After the Cubs finished playing tonight (well, they finished playing long before the game was over...but anyways) I flipped to check the score of the Sox game before shutting off the TV. I was watching Hawkins from the Twins pitch, and it wasn't until later that I started thinking about his delivery.

He went into the stretch, took his sign, then brought his hands together about chin level, with ball in hand. He paused long enough that if he were to pitch, I would not call a balk on the fact that he did not "set" prior to the pitch. However, he then brought both hands lower, to about chest level, in what to me seems like a second set. I was under the impression that a "double set" was a balk. While I don't have the rulebook on my at this time (I will check next chance I have near the rulebook), I was wondering if anyone else saw him pitching (or has seen him pitch) and what they thought about it.

There are about 25 pitchers in the major leagues who use a similar approach in the set. By the letter of the law, it probably is a balk, but by now everyone knows that it won't be called, because of a number of reasons. Included in these are the fact that all of these balks would considerably slow down the game, and the fact that the set in no way deceives the baserunner.

Another version of this is the fact that Anaheim's Ben Weber pumps 3 times during his windup, and I think there's some goofy rule somewhere that says a maximum of 2 pumps are allowed. If that's the case, Weber hasn't thrown a legal pitch out of the windup since he's been in the league.

I had a high school pitcher in a fall league doing the same thing last night. And additionally...

At the exact same moment his hands came together at chin level, his non-pivot foot would come up next to his pivot foot and pause approximately 2 inches off the ground. The pause for for about a ½ second and then he would "drop" into his set position --- with his hands dropping from chin level to chest level and his foot dropping from just off the ground, to on the ground.

When I saw the motion, I thought of Louis Tiant who also had a multiple set type delivery, but was never called because it was always consistant. I decided that as long as this kid was consistant every single time, I would not make a call. I was trying to count seconds, "one thou" and that was all I could finish. I would estimate that his pause was always between ¼ and ½ second and he did it on every single pitch, even before a pick-off attempt. I never made a balk call.

They called Louis Tiant's stop a "stutter stop" as he changed the direction of his glove four or five times while going from his chin to his waist and then came to an "obvious and descernable" stop which is now required.

I don't think they outlawed the stutter stop, they just said that the up and down movement is not not an obvious and descernable stop.

I have not seen a pitcher use that mechanic but if I did I would have nothing, providing he came to an obvious and descernable stop after stuttering his way down. G.