Stolen Base while Pitcher in set position

[Guest Bart S]

Less than 2 outs runner on first. The pitcher goes to the set position and is holding while the runner steals 2nd base and touches before the pitcher delivers the pitch.  A batted ball is caught by a fielder. Does the runner have to retouch 1st base ??

[noumpere]

The runner reached second before the Time of Pitch (that is, before the pitcher made a motion associated with his pitch).  Thus, the base the runner needs to "retouch" is Second, not First.

[Rich Ives]

21 minutes ago, Guest Bart S said:

Less than 2 outs runner on first. The pitcher goes to the set position and is holding while the runner steals 2nd base and touches before the pitcher delivers the pitch.  A batted ball is caught by a fielder. Does the runner have to retouch 1st base ??

Not sure what is meant in the OP by "delivers the pitch".

In this play it's about when the pitching motion starts, not when the pitch is actually released.

If after coming set he started his pitching motion before the runner touched 2B the runner has to retouch.

If after coming set he did not start his pitching motion before the runner touched 2B the runner does not have to retouch.

[Guest Bart S]

Yeah my question basically boils down to actions of the pitcher (stretch, etc.) that occur prior to the set position.  Whether that is considered part of the "delivery" when considering the runners obligation to retouch.  So if he makes it to second base when he ran during the "stretch", touching 2nd during the "set" before the pitcher throws to the plate.  This happened during a game I was watching (high school) and there was a short pop-up in shallow centerfield which ended up dropping anyways but it brought the thought into my mind.  It generated some discussion but not a definitive answer in my mind.

[MikeSafari]

14 minutes ago, Guest Bart S said:

Yeah my question basically boils down to actions of the pitcher (stretch, etc.) that occur prior to the set position.  Whether that is considered part of the "delivery" when considering the runners obligation to retouch.  So if he makes it to second base when he ran during the "stretch", touching 2nd during the "set" before the pitcher throws to the plate.  This happened during a game I was watching (high school) and there was a short pop-up in shallow centerfield which ended up dropping anyways but it brought the thought into my mind.  It generated some discussion but not a definitive answer in my mind.

Before coming set, he's not making a motion associated with his delivery (at least, he shouldn't be, but we have other rules for that). So what we're looking at here is at what point the delivery starts relative to the runner reaching second base.

If the umpire(s) determined that he started his delivery (i.e. the time of the pitch) before the runner reached second base, then the runner would have to retouch first base. If they determined that the runner had successfully attained second base before the delivery was started, then he would not need to retouch first, but could touch second and try to advance if he so desired.