What is a balk in baseball? 13 Balk Rules Clearly Explained!

If you are a casual baseball fan, you may turn on a game and see the umpire stop the game and advance runners from the base they are on and be left totally confused trying to figure out what is going on.

If you aren’t familiar with the balk rule, it can sometimes be difficult to spot as the slightest movements can make all the difference in what is a balk or not.

So, what is a balk in baseball?

A balk in baseball is when a pitcher makes an illegal motion on the mound that the umpire determines breaks one of the thirteen balk rules. When this happens, the umpire will stop the game and the runners on base are awarded the next base.

So, while this may give a general summary of what a balk in baseball is, let’s take a little deeper dive into some examples of balks and a deeper dive into the actual rule.

Contents

Types of Pitching Deliveries
Balk in baseball official rules by Major League Baseball
Conclusion

Types of Pitching Deliveries

One of the first things you need to understand before diving into balks is the different pitching delivery styles that are legal for pitchers to use; the windup or the stretch.

The Windup

The windup is the most famous pitching motion in baseball and is what you most likely are used to seeing if you are a casual fan of baseball.

The windup is the pitching motion that is used most of the time when there aren’t any runners on base. Without runners on base, pitchers can take their time to deliver the ball to home plate.

Benefits of the windup

The windup gives pitchers the ability to be more deliberate throughout their pitching delivery since there aren’t any runners on base.

Here are some notable facts about the windup:

Pitchers typically throw a little faster from the windup
One of the main reasons is that Pitchers can take their time to get to a proper balance point, take their time with their lead leg to lift it higher than in the stretch, and focus 100% of their efforts on their delivery of the baseball to the catcher instead of being distracted with runners that are on base
Pitchers don’t throw from the windup when there are runners on base because runners can advance as soon as the pitcher starts their delivery.

Can you balk from the windup?

You can’t balk from the windup, but there are some things that umpires lookout for from pitchers that could be seen as an unfair advantage.

The most common rule violation from pitchers with no runners on base is a Quick Pitch violation.

With no runners on base, the penalty would be getting charged with a ball.

Here is a good video of examples of a quick pitch violation:

How to leave the pitching rubber legally during the windup:

In a windup, a pitcher can leave the rubber at any point if they step off the rubber with their non-lead leg (pivot foot). So for right-handed pitchers, they would step off the rubber with their right foot and left-handed pitchers would step off the rubber with their left foot.

Stepping off the rubber happens throughout the course of the game when the pitchers need to gather their thoughts or perhaps discuss an in-game situation with the catcher or infielder in privacy.

The official MLB pitching rules for the windup are:

Pitchers must deliver the ball to the batter or
Step and throw to a base to attempt to pick off a runner
disengage the rubber with their pivot foot

Stretch Position

Balk’s typically occur when pitchers are in the stretch since they wouldn’t want to be in a windup with runners on base.

The stretch is when the pitcher is facing the batter with his pivot foot facing the home plate position and prepares to throw one of several different pitch types.

Coming to a Complete Stop

The main rule is that pitchers must come to a complete stop which is referred to as “coming set”.

The Pitcher can then deliver the ball to home plate or decide to throw to a base or step off the rubber with their pivot foot.

The intention behind the rule is to give hitters and position players a fair shake at knowing where the ball is likely to be thrown.

Deception of coming set to confuse Umpires Runners, and Hitters

Some of the top pitchers in major league history are great at picking runners off by deceiving runners by not coming to a complete stop and picking runners off when they throw to first base or throw to second base. It is not super common, but occasionally runners can get picked off when pitchers throw to third base.

Umpires must watch very closely to enforce the “coming set” rule and there is a fine line between coming set or not which makes it very difficult for runners and umpires to catch.

Steve Carlton has the record for the most balks in MLB history with 90 and also has the record for most pickoffs with 144.

Carlton has the record for most balks in a season with 11 and had a very deceptive delivery.

Interest fact: There are some pitchers who like to pitch from the stretch even when there aren’t any runners on base.

Pitchers like Stephen Strasburg, Yu Darvish, and Noah Syndergaard all pitch from the stretch on a full-time basis even when there are not any runners on base.

The primary reason is that they like to stay consistent with their pitching delivery. If there are no runners on base the pitcher does not have to come to a complete stop when they pitch from the stretch position.

The main thing umpires look out for with these pitchers is a violation of the quick pitch rule if they are starting their delivery process.

Balk in baseball official rules by Major League Baseball

When there is a runner on base the following are the official baseball rules of what is and is not a balk:

Let’s take a look at each rule in detail to help you understand exactly how umpires enforce these rules.

1. If the pitcher makes any natural motion that is associated with making a pitch to home plate and fails to make a delivery that is a balk.

The only acceptance of this rule is when a pitcher is trying to pick off a runner at second base. If there is a runner on second base a pitcher can raise his lead leg and then pivot it toward second base and try to pick a runner off without being called for a balk.

2. If a Pitcher attempts to make a throw an attempt to pick a runner off at the first base or third base they must throw the ball to first or third and aren’t allowed to fake a throw.

You will see fake throws to second base to try and keep runners as close as possible to the base but most of the time.

Major league baseball implemented a rule change in 2013 that eliminated the ability for pitchers to make a fake pickoff throw to third base.

The most common move that pitchers used to use before the rule changed was pitchers faking a throw to third base and then pivoting and trying to pick off the runner at first base.

3. The Pitcher, while touching the rubber, fails to step directly toward a base before throwing to that base

Left-handed pitchers will often try to confuse runners at first base by making it look like they are heading toward home plate to deliver a pitch before pivoting to throw to first base.

Here is a good video compilation of left-handed pitchers picking off runners where you can see them taking advantage of this rule in some situations:

4. The Pitcher, while touching the rubber throws or fakes a throw to an unoccupied base except for the purpose of making a play

5. The Pitcher makes an illegal pitch

As discussed above, the quick pitch without coming set is the most common illegal pitch.

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

This one is highly unusual and you will unlikely not see it because it is almost physically impossible to deliver the ball to home plate without facing forward.

7. Pitchers makes a motion associated with pitching while not being in contact with the rubber

This is a rule that pitchers also like to toe the line on from time to time. It is difficult for umpires to see if a portion of a pitcher’s foot is on the rubber from behind home plate.

Pitchers like to typically stand on one side of the rubber due to what they see as having an advantage of the throwing angle when a pitcher throws toward home plate.

If you look closely, you will see some pitchers standing on the far corners of the rubber and some will even try to get down off the rubber with a slight crow-hop to get an additional advantage:

8. The Pitcher unnecessarily delays the game

When there is an unoccupied base, the pitcher must deliver the ball in a timely fashion after he receives the ball.

This is a bit of a grey area that is enforced by the umpires that may confront pitchers that are taking too long. The minor leagues have been experimenting with a pitch clock with a 15-second limit that may be coming to Major League Baseball at some point in the next few years.

9. The Pitcher without having the ball stands on the rubber and fakes a pitch.

Once again, this one is rarely seen but there are occasional situations where pitchers accidentally let the ball slip out of their hand with runners on base.

10. The Pitcher removes one hand from the ball other than in an actual pitch or throwing to a base.

Pitchers must come set to a legal pitching position before delivering the ball to home plate or before they try to pick a runner off at one of the bases. If they don’t this is an illegal act and is ruled a balk.

Coming set means that pitchers must come together with both of their arms together in front of their body with the pitcher’s hand and glove coming together in unison.

If the player then removes the throwing arm from the glove that is an indication that the pitcher is making an attempt at a baseball play and if he pauses or comes back to the glove that would be ruled as a balk.

11. The Pitcher When Touching the rubber accidentally or intentionally drops the ball

This happens from time to time accidentally by pitchers who are trying to manipulate their hands on the ball to get the desired grip on the baseball.

12. The Pitcher when throwing an intentional base on balls, pitches when the catcher is not in the catchers’ box

Catchers must start off in the batters’ box even if the pitcher is trying to intentionally walk a batter.

Pitchers will throw the ball outside of the batters’ box and lead the catcher to where they need to be to catch the ball. Catchers occasionally can get lazy and not realize they are standing outside of the batter’s box which results in a balk.

Here is an example of that happening:

13. The Pitcher delivers the pitch from the set position without coming to a stop

This rule violation is fairly common with runners on base as pitchers try to mix up their delivery times to keep the hitters and base runners off balance.

If pitchers have a consistent delivery pattern pitch after pitch hitters and runners will pick up on it and try to get an edge. When pitchers fail to come set a balk is called and runners advance to the next base unless a runner reaches first on a hit, error, base on balls, or hit by pitch. The intention here is to not penalize the offensive team that makes a play because of the pitcher’s inability to come set.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does a lefty pitcher or righty pitcher pick more runners off?

Left-handed pitchers pick more runners off because they are facing directly at them when they come to the set position.

Why is a balk illegal?

A balk is illegal because it breaks the rules of the game which are intended to be used to keep the game fair to both sides. If there weren’t any balk rules pitchers would have a significant advantage to keep hitters off balance and there would likely be very low scoring games due to the fact that runners would never want to take a lead.

What is the penalty for a balk in baseball?

The penalty for a balk in baseball is that the runners advance one spot on the basepaths.

Can you decline a balk?

No, the runners are required to accept the next base.

Conclusion

If you are not looking closely or know what to be looking for, it can be very difficult to spot a balk during a game. The best pitchers in baseball are great at being deceptive and toeing the line when it comes to balk rules.

We hope the article above gave you a better understanding of what to be on the lookout for next time a balk is called at a ballpark near you!