Don't Noonan
Footballguy
I coach an 11u club baseball team and we had a tournament this past weekend. We were in the field and with 2 outs and a runner on 2nd base. Our pitcher was in the stretch and came set. The runner on 2nd took off towards 3rd base. I yelled to the pitcher to step off. Our pitcher (right handed) lifted his left leg and stepped toward 3rd and threw out the runner at 3rd base. The umpire in the field called the runner out. The 3rd base coach asked for clarification if it was a balk. He consulted with the home plate umpire and they called a balk. I went out to talk with them and they said he needed to step off first. I explained that he does not need to step off for an inside move and that the runner was already halfway to 3rd. Also, a balk is something called immediately and not changed after the fact. Of course the next pitch was a passed ball and the runner scored and we lost by 1.
I don't believe it was a balk but does anyone know the rule on this?
I don't believe it was a balk but does anyone know the rule on this?