Jump to content
  • 0

Balk on appeal

mrumpiresir

Asked by mrumpiresir,

 Share
Umpire-Empire locks topics which have not been active in the last year. The thread you are viewing hasn't been active in 457 days so you will not be able to post. We do recommend you starting a new topic to find out what's new in the world of umpiring.

Question

  • Answers 4
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters For This Question

Popular Days

Top Posters For This Question

Popular Days

Popular Posts

beerguy55
beerguy55

No, but as a coach I'd say it's just a good habit to have your pitcher step off to make the appeal.  There are too many stupid things that can happen while engaged that can cause a legitimate balk (th

grayhawk
grayhawk

No, it's not a balk, even if the base is unoccupied. In the case of NCAA, the rule is 8-6-b(10): "It is not a balk for a pitcher, while in contact with the pitching plate (does not step back), to

noumpere
noumpere

It's the same in all codes.  If a balk was called, it was incorrect; it's a common myth at the youth levels (and even among many HS umpires), so I'm not surprised you've seen it called.

4 answers to this question

Recommended Posts

  • 0
grayhawk

grayhawk

Posted
Posted

No, it's not a balk, even if the base is unoccupied. In the case of NCAA, the rule is 8-6-b(10):

"It is not a balk for a pitcher, while in contact with the pitching plate (does not step back), to throw to an unoccupied base for the purpose of making an appeal play."

  • Like 1
  • 0
mrumpiresir

mrumpiresir

Posted
  • Author
Posted
8 hours ago, grayhawk said:

No, it's not a balk, even if the base is unoccupied. In the case of NCAA, the rule is 8-6-b(10):

"It is not a balk for a pitcher, while in contact with the pitching plate (does not step back), to throw to an unoccupied base for the purpose of making an appeal play."

Thanks for your reply.   I can't find anything that makes it a balk but I'm sure I've seen balks called for this.  Maybe it was called for another reason.  Is the rule the same under OBR?

  • 0
noumpere

noumpere

Posted
Posted
On 1/26/2025 at 12:21 AM, mrumpiresir said:

Thanks for your reply.   I can't find anything that makes it a balk but I'm sure I've seen balks called for this.  Maybe it was called for another reason.  Is the rule the same under OBR?

It's the same in all codes.  If a balk was called, it was incorrect; it's a common myth at the youth levels (and even among many HS umpires), so I'm not surprised you've seen it called.

  • Like 1
  • 0
beerguy55

beerguy55

Posted
Posted
On 1/25/2025 at 11:02 PM, mrumpiresir said:

Is it a balk if the pitcher does not disengage the rubber before throwing to a base for the purpose of an appeal.  If so, what rules apply?

No, but as a coach I'd say it's just a good habit to have your pitcher step off to make the appeal.  There are too many stupid things that can happen while engaged that can cause a legitimate balk (the appeal process can be confusing, distracting and simply unusual for the inexperienced), and there are too many umpires who believe the scenario you describe IS a balk.

Right or wrong, just remove the variables.

And if your code allows dead ball verbal appeals, use them.

  • Like 2
 Share
Go to question listing
×
×
  • Create New...