Balk?

[Steven Tyler]

Then again Hickcox sold the hell out of an out tag at home after the ball sailed over the catcher's head, and went to the backstop.

[Matt]

Originally Posted by mbcrowder

Agreed ... and I believe that we have to assume that the fact that he DID make a legitimate play on the runner (in time for the out, no less), he was in fact "close enough" to make such a play.

Uh, no. Did you see how far he had to move to make the play?

[Manny A]

Originally Posted by mbcrowder

NF = National Federation (as in ... "of High Schools") You've been here a while - very surprised you haven't seen that abbreviation.

Mike, don't let my Join Date fool you. As of until June or so, I hadn't visited this board for nearly five years.

I kinda figured that's what "NF" stood for. But since there are so many differences between OBR and FED when it comes to the balk rule, I didn't think what the big boys did on the pro field made much of an impact on high school umpires.

[MD Longhorn]

Originally Posted by Matt

Uh, no. Did you see how far he had to move to make the play?

Yes I did. Quite a ways... but how could one say that he was too far away to make a legitimate play when he did, in fact, make and ACTUAL play?

[Manny A]

Originally Posted by mbcrowder

Yes I did. Quite a ways... but how could one say that he was too far away to make a legitimate play when he did, in fact, make and ACTUAL play?

I think that's Matt's point. F3 couldn't make a play initially, which I believe is the thought behind the MLB guidance on balking this scenario. The moment F3 caught the ball, he still had to take two or three steps before he was close enough to make that actual play.

I mentioned an extreme example earlier, where F3 is playing way in for the bunt. If F1 throws to him, and then F3 has to run a significant distance to make the tag on R1, that would be a clear case where F3 wasn't initially positioned to make a play on R1.

On the play in question, F3 was much closer to R1 than in my example. But he still had to move an appreciable distance to make the tag attempt (which, if memory serves, is required to be considered a "play"). That's enough to judge that F3 wasn't in position to make a play when he received the ball.

[SAump]

Sheesh, those umpires erred. That was not a balk. Both are BAD calls and embarrassing to the profession.

Of course, I didn't hear the word protest come UP, so I guess I can't lean on the umpires too hard.

Here's a balk: http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=3287297

[Rita C]

Originally Posted by SAump

Sheesh, those umpires erred. That was not a balk.

No wonder, they made up for it when Peavy balks during a first to third move in another thread.

Both are BAD calls and embarrassing to the profession.

Of course, I didn't hear the word protest come UP, so I guess I can't lean on the umpires too hard.

Just to get my point across, would you balk the center fielder if he ran into second base in an attempt to pick off the only runner from second base and the pitcher threw him the ball before he stepped into the infield and he tagged the runner out?

Nope. I only balk pitchers.

Rita

[Rich]

Originally Posted by SAump

Sheesh, those umpires erred. That was not a balk.

No wonder, they made up for it when Peavy balks during a first to third move in another thread.

Both are BAD calls and embarrassing to the profession.

Of course, I didn't hear the word protest come UP, so I guess I can't lean on the umpires too hard.

Just to get my point across, would you balk the center fielder if he ran into second base in an attempt to pick off the only runner from second base and the pitcher threw him the ball before he stepped into the infield and he tagged the runner out?

It's amazing how much this post comes across as completely clueless. There is quite a difference between throwing to first and throwing to any other base.

[SAump]

In the umpires judgement, the throw was off line. In the umpires judgement, there was no play being made at first base.

The first baseman may play off the bag within the cutout. It also qualifies as within proximity of the base. The first baseman may play in front or beside the runner. The first baseman may stand still or flat footed before the throw to screen the runner and he may step back to first (2 steps) ahead of the runner. This is a legal pick off attempt. Get it right next time!

[Rich Ives]

Originally Posted by Rich

It's amazing how much this post comes across as completely clueless. There is quite a difference between throwing to first and throwing to any other base.

There's a reason for the ignore list.

[maven]

Originally Posted by Rich Ives

There's a reason for the ignore list.

He can't use that anymore.