OK, so: This is going to get a little complicated.
But that’s seemingly the case when it comes to what is and isn’t a balk in Major League Baseball.
And we’ll see if that becomes a factor in the 2022 MLB playoffs. After all, we’ve seen balks of many kinds during the season, including one case where a balk was called three times on the same pitcher.
With that in mind, let’s run through the rulebook to help remind you of the pitching motion rules and regulations, with the hopes that if there is a balk, you’ll understand why the call is being made:
From MLB.com:
A balk occurs when a pitcher makes an illegal motion on the mound that the umpire deems to be deceptive to the runner(s). As a result, any men on base are awarded the next base, and the pitch (if it was thrown in the first place) is waved off for a dead ball.
Exactly what constitutes a balk is summed up in section 8 of the MLB rules, which describes a legal pitching delivery.
Balks are only called when there are men on base.
So… Section 8 is pages long. We won’t bore you by copying and pasting the whole thing, but it’s all about what is a “legal pitching delivery.”
It does detail the two legal windups — from the Windup Position and the Set Position.
There’s this note about the Windup — from that position, the pitcher can:
(1) deliver the ball to the batter, or
(2) step and throw to a base in an attempt to pick-off a runner, or
(3) disengage the rubber (if he does he must drop his hand to his sides).
In disengaging the rubber the pitcher must step off with his pivot foot and not his free foot first.
He may not go into a set or stretch position—if he does it is a balk.
There’s 8.05, which has a long list of balk-worthy infractions. A sampling:
The pitcher, while touching his plate, makes any motion naturally associated with his pitch and fails to make such a delivery.
The pitcher, while touching his plate, feints a throw to first base and fails to complete the throw; The pitcher, while touching his plate, fails to step directly towards a base before throwing to that base. …
The pitcher delivers the ball to the batter while he is not facing the batter.
.