, the bad and the ugly.

The NFHS Casebook Play cited above goes on to say that the Batter shall be charge with a Dead Ball strike for (b).

MTD, Sr.

When a batter steps out of the box and a pitch is delivered, I have nothing to gauge the pitch with, so as long as it's not in the dirt, it's a strike.

Mark, I pointed that out in the first line of my post. :)

You could have avoided the whole thing by just granting time! I have learned that not calling time just complicates matters.

Yes you can grant a request while the Pitcher is in the Set position, but sometimes a situation does not allow for it because the Defense may be starting a defensive play and to grant the Batter's request for a Timeout would negate the Defensive Team's play and none of us want to give one team an advantage it is not entitled to have.

If the Pitcher has started his Pitching Motion then the PU should never grant a Batter's request for a Timeout.

MTD, Sr.

As in many things, benefit of the doubt to the defense. I will not grant time if the pitcher has started his motion.

And where did I say I would?

I was speaking about the OP, and the OP stated the pitcher came set, not started his motion.

Also, I error on the side of safety. IMO I would rather kill a play than allow a play to continue with possible distractions. Ex: The pitcher comes set. The batter asks for “time” but I say “no, stay in the box”. As the pitcher begins his delivery the batter steps out of the box. The pitcher holds up and does not throw the ball. I call “balk”.

All that confusion:confused:And you call a balk? Instead of just killing it?

Also, what if the kids contact came out, or a bug flew in his eye. Better to kill it while the pitcher is still set than to have him fire a fastball and hit the temporarily blind batter in the face or stop in the middle of a pitch and pull something because the batter stepped out from being stung in the eye from a bee:cool: