Walk off balk in championship game

[grayhawk]

Southern California CIF Division 3 Regional final walk-off balk. 
 

 

[Jimurray]

8 minutes ago, grayhawk said:

Southern California CIF Division 3 Regional final walk-off balk. 
 

 

I have an acceptable set when he puts his hands together. I have the elbow then moving in the start of his delivery. Do we have other video of his delivery from the set where we could confirm if tha elbow moved in every delivery.

[johnnyg08]

Eeeek. 

Maybe a little tight. 

 

[grayhawk]

1 hour ago, Jimurray said:

Do we have other video of his delivery from the set where we could confirm if tha elbow moved in every delivery.

Not that I know of.

[JonnyCat]

I don't know that I'd have a balk on that one.

[grayhawk]

8 minutes ago, JonnyCat said:

I don't know that I'd have a balk on that one.

As we often say, call the elephants, ignore the mice (especially when the mouse balks in a run, much less the winning run in a championship game).

[Jimurray]

5 minutes ago, grayhawk said:

As we often say, call the elephants, ignore the mice (especially when the mouse balks in a run, much less the winning run in a championship game).

Maybe he had pro training and experience. MLB umpires notch their bedpost when they balk in a run.

[maven]

I'd call that balk to end a game. Mid-August meaningless fall ball game, 106°, bottom of the 19th inning, nobody has any pitching left.

Otherwise, I don't see it. 

[The Man in Blue]

13 hours ago, Jimurray said:

I have an acceptable set when he puts his hands together. I have the elbow then moving in the start of his delivery. Do we have other video of his delivery from the set where we could confirm if tha elbow moved in every delivery.

Am I the only that cringes when I hear that "every delivery" portion?  Just because a pitcher does something every time (or most of the time) does not make it legal.  A "natural" delivery and a "routine" delivery are different things.  A pitcher is allowed to vary their motions, they just aren't allowed to do the illegal stuff some of the time or all of the time.

 

(I do agree, that's not one I would call.)

[Jimurray]

23 minutes ago, The Man in Blue said:

Am I the only that cringes when I hear that "every delivery" portion?  Just because a pitcher does something every time (or most of the time) does not make it legal.  A "natural" delivery and a "routine" delivery are different things.  A pitcher is allowed to vary their motions, they just aren't allowed to do the illegal stuff some of the time or all of the time.

 

(I do agree, that's not one I would call.)

I agree. I’m just wondering why this pitch triggered the umpire. Sometimes umpires are not focused and when they do focus they see something that they have been seeing the whole time. That’s why I would like to see what deliveries that ump did not balk. 

[The Man in Blue]

8 hours ago, Jimurray said:

I agree. I’m just wondering why this pitch triggered the umpire. Sometimes umpires are not focused and when they do focus they see something that they have been seeing the whole time. That’s why I would like to see what deliveries that ump did not balk. 

 

I can agree with that, and I'll add the other side (which I often find myself on): sometimes we want to see it a few times or from a few angles (A, B, C) before we are confidant enough in what we are seeing to call it.

I punched one on my umpire bingo card yesterday (it was a bingo hall weekend) . . . We had a Nestor Cortes impersonator and I banged him for an illegal pitch.  It took me until the 4th inning because he wouldn't do it consistently (1-2 times per inning), but he did a consistent routine: a series of regular pitches; then, if he had two strikes, the next pitch he would screw around and go up and down, up and down with leg; and then the following pitch being a very quick slide step -- NOT a quick pitch as the batter was alert, but still designed to catch the batter off guard with two strikes.  Then he would go back to a normal windup.

We explained to him and the coach: you can vary routine, wind up, or delivery . . . but once he starts his windup, he must continue without interruption (or alteration).  We considered the yo-yo leg to be an interruption, especially when he would follow it each time with an extremely quick slide step. 

Coach and pitcher accepted that explanation.  When we were pressed why we were calling it in 4th inning of their third game on day two of the tournament, I replied, "This is the first time we've seen you, so I can't answer for other crews.  As for me, I wanted to make sure of what I was seeing before I called it.  You got away with it a few times."

 

[grayhawk]

1 hour ago, The Man in Blue said:

We explained to him and the coach: you can vary routine, wind up, or delivery . . . but once he starts his windup, he must continue without interruption (or alteration).  We considered the yo-yo leg to be an interruption, especially when he would follow it each time with an extremely quick slide step. 

And Randy Bruns agrees with you, and has said as much in a rules clarification.

[Jimurray]

1 hour ago, grayhawk said:

And Randy Bruns agrees with you, and has said as much in a rules clarification.

And while Randy wants a strict interpretation of that wording we allow the pivot foot to raise from the ground in the delivery in violation of the same rule:

"From this position, any natural movement associated with the delivery of the ball to the batter commits the pitcher to pitch without interruption or alteration. The pitcher shall not raise either foot from the ground, except that in the actual delivery of the ball to the batter, the pitcher may take one step backward or sideward and one step forward with the free foot."