Jump to content
  • 0

Inside move, is this a step off???


Double Up

Question

Morning.  After another weekend of fun at the local youth baseball tournament,  I thought I'd ask the group to weigh in. 

OBR 

R1 and R3.   F1 makes an inside move to 2B which is unoccupied,  no throw, just step offs in the direction of 2B.   R1 does not leave early,  in fact, R1 does not even run on the leg lift. I suspect this is a balk. the ball was not thrown, but the move was made to a unoccupied base.  the umpire justified the  inside move to second base as a "step off"  and no balk was enforced.

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 answers to this question

Recommended Posts

  • 0
3 minutes ago, Double Up said:

Morning.  After another weekend of fun at the local youth baseball tournament,  I thought I'd ask the group to weigh in. 

OBR 

R1 and R3.   F1 makes an inside move to 2B which is unoccupied,  no throw, just step offs in the direction of 2B.   R1 does not leave early,  in fact, R1 does not even run on the leg lift. I suspect this is a balk. the ball was not thrown, but the move was made to a unoccupied base.  the umpire justified the  inside moe to second base as a "step off"  and no balk was enforced.

I'd balk it.

Inside move is not a step off, IMHO.

EDIT:  assuming R1 isn't making an attempted steal.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

As described, this might well be a balk for stepping and throwing/feinting a throw to an unoccupied base. The ball not being thrown is moot: it's a balk whether he throws or feints to an unoccupied 2B.

Caveats:

  1. If R1 makes any significant or noticeable move toward 2B prior to F1's feint, I'm probably ruling the feint legal—such a move invokes the exception to throwing/feinting to an unoccupied base.
  2. If R1 does in fact disengage legally, it's obviously not a balk; but a jump move is not a legal disengagement—if both feet move or leave the ground approximately simultaneously, it's not a legal disengagement, no matter where the pivot foot happens to land.
  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0
1 hour ago, Kevin_K said:

Wait...... what about IITBTSB?

He who coined that phrase would say something like, "It's a start-stop balk to the plate."

 

The phrase was never meant to say "it's impossible to balk with a runner at second" or "it's impossible to balk when making a move toward second."

  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0
8 minutes ago, noumpere said:

He who coined that phrase would say something like, "It's a start-stop balk to the plate."

 

The phrase was never meant to say "it's impossible to balk with a runner at second" or "it's impossible to balk when making a move toward second."

funny you should mention that because that was one thought that had occurred,  it's really difficult if not impossible to balk to second base, provided one clears the rubber in making the move to 2B.   I guess that theory has been disproven. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0
10 hours ago, Double Up said:

funny you should mention that because that was one thought that had occurred,  it's really difficult if not impossible to balk to second base, provided one clears the rubber in making the move to 2B.   I guess that theory has been disproven. 

It's difficult... But I've seen it done. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Answer this question...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...