grayhawk

I never said it was physically "impossible." You left out the part where I said "in any useful way." There is simply NO reason to do what you suggest. ZERO. Why, on earth, would any pitcher do this? What would he gain? The rules don't specifically address this (nor many other things you seem to ask about), because it's just absurd for anyone to do it. The rules also don't address pitching with a parrot on your shoulder. Is it legal?

He literally breaks contact every single time. It's exactly as I say it was - human legs cannot twist in a way to make a legal step to 2B and stay engaged with the rubber in any useful way. You are chasing ghosts.

Yup. It's like Jack is trying to understand the game of baseball exclusively through the rule book without ever actually watching a game.

That was my answer before all of this ridiculousness started. Pitchers NEVER EVER EVER do this. They are made of bones and ligaments, not just cartilage. Making a legal step and feint to 2B using the inside move and staying in contact with the rubber would be absurd. Good way to break an ankle.

You don't need coffee to answer his questions. You need Shrooms.

Welcome back to the brotherhood!

I like them too. The first one definitely puts some certainty into a rule with too much ambiguity. The second one establishes a procedure that was inconsistently officiated in previous seasons. Good on Randy.

As we can see because of the indictments this year, players are much more likely to be on the take than umpires so ABS does nothing to deter game rigging. To all the fans that think umpires are the bad guys here, it may soothe some feels.

And the reason for this is that it's a clock violation for not making a legitimate attempt to retire the runner.

In 15 years, I have never seen it. Really, try to do this. Gain ground to 2B with your free foot and stay on the rubber. Beware, however. You might tear a ligament. This is baseball, not Twister. It is unrealistic.

It's not realistic. There are two ways to feint to 2B. The inside move and the reverse pivot. In either case, the pitcher will break contact with the rubber which is the same as disengaging. I know they call it the "Spaghetti move," but pitchers aren't really made of spaghetti.

If there is no visible clock, the umpire keeping the timer should be informing the plate umpire when there is 30 seconds remaining (40 is better), and then 15 seconds remaining. When the 30 second signal is given, and then again at 15 seconds, the plate umpire should inform the pitcher, catcher and batter with a clear verbal announcement. This puts everyone on notice equally. I've yet to see a disparity in bullpen locations that creates much of an advantage for one team over the other. A few seconds shouldn't matter. Start the 2:00 clock at at the end of the half inning, but stay alert to see if a new pitcher is entering. If there is, then restart the clock at 2:30 when they cross the warning track.

Can't believe this was even in question. Classic lodged ball.

Yup. Stuff happens. It's an imperfect game. Sometimes you benefit, and sometimes the other team does. So many have said R1 couldn't hear the verbal anyway, so it not being concurrent seems irrelevant. And whether he ignored, missed, failed to notice, or even overlooked the strike mechanic, there is simply no excuse for not staying at 1B until he was certain he could advance. He was clearly confused, so be confused on the bag, not 20 feet off of it.

So...