Pick off play at 1B
 

This weekend at the annual Labor Day family reunion picnic the following occurred. My dad is a right handed thrower and on the mound proceeds to give up a beauty bunt single to my little brother who overruns 1B and twists his ankle. My stepmom comes on as the pinch runner and is the tying run with 2 outs in the last inning. The right handed pitcher then comes set with his chest facing 1b and his left foot on the rubber like a left handed pitcher would normally do. He then proceeds to step off with his left foot and does a snap throw to 1B with his inside right hand and picks off my step mom bigger than life. The place erupts and I am not quite sure if we will continue to play baseball at our picnics anymore after that heated argument. Was this a legal pick off play?

BALK!!

MTD, Sr.

Was he wearing a glove?

In order to answer this I need to know what kind of cobbler was served at this picnic?

The legality of this play is dependent on many factors, primarily the probability of sleeping on the couch for the next month.

Yes wearing a glove on his left hand as usual and came set like usual as well. Then stepped back with his left foot and snapped throw with right hand. Why is this a balk. He was adamant everything was done by the rules.Told my mom once he steps off he becomes an infielder therefore how can infielders deceive runners he yelled.

simulating a pitching motion while not on the rubber.

For FED, see 6.1.3L

Glove on his left hand means he was pitching right-handed. Therefore his right foot would be his pivot foot and to be in contact he would have to have his right foot on the rubber. He didn't so he was simulating a pitch while not in contact. Balk.

He was not on the rubber because he contacted the rubber with his non pivot foot, not his pivot foot. This was a balk as soon as he stared doing pitching motions while not proerly in contact with the rubber, (looking for sign, scratching, stretch, etc.).

I had a youth coach a few years ago adamantly insist he had found this flaw in the rule a few years ago... Windup position with the non pivit foot on the rubber, pivot behind the rubber, start to hind up, stepping back with the non pivot foot, then pickoff the runner at 3rd...(Love it when a dad thinks he has found a loophole in the rule and teached a kid to cheat...)

Fed 2.28.6 defines pivot foot, so Dad cannot just say his left foort was his pivot foot.

OBR 2.00 The pitcher’s PIVOT FOOT is that foot which is in contact with the pitcher’s plate as he delivers the pitch.

It seems to me this is key: "Glove on his left hand means he was pitching right-handed." Is there rule support for this?

Also, is it even possible to pitch from this position? (I mean physically). And assuming further he could physically deliver the ball to the catcher using his right hand from this position, would that violate any other pitching proscriptions?

1) Under the ambidextrous pitcher / batter rules, there's a clause (or an interp) that the pitcher can "declare" by placing the glove on one hand or the other.

2) Sure. Lots of two year olds first step "goofy footed" when they are learning to throw.

You're not going to see it in MLB, so maybe it's just one of the omissions in OBR.

Now after watching the replay since it all happened so fast. The glove was on his right hand but ahh was pulled up so it was more so attached to his forearm/wrist and the ball then was between both hands.

You think he's going to pitch from the glove? :)

8.01(f ) A pitcher must indicate visually to the umpire-in-chief, the batter and any runners the hand with which he intends to pitch, which may be done by wearing his glove on the other hand while touching the pitcher’s plate.