Ask UEFL - Tampa Flinches as Cincinnati Walks Off on Balk

[Lindsay]

As quickly as a glove rises and falls, Cincinnati won its extra-inning game against Tampa Bay thanks to a walk-off balk by Rays pitcher Matt Wisler, but was HP Umpire Edwin Moscoso's call the correct one? In this Ask the UEFL, we thumb through MLB's rulebook concerning legal and illegal pitching...

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[The Man in Blue]

The other thread was closed for the ... uhhhh ... conversation here?  🤨

 

Anyway ... if you ONLY watch the balk call and live in a vacuum, you would easily fall on the wrong side of this.  That single action was not why it was called a balk.

Go to about 47-48 seconds into @Lindsay's video and you will see his natural pitching motion.  He does that glove flip when he begins to go from stretch to set.  Do that often enough, it is your "natural" pitching motion.  Do the glove flip (the start of your pitching motion) and don't come set ... balk.

The bigger bee in my bonnet ... the reference to "don't do that" rules.  If there is no penalty, there is no rule to enforce.  Pitcher does "that thing" and you say "Don't do that."  Pitcher does "that thing" again.  You say "Don't do that."  Pitcher does "that thing" again.  You say "Don't do that."  ... and on and on and on and on.  I guess you eject him for disobeying an order from the umpire?