Article By James O’Hara

Let me start this by saying I am neither a balk expert nor scholar. However I have been pitching since one is first allowed to in Little League all the way through High School which I believe gives me a good understanding of the balk.  If you have any questions or believe I am incorrect please let me know in the comment section below.

Okay on to what many baseball fans consider the most confusing part of a baseball game.  I have seen these frustrations whenever a game changing balk is called with many calling for the balk rule to be gotten rid of entirely.  However the balk rule is perhaps one of the most important rules in the game of baseball as many actions baseball fans take for granted only occur because of the balk rule.  Hits and base runners would become much more difficult to come by while leads and steals would be non-existent without the set of rules that comprise what a balk is.

So what exactly is a balk?  Well the basic guideline is when a pitcher starts a typical pitching action but stops it before it has been completed. These actions are typically an easy way for a pitcher to deceive a base runner or hitter, but nowadays are more typically just mistakes made by the pitcher.  For example Nationals fans will remember recently when pitcher Henry Rodriguez began to bring his hands together and then stopped causing a balk; there was no obvious deceit intended it was merely a mental mistake.  However this guideline requires one to know what the typical pitching actions are, which not many outside of pitchers truly understand.

To start there are four positions a pitcher can be in: off the rubber, on the rubber, set, and in motion.  Off the rubber is irrelevant to the balk rule as a pitcher is allowed to do whatever they want when not stepping on the rubber.  On the rubber is an interesting position as it is a relatively free position while still having some balk opportunities; in the windup this position is just set. On the rubber is typically when the pitcher is looking in to get the signs from the catcher.  If the pitcher is in the stretch then after leaning in to get the sign they must become set in the stance they are going to begin their motion from. Finally the pitcher is in motion either throwing a pitch or attempting a pickoff. In motion is probably where the most and most subjective balk calls come from as we will get to soon.

So now let’s break down the different parts of the balk rule by where they can occur in these four positions, excluding off the rubber as we have already stated it is not relevant.

On the Rubber: As mentioned above when the pitcher is in the windup there is only one on the rubber position so almost all of the relevant rules for the windup will be found in set.  However one rule that applies to both the windup and stretch is that the pitcher is not allowed to step on the rubber without the baseball.  The main rule here though is the transition from this position to the set position which must be done and once it is started cannot be stopped.  The transition usually entails standing up straighter, moving legs closer together, and bringing the ball and glove together.  However the only required part of this transition is bringing the ball and glove together. Another way, although highly unlikely, to draw a balk is to step off the rubber but not straight back, which is the only allowed way. The pitcher is also not allowed to drop the ball while on the rubber as this is seen as a way to trick the runner into taking off while the pitcher easily scoops up the ball and throws him out, however unlikely a scenario that is.

Set: In the set position the pitcher is only allowed to move their head, and usually their shoulders slightly, in order to look at a base runner.  If the body moves outside of a regular pitching or pickoff motion then a balk is called.  As mentioned above once a pitcher comes into a set position they cannot come out of it unless they step off the rubber with their back foot, or in the windup their non-lead foot. Also as stated as a pitcher comes set the ball and glove must come together, in addition they then must stay together at all times until the pitcher is in motion.

In Motion: As stated previously this position is where the most and most subjective balk calls will come from.  Let’s start with an easy one, once a pitcher starts their motion they are not allowed to stop or pause during it, they must have one continuous motion.  As Nationals fans will know there is a lot of leeway here as Chien-Ming Wang gets about as close as a pitcher can to pausing without doing so.  Now to the tricky stuff, pickoff rules.  First no pickoff attempts can be made from the windup without first stepping off the rubber. Now in the stretch if a pitcher steps, or turns and steps,  directly at either first base or home plate without first taking his back foot off the rubber he must throw the ball towards that base.  If he holds the ball or throws the ball in another direction a balk is called.  Some leeway can be given by the ump if the ball appears to slip out of the pitchers hand.  However if the pitcher steps towards second or third or first steps off and then steps towards a base he is not required to throw the ball.  The most subjective rule though is the 45 degree rule, which almost always deals with left handers.  As stated above if a player steps towards a bag he is committed to throwing to it, which means raising the leg straight up at a 45 degree angle to the base commits the pitcher to no base allowing him the freedom to still choose where to throw the baseball.  Once this plane is broken though the pitcher is then committed to the bag he moved towards and if he throws it elsewhere it is a balk.

Finally there are a few balks that don’t fit into these categories.  A catcher must be inside the catcher’s box at the time of a pitch’s release, a pitcher is not allowed to unnecessarily delay a game, the pitcher cannot deliver a pitch while facing away from the batter, and a pickoff throw to first must have a teammate in the vicinity of first base.  These are mostly ones that very rarely occur and are given a large amount of leeway in enforcement.

The important thing to remember when it comes to the balk is that there are a lot of regulations regarding how to pitch so if you see something that looks out of the ordinary it is probably a balk.  And that if a pitcher was allowed to do whatever they wanted the game of baseball as you know it would be completely different.

James is a student at Virginia Tech studying Computer Science and Math.  Baseball is his favorite sport as he has been playing it since the age of three.  However he has a passion for nearly every other sport one can imagine as well and this has led him to attempting to contribute to a sports blog despite average writing grades in school.  He is the main person tweeting behind the name @nextyeardc and gets way too excited whenever he sees he has a new mention.