BALKS: PART ONE
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This is by far the most thorough section of this site, and for good reason! Younger umpires and the vast majority of baseball fans are completely in the dark when it comes to balks, and it's time to fix that. At the bottom of this page is a 13-minute video compilation of balks, and you'll be able to spot every single one of them, guaranteed. A young or inexperienced umpire does not have a firm grasp on balks; we've all been there. Take your time reading this section. Then come back next week and read it again. Wait another week...and read it again.
First, let's look at the two legal pitching positions:
THE WINDUP POSITION
(1) The pitcher shall stand facing the batter, his pivot foot in contact with the pitcher’s plate and the other foot free. From this position any natural movement associated with his delivery of the ball to the batter commits him to the pitch without interruption or alteration. He shall not raise either foot from the ground, except that in his actual delivery of the ball to the batter, he may take one step backward, and one step forward with his free foot.
When a pitcher holds the ball with both hands in front of his body, with his pivot foot in contact with the pitcher’s plate and his other foot free, he will be considered in the Windup Position.
In the Windup Position, the pitcher is permitted to have his “free” foot on the rubber, in front of the rubber, behind the rubber or off the side of the rubber. The "free" foot may also be refereed to as the pitcher's "non-pivot foot." These terms are interchangeable.
IMAGE #1: Mitch Keller, a right-handed pitcher, in the Windup Position. His pivot foot is in contact with the rubber, his hands are together in front of him (not seen from this angle), and his free foot appears to be on the rubber. From this position, Keller can do one of three things: deliver a pitch, step directly toward a base to make a play on a runner, or disengage the rubber with his pivot foot. Remember: pivot foot is the same as the throwing arm. A right-handed pitcher's pivot foot is his right foot.
IMAGE #2: Keller has taken a small step forward with his free foot and has begun his Windup motion to the plate, committing himself to throwing a pitch. Because this commits him to throwing a pitch, pitchers will use the Set Position described below when there are runners on base. The rules say the pitcher "may take one step backward, and one step forward with his free foot." Yes, Keller is not stepping backward here, but he has now established this as the first step of his windup motion.
IMAGE #3: Keller is now preparing to take a step forward with his free foot in his delivery of the pitch.
IMAGE #4: Keller has taken his step and delivered the pitch.
THE SET POSITION
Set Position shall be indicated by the pitcher when he stands facing the batter with his pivot foot in contact with, and his other foot in front of, the pitcher’s plate, holding the ball in both hands in front of his body and coming to a complete stop. From such Set Position he may deliver the ball to the batter, throw to a base or step backward off the pitcher’s plate with his pivot foot. Before assuming Set Position, the pitcher may elect to make any natural preliminary motion such as that known as “the stretch.” But if he so elects, he shall come to Set Position before delivering the ball to the batter. After assuming Set Position, any natural motion associated with his delivery of the ball to the batter commits him to the pitch without alteration or interruption.
Preparatory to coming to a set position, the pitcher shall have one hand on his side; from this position he shall go to his set position without interruption and in one continuous motion.
The pitcher, following his stretch, must (a) hold the ball in both hands in front of his body and (b) come to a complete stop. This must be enforced. Umpires should watch this closely. Pitchers are constantly attempting to “beat the rule” in their efforts to hold runners on bases and in cases where the pitcher fails to make a complete “stop” called for in the rules, the umpire should immediately call a “Balk.”
At any time during the pitcher’s preliminary [“stretch”] movements and until his natural pitching motion commits him to the pitch, he may throw to any base provided he steps directly toward such base before making the throw.
IMAGE #1: Right-handed pitcher Johnny Cueto is on the rubber. Before he can come to the Set Position, he must have one hand on his side, as seen here. We will call this is the “preparatory” position.
IMAGE #2: Johnny Cueto has now come to the Set Position and must come to a complete stop with his hands together in front of his body. Cueto’s motions that take him from the preparatory position in IMAGE #1 to the Set Position seen in IMAGE #2 (these motions are referred to as “the stretch”) must be done without interruption and in one continuous motion -- however, he can stop his stretch motion to pick off a runner, but still all in one motion. Violation of this rule is one of the two most common balks you see in Major League Baseball.
From the Set Position pictured here, Cueto can do one of three things: deliver a pitch to the batter, step directly to a base in an attempt to make a play on a runner (must throw to first and third in doing so, but can fake his throw to second), or he can step off the back of the rubber with his pivot foot. He may move his head, but movement by any other part of his body must be a part of one of those three actions.
Definition of Terms: A BALK is an illegal act by the pitcher with a runner or runners on base, entitling all runners to advance one base.
Comment: Umpires should bear in mind that the purpose of the balk rule is to prevent the pitcher from deliberately deceiving the base runner. If there is doubt in the umpire’s mind, the “intent” of the pitcher should govern. However, the umpire should be able to cite what balk violation has occurred. Simply using a deceiving move, without context, is not a balk.
See BASE AWARDS for the balk penalty.
Let's start looking at balks...
RULE 6.02(a) - If there is a runner, or runners, it is a balk when…
(1) - The pitcher, while touching his plate, makes any motion naturally associated with his pitch and fails to make such delivery.
The phrase “naturally associated” seems ambiguous at first, but you'll see it's crystal clear.
Here’s a balk from the Windup Position. Typically when there is a runner on third base and no runner on first base (or runners at second or third, or the bases are loaded), the pitcher will elect to work from the Windup instead of the Set Position since the runner at third can’t really go anywhere unless he wants to steal home. If there are runners at first and third and the pitcher works from the Windup, the runner can break for second base as soon as the pitcher begins his Windup, and it’s an easy steal. In this video, the pitcher swings his free foot backward to begin his Windup motion and then stops. It’s a very easy call to make. The manager comes out to argue, and the plate umpire can’t help but have a smile on his face because of how obvious the balk is.
The pitcher is preparing to deliver a pitch to the batter, slips, and fails to throw the ball. It’s a balk.
The pitcher has come to the Set Position. He moves his shoulders seemingly to begin a pitch to the plate but then stops. He attempted to hurry up and restart his motion, but the balk was obvious. The balk must be called, however small the flinch may be. It’s the slightest of movements that runners look for when deciding to steal a base. The rules MUST be enforced.
This one happens so fast that it’s scary the first-base umpire was able to catch it. You’ll see in the replay halfway through this video that the pitcher’s free foot moves ever so slightly toward the plate after coming to the Set Position, which means he has committed himself to a pitch. If you watch the runner in the background, you’ll see he interpreted the leg movement as a motion toward home, as well.
Yes, granted, a pitcher's front knee will bend a little when performing a spin move; that's just anatomy and physics. When pitchers take advantage of that inherent leeway is when they get balked.
Here’s the same situation as the previous video, objectively more noticeable, except the umpires are not calling the balk. It leads to a manager being ejected.
Braves pitcher Julio Teheran, a right-hander, was among the league leaders in pickoffs for years. He utilizes the spin move, and it’s deadly. He doesn’t raise his free foot off the ground as he begins his spin. However, using the slow-motion feature on YouTube, you can see he lifts the heel of his free foot ever so slightly. This is technically a balk. The fact that you can barely see it using slow-motion obviously means it is crazy-fast. And this is no accident; the heel lift is a practiced, calculated part of his pickoff move. In the compilation at the bottom of this page, an umpire balks him for it.
RULE 5.09(a)(2) - Preparatory to coming to a set position, the pitcher shall have one hand on his side; from this position he shall go to his set position without interruption and in one continuous motion.
This is the balk we talked about in the Cueto images. Pitchers beginning their “stretch” motion and stopping before coming to the set position. They'll usually try to step off the rubber real quick and be like, "What? What'd I do?!" If you’ve been following along, you'll spot these easily. A "flinch and stop."
(2) - It is a balk when… the pitcher, while touching his plate, feints a throw to first or third base and fails to complete the throw.
Have you ever wondered why a left-handed pitcher who obviously sees a runner stealing second base still completes his throw to first base? It is because of this rule.
NOTE: Right-handed pitchers used to be able to step and fake to third from the set position then whip around and throw to first base, but MLB has nixed that.
(3) - It is a balk when… the pitcher, while touching his plate, fails to step directly toward a base before throwing to that base.
Comment: Requires the pitcher, while touching his plate, to step directly toward a base before throwing to that base. If a pitcher turns or spins off of his free foot without actually stepping or if he turns his body and throws before stepping, it is a balk. It is legal for a pitcher to feint a throw to second base.
When a right-handed pitcher performs the "spin move," he is deemed to be in contact with the rubber, so all “while touching his plate” balk rules still apply to him. We will cover this spin move below.
In regard to the Comment, a right-handed pitcher in the Set Position, while on the rubber, using his free (front) foot to spin toward first has not committed a balk as long as he still steps to first and does not fake the throw. And this Comment clarifies that a pitcher is allowed to fake a throw to second base, but he still must step toward the base in doing so.
This is a good example of a right-handed pitcher not stepping toward a base before throwing to the base. The pitcher simply lifted his foot and put it back down. The pitcher must step toward the base.
Here’s a look at the balk rule in the (3) Comment, the spin move. The pitcher is on the rubber, uses his free foot to spin, and still steps toward first base before releasing the throw. This is a good pickoff move, even though in this clip the pickoff attempt itself is done tongue-in-cheek. And when it comes to the second pickoff move in this video, the pitcher steps off the back of the rubber with his pivot foot, freeing himself from all of the “while touching his plate” balk rules listed here. This is why a pitcher will hastily step off the back of the rubber if he’s feeling the pressure or just wants to take a quick breather. Staying on the rubber leaves a pitcher vulnerable to the vast majority of the balk rules.
Another legal quick spin throw to first base. Click the “gear” icon in the YouTube video window and set the playback to be in slow-motion. Gerritt Cole legally performs the move to the letter. He spins off the free foot and steps ahead of his throw. And he’s pretty quick with it.
MOVE AHEAD TO BALKS: PART TWO
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