Stretch to stop or pause

[SanDiegoSteve]

All codes say "Complete stop." No pause mentioned in rules of baseball. A pause is not enough. Anything less than a complete stop is unacceptable. Think stop sign in a motor vehicle: If you bump through it or roll through it, they give you a ticket. Your wheels have to come to a complete stop before taking off again. It's a balk in baseball.

[Rich]

Originally Posted by SanDiegoSteve

All codes say "Complete stop." No pause mentioned in rules of baseball. A pause is not enough. Anything less than a complete stop is unacceptable. Think stop sign in a motor vehicle: If you bump through it or roll through it, they give you a ticket. Your wheels have to come to a complete stop before taking off again. It's a balk in baseball.

Coaches think this goes the other direction -- not only must there be a complete stop, but there must be a pause (of some length) after the complete stop. That is incorrect. As long as I can discern a stop, it's legal.

[mbyron]

Originally Posted by GROUPthink

Coaches think this goes the other direction -- not only must there be a complete stop, but there must be a pause (of some length) after the complete stop. That is incorrect. As long as I can discern a stop, it's legal.

I, too, think of a pause as longer than a stop. Every so often I'll hear a coach demand a "1 second pause" or some such nonsense.

The most common "no stop" balk I call is the one where he bounces through the stop. Changing direction alone does not constitute a discernible stop.

[CT1]

Originally Posted by mbyron

I, too, think of a pause as longer than a stop. Every so often I'll hear a coach demand a "1 second pause" or some such nonsense.

Must be a football coach doing double duty.

The most common "no stop" balk I call is the one where he bounces through the stop. Changing direction alone does not constitute a discernible stop.

Any more. For a period of time, the NCAA considered a 180* change of direction to be a legal stop.

[mbyron]

Originally Posted by CT1

Must be a football coach doing double duty.

Ha! Illegal shift! Next time I'll flag it instead of balking it!

Originally Posted by CT1

Any more. For a period of time, the NCAA considered a 180* change of direction to be a legal stop.

Pro ball had it too, I believe. Discernible stop is where it's at now, man!

[Rich Ives]

Originally Posted by mbyron

I Every so often I'll hear a coach demand a "1 second pause" or some such nonsense.

.

It's not entirely nonsense because at one time a 1 second pause was required. They knew the rule but not that it had been changed.

[Publius]

Is a leg moving contemporaneously with the hands? Balk. Otherwise, not.

[Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.]

I would give the pitchers on my sons baseball teams a lesson on what they could and could not do when in contact with the pitcher's plate as well as to engage and disengage the pitcher's plate.

When it came to teaching them how to come to a complet and discernable stop, I told them to count to 1 and 7/8's by 9th's.

MTD, Sr.

[MrUmpire]

Originally Posted by Rich Ives

It's not entirely nonsense because at one time a 1 second pause was required. They knew the rule but not that it had been changed.

The one second pause was eliminated in OBR in 1964...48 years ago. it's more likely that are believing a modern day myth than that they "knew the rule but not that that it had been changed."