Balking Bob
 

Did anybody happen to see the balk Bob Davidson called on a Milwaukee pitcher tonight? I can't find any video.

All I saw was the pitcher break his hands, and step off the rubber with his pivot foot. The only thing I can think of was there was a start/stop before I saw what the pitcher did.

I'm trying to find out what the pitcher was actually balked for.

If he separates his hands BEFORE stepping off that is a balk.

You must step off of the rubber before breaking your hands. If he broke his hands first, it's a balk.

Having said that, Bob Davidson tends to detect balks where no other mortal can detect them. I think he can actually sense when a pitcher is thinking about balking and call it preemptively.

1+

His hands weren't together yet. According to the announcers he started his stretch and then stepped off. The video shows his pitching arm starting forward slightly to come set and then he stepped off.
I thought you could step off during your stretch. It may be that the arm stopped for a millisecond before he stepped off so that became the "started and stopped."

Any video?

I have the MLB subscription. Can't capture it for you. TX - Brewers 8/14, bottom 3, Leonys Martin at bat.

I do too. I'll look it up.

From what I saw, it looked like he was starting a stretch to come set, broke his hands, and stepped off the rubber sort of slowly.

I only saw one short replay, but didn't see anything that looked like a balk. I was curious if he did something prior to the balk call, and just stopped his motion when it was called.

8.05(a)?

But he never stopped his motion. Believe me, if I could find some video. It wouldn't look like a balk. It might have been, but in real time it doesn't to me.

I suppose at that level, and with Davidson behind the plate it was something I wouldn't notice from behind the plate.

He had not come set yet. His hands were at his sides. The pitching arm might have had a slight twitch toward coming set as or just before he stepped off. He also starts open and his torso comes closed when he sets. Davidson either had the arm twitch and/or the very slight torso rotation as the start and stop before he started to step off. Only Bob would see that.

That's for sure. Sorry I couldn't dig up video.

On a side note, I saw someone very similar to Joe West come out of an all you can eat place by Ranger's Ballpark. It just happens he was in town at the time. The guy had more heft than Joe though.