Thirteen different ways someone can balk that are outlawed by the MLB’s higher-ups and then the age-old rules of sportsmanship across America. The pitcher throws from Set Position without stopping.If the pitcher throws when the catcher is not in their box.If the pitcher intentionally allows the ball to slip out of their grasp while on the plate.If the pitcher moves from a legal position by removing their hand from the ball other than when it is a genuine pitch.If the pitcher does not have the ball and they stand on the plate (or if they feint a throw while not on it).
When the pitcher delays the game for no good reason. When the pitcher makes a motion naturally associated with a pitch while not touching the base. The pitcher throws to the batter when the two aren’t facing. Should the pitcher throw or feint to an unoccupied base. Again, while touching the plate, it doesn’t direct step toward the base they are throwing to. As long as they’re touching the plate, if a pitcher feints throwing the ball to first or third and still fail to throw. While touching their plate, if the pitcher makes any natural motion associate with a pitch but does not release. Overall, there are 13 ways a pitcher can balk and invoke the ire of the umpires, as well as the opposing team. Here, we’ll take a look at ways a pitcher can balk in baseball, according to the official MLB rules. Sounds dramatic, but, seriously, you get used to it. After all, there’s only so many times someone can try and make you look stupid before you’re hardened to its folly and start to think the world is against you and your bat. There are so many slights of hand you’d sometimes wonder whether or not you’re facing up a pitcher or some kind of street magician, so it’s essential to stay focused.īeing on the receiving end of a balk will bring out the cynic in you that’s a guarantee. Sure, it’s not always going to make you the most popular player on the field but, in the heat of competition, you’ve got to find a way to win.Īs someone who has been involved in baseball for more years than I’d like to mention, believe me when I say: the balk world is a varied one. Whether it’s a deceptive pick-off attempt or an intentional drop of the ball to get ahead, try to think of it as the search for marginal gains. 
Should the umpires be on your side, of course.
If the umpire believes whatever tactic they’ve used to throw you off the scent was illegal, you can call for a balk, at which point any players on base will be moved up, and the pitch will go down as a dead bal l. As the sneaky customers they are, they will push the limits of what is legal.Īt its very core, the art of balking is when a clever pitcher purposely tried to deceive the hitter and/or the runner. A pitcher trying to balk in baseball is probably as old as the game itself.
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