Does the pitcher have to step off to throw to a base?
No. From the rubber, he can throw to an occupied base as long as he steps toward it first. Once he steps off, he's a fielder, and the pickoff balk rules don't apply to him.
If your pitcher has a decent move to first, sooner or later an opposing coach is going to yell this at him. The runner takes a big lead, and the pitcher, still on the rubber, steps and throws to first. Then the other coach yells, “He has to step off first!”
He doesn’t. He can step off if he wants to, but that’s a different move.
A pitcher standing on the rubber can throw to any occupied base, from the windup or the stretch. The only condition is that he steps toward that base before or as he throws. He doesn’t have to stop, and he doesn’t have to step off. The step does have to be a real step toward the base — not a jab toward home.
What can’t he do from the rubber? He can’t fake a throw to first. He can’t throw to an empty base unless a runner is heading there, and he can’t throw without the step. Under the pro rules and USSSA, he can’t fake to third either (Little League, high school and the Perfect Game youth sheets still allow that one). Those are the balks. A real step and a throw to an occupied base is the legal pickoff.
When he steps back off the rubber with his pivot foot, he stops being a pitcher and becomes a fielder. Now he can fake to first. He can throw anywhere. He can run at the runner. He can stand there and stare. None of the balk rules apply, because the balk rules are for pitchers, and he isn’t one right now.
So why do both exist? The throw from the rubber is faster, and the step-off gives him options. Good pitchers use both, and good runners learn to read which one is coming by watching the pivot foot.
If he steps off and throws it into the dugout, it’s a fielder’s throw, and the runners get two bases.
From the rubber, the same wild throw is one base. The overthrow card explains why. Stepping off can cost him an extra base if he airmails it.
If your pitcher is a righty, I’d start him with the step-off pick. It’s legal, it’s simple and it avoids the balk call entirely. He can add the move from the rubber once he’s ready to be quick.
Which rulebook? Official Baseball Rules 5.07(a) and 6.02(a): a pitcher in contact with the rubber may throw to a base if he steps toward it. He may not fake to first from the rubber, and under OBR 6.02(a)(2) and USSSA he may not fake to third either (Little League, NFHS 6-2-4 and the Perfect Game youth sheets allow the feint to third). He may not throw to an unoccupied base except to make a play. Once he steps off with his pivot foot, he's a fielder. NFHS 6-1 and 6-2 match, apart from the feint to third.
Runner on first. The pitcher, on the rubber in the stretch, steps directly toward first and throws over. The other coach yells that he has to step off first. Is it a balk?
Still have a question? Ask Coach Fungo.
“Once he steps off the rubber, he can fake to first all he wants.”
Foul tip vs. foul ball: is a foul tip a strike?
A foul tip goes off of the bat sharp and direct to the catcher, and he has to catch it before it touches the ground. The difference between a foul ball and foul tip matters.
“If the catcher holds onto a foul tip, the ball is live, and a runner who's stealing is free to keep going.”
Is it a hit if a runner is forced out on the play?
A runner forced out on the play means no hit, even if the ball lands in the outfield. The classic version is a runner who holds on a soft liner and gets forced at second by the right fielder.
“If the runner from second gets thrown out at home trying to score, the batter keeps his single.”
The rules quiz
Ten questions, two minutes. Would you have gotten the call right?
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