Not a balk?

[VAUmp]

I was watching Jose De La Torre pitch for Puerto Rico last night.  When in the stretch, he would lift his front leg up and place it back on the ground three times before coming set.  To me, it seems that once his foot touches the ground and and he lifts it, if he doesn't go to the plate or to throw to an occupied base, it would be a balk.  I guess it wasn't a balk because it was never called.  Did anyone else see this? It just looks really strange to me.  Any thoughts?

[Rich Ives]

I was watching Jose De La Torre pitch for Puerto Rico last night.  When in the stretch, he would lift his front leg up and place it back on the ground three times before coming set.  To me, it seems that once his foot touches the ground and and he lifts it, if he doesn't go to the plate or to throw to an occupied base, it would be a balk.  I guess it wasn't a balk because it was never called.  Did anyone else see this? It just looks really strange to me.  Any thoughts?

 

Were his hands still moving?  If so he wasn't set yet and the move to set was continuous.

[VAUmp]

Yes, I guess that answers it.  I've just never saw anything like it before.  It just looked strange.

[JaxRolo]

Not sure if its the same person but I saw one guy triple set everytime. I don't know why it wasn't called

[Rich Ives]

Not sure if its the same person but I saw one guy triple set everytime. I don't know why it wasn't called

 

 

El Tiante.

[noumpere]

Yes, I guess that answers it.  I've just never saw anything like it before.  It just looked strange.

Lots of things that pro pitchers do lok strange and are let go at that level.  Of all the rules I thin this is probably the hardest to try to learn or understand by watching the pro game.

[carolinablue]

Yes, I guess that answers it.  I've just never saw anything like it before.  It just looked strange.

Lots of things that pro pitchers do lok strange and are let go at that level.  Of all the rules I thin this is probably the hardest to try to learn or understand by watching the pro game.

 

 

Yeah, but it makes you wonder how they ever made it that far pitching like that.

[dumbdumb]

Not sure if its the same person but I saw one guy triple set everytime. I don't know why it wasn't called

 

 

El Tiante.

+1

 

And this is where a poster that had a Coach talk about "as long as he does it every time", should now know where that comment came from. He wanted the MLB version enforced versus the league rule that he was in being enforced.

 

Obviously, over the years, baseball talks out 2 sides of their mouth. They want balks called, but they don't want balks called. Unless it is a balk that even the worst balk umpire ever would call, like dropping the ball on the mound, they don't want it called. Just play the game. Will never be 100 bases stolen again anyway with everbody just interested in home run ball and not little ball. Tough to get a good lead when everybody has to let spin moves, stepping to the 45 foot line rather than straight towards the base go, because baseball has no intestinal fortitude for calling these types of moves balks.

 

Baseball wants it, they get it. Until they can link getting back to little ball with more balks called with and more stolen bases that lead to more FIS (fannies in seats) they will continue to ask that these type balks be overlooked and come up with "they do it all the time" type explanations for not calling a balk.

[maineump]

Same issues now happening in the wind-up. Too many kids watching Daisuke Matsuzaka in his wind-up. Seems like many of the Japanese pitchers have that 'deliberate' motion.

The problem is, they don't really watch him. He does stay in motion through all of that garbage.

I see kids today either hang their legs or pause with their arms over their head.

Still a balk with runners on. Called a balk last year, with the bases loaded, and the coach went nuts. Got the usual line "he has been doing it all season", well that day he got caught. We have covered that in our board meetings - one motion.

On a funny note: Worked with a Japanese umpire (in LL) that called a Korean kid for hanging the leg  . Who'd a thunk it?

[JaxRolo]

Not sure if its the same person but I saw one guy triple set everytime. I don't know why it wasn't called

El Tiante.

A name from the past! I remember watching him pitch. One of my favorites.

[maineump]

Not sure if its the same person but I saw one guy triple set everytime. I don't know why it wasn't called

El Tiante.

A name from the past! I remember watching him pitch. One of my favorites.

He is still real active in baseball, does a lot of charity work and still does spring training gigs for the Red Sox. Used to love him looking into center field in his wind up. Wonder how many balks called on him in his career?

[yawetag]

Wonder how many balks called on him in his career?

 

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/t/tiantlu01.shtml

 

Four in his 19 years of professional baseball.