Righty Move to First

[Guest Young N.J. Ump]

With a runner on first and the pitcher in the set position.  The pitcher literally opened his shoulders and stepped to first as far as he could an threw to first in a pickoff attempt while his pivot foot was still in the same position on the rubber.  After the play I called time as it was 11 year olds and just explained to him he has to do something with his pivot when attempting a pick off at first base I.e. jump turn or stepping off.  In between innings the home plate umpire was adamant that I was wrong and went as far as to tell me he would allow that in a high school game.  I had never seen a player do this but even before it’s a balk on the throw you could also call a balk on the pitcher turning his shoulders while still engaged. Am I wrong?  

[Richvee]

Re-read the pitching rules. All he needs to do is step towards 1B to throw there. There's nothing in any rule set that says anything about what the pivot foot must do on a throw to a base. As long as he steps towards the base with his free foot. Of course his shoulders turn when he throws to 1B. Turning the shoulders from the set position WITHOUT A STEP AND THROW is a balk because it is considered a feint to first.

Remember, just because it looks weird doesn't make it a balk.

[Jimurray]

1 hour ago, Guest Young N.J. Ump said:

With a runner on first and the pitcher in the set position.  The pitcher literally opened his shoulders and stepped to first as far as he could an threw to first in a pickoff attempt while his pivot foot was still in the same position on the rubber.  After the play I called time as it was 11 year olds and just explained to him he has to do something with his pivot when attempting a pick off at first base I.e. jump turn or stepping off.  In between innings the home plate umpire was adamant that I was wrong and went as far as to tell me he would allow that in a high school game.  I had never seen a player do this but even before it’s a balk on the throw you could also call a balk on the pitcher turning his shoulders while still engaged. Am I wrong?  

You were not wrong. You were wrongly trained or not trained at all. Your if your partner was adament it was either because he was not of the mind to educate you or you were not of the mind to be educated by him. Since he waited to try educate you between innings I think he was trying to educate you 

 

[noumpere]

11 hours ago, Guest Young N.J. Ump said:

With a runner on first and the pitcher in the set position.  The pitcher literally opened his shoulders and stepped to first as far as he could an threw to first in a pickoff attempt while his pivot foot was still in the same position on the rubber.  After the play I called time as it was 11 year olds and just explained to him he has to do something with his pivot when attempting a pick off at first base I.e. jump turn or stepping off.  In between innings the home plate umpire was adamant that I was wrong and went as far as to tell me he would allow that in a high school game.  I had never seen a player do this but even before it’s a balk on the throw you could also call a balk on the pitcher turning his shoulders while still engaged. Am I wrong?  

It's not what we don't know that gets us in trouble.  IT's what we know for certain that just ain't so.

 

The good news is, you're smarter now, and it's not a "habit" type issue -- so it's easy to correct and get right next time.

[maven]

2 hours ago, noumpere said:

It's not what we don't know that gets us in trouble.  IT's what we know for certain that just ain't so.

Paraphrasing Twain and not citing him? Two strikes! "It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so."

To the OP: remember that no rule states that, "If you've never seen it, then it's illegal." That's the case despite what most coaches seem to think. Better to learn the rules.

[Guest Den.]

6 hours ago, maven said:

Paraphrasing Twain and not citing him? Two strikes! "It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so."

Strike three!

https://quoteinvestigator.com/2015/05/30/better-know/

"In conclusion, Josh Billings popularized this saying, and he included it in his 1874 collection “Everybody’s Friend”. Numerous divergent instances have been circulating for many decades. QI recommends the 1874 version because it was published under the imprimatur of Billings."

[noumpere]

6 hours ago, maven said:

Paraphrasing Twain

What umpire school did he establish?