Fans Being Thrown a Curve by Baseball’s Balk Rule

The chorus can be heard directly on cue, just like clockwork, at any baseball game.

Scenario: runner on base. The pitcher goes into the stretch, pauses, wheels and fakes a throw.

“Balk!!!”

Whenever there is even the hint of irregular behavior by the pitcher, the same call goes out.

“Balk!!!”

Trouble is, spectators probably know less about what constitutes a balk than any other major regulation in any other professional sport.

Umpires and players have enough trouble with the troublesome rules as it is without the fans adding their two cents by yelling “balk” so often.

“I did a game in Shea Stadium on a Saturday,” recalls NBC sportscaster Bob Costas. “Gene Garber of the Braves was on the mound. He took his stretch and then stepped off the mound. The Mets’ fans were all yelling ‘balk.’ The only thing was, there was no one on base.”

This year, the National League is calling balks--legitimate ones--at a record pace. NL president Bartlett Giametti reportedly instructed umpires before the start of the season to watch the balk moves more closely.

Through the first one-third of the season, 93 balks were called and that would project to close to 300 over the year. Last year, only 176 were called in the NL. San Francisco was first in the NL followed by the Cubs.

In the American League, only 40 were called at the one-third mark which projects to 127. But that would still be up from the 113 from last year.

According to the Official Baseball Rules, there are 13 approved reasons for an umpire calling a balk. Most never happen in the course of a game.

Technically, rule 8.05 states the only times when balks may be called:

--The pitcher, while touching his plate, makes any motion naturally associated with his pitch and fails to make such delivery.

--The pitcher, while touching the plate, feints a throw to first base and fails to complete the throw.

--The pitcher, while touching his plate, fails to step directly toward a base before throwing to that plate.

--The pitcher, while touching his plate, throws or feints a throw to an unoccupied base, except for the purpose of making a play.

--The pitcher makes an illegal pitch.

--The pitcher delivers the ball to the batter while he is not facing the batter.

--The pitcher makes any motion naturally associated with his pitch.

--The pitcher unnecessarily delays the game.

--The pitcher, without having the ball, stands on or astride the pitcher’s plate or while off the plate, he feints a pitch.

--The pitcher, after coming to a legal pitching position, removes one hand from the ball other than in an actual pitch or in throwing to a base.

--The pitcher, while touching his plate, accidentally or intentionally drops the ball.

--The pitcher, while giving an intentional base on balls, pitches when the catcher is not in the catcher’s box.

--The pitcher delivers the pitch from the “set position” without coming to a stop.

The top areas when fans like to yell balk seem to be confined to a few sets of circumstances.

When there is a runner on second or third, the pitcher is permitted to wheel and fake a throw after his stretch. He doesn’t have to throw to the base. He can just give an ugly stare to the runner for having the moxie to reach base. But friends, that’s no balk.

Things get a little stickier with a runner on first base. No fakes allowed here. Once you get into the stretch and pause, you have two alternatives.

One is to go ahead and throw to the plate, which happens most of the time. The other is to throw to first base, providing the first baseman is near the bag. No “wheel of fortune” here. No fakes allowed. The penalty: a balk. Runner advances.

Where the rule has gotten so complicated is the pause. So many pitchers have different ways of coming to a set position--Luis Tiant never seemed to do it the same way twice in a row. As a result, umpires’ calls on balks have become very subjective.

“I do know that a young pitcher has a much more difficult time with it than a veteran because the umpire, if he knows you and is familiar with your style, will let you get away with it,” says former Cubs’ manager and now broadcaster Jim Frey.

Many managers believe that all pitchers technically balk every time there is a runner on base. All the managers ask for is consistency by the umpire.

“That’s about all you can ask,” says St. Louis Manager Whitey Herzog, always on the lookout for balks, especially when base-stealing expert Vince Coleman is on base. “You want it uniformly called by the umpire. It’s difficult but if you have an understanding of what the umpire considers a balk then at least you know what to expect.”

Unfortunately, 99 of 100 times the fans are calling a balk when there isn’t one. There is ample consistency here. And, 99 times out of 100 when the umpire calls a balk, most fans are either looking down at their scorecards, taking another bite out of a hot dog or ordering the next round from a beer vendor.