Pickoff Moves for Pitchers : Footwork for First Base Pickoff Moves

[johnchristin]

Dont you have to step BEHIND the rubber ti pickoff? I think what hes doing is a balk.

[mrfire50]

@johnchristin no you just have to make sure your mound foot (right for rightys) is off the rubber completely

[johnchristin]

@mrfire50 Oh, ok. Thanks! I tried it anyway at my very next Little League Game I pitched and I picked someone off! Thanks for clearing that up mrfire50. And a thanks to expertvillage :)

[birdturd2000]

@johnchristin No your foot just has to come off the rubber

[bostonsports517]

feel bad for this idiot that put this on youtube with his face and name

[adem1000000]

@bostonsports517 you know hes a AAA player right ?

[bostonsports517]

@adem1000000 thats wat scares me..balk

[adem1000000]

@bostonsports517 i tried it, the umpire didnt call it a balk, but you should probaly see what your umpire is okay with before you try it 

[Emdamax]

Why can't I get an answer to this question. Does the pitcher have to come set or can he just throw over from the stretch using that move?

I thought you had to come set before using those pivot moves!

[quantumXphysikz]

@Emdamax you can do whatever you want when your not set

[milwaukeejt]

@Emdamax The pitcher does not have to come to the "set" when making a pick-off move. He only has to come to the "set" (discernible pause) to make a legal pitch. It helps to reference the pitching rule and related case plays (separate book). They are both available, for all codes, at most libraries. (No, I am not being snide, merely giving advice that shortens or eliminates many arguments.)

[mowerdog]

You do not have to step off the rubber to throw to any base. This goes for the wind up or stretch. 8.05-c states "the pitcher, while touching his plate, fails to step directly toward a base before throwing to that base" is a balk. I have to bring out the rule book all the time to educate the umps.

[milwaukeejt]

@mowerdog I, on the other hand, have to frequently quote the same thing to coaches who are screaming for a "balk" call. There are folks on both sides who would benefit from a closer reading of rules and case plays. I read and reread both of them, during and between seasons.

[dawgdays78]

The move being shown here is a "jab step". It is legal, and is treated as a move from the rubber. The explanation that a pitcher must disengage first is incorrect, and even if it were, it's not legal to disengage by stepping forward.

[asp1007]

@dawgdays78

1) it isn't treated as a move off of the rubber because your back foot is not touching it.

2) it is legal to disengage by stepping forward. The situation you're referring to is disengaging the rubber from the wind up position. From the wind up a pitcher must disengage by stepping backwards.

The only error in this video is that a pitcher does not necessarily have to disengage the rubber to pick off to first base. This is a lost art for righties but can be effective.

[dawgdays78]

@asp1007

8.01(e) says you disengage by stepping backward. This applies to both windup and set. It is not a legal disengage to step forward.

However, in a jab step, the pivot foot is allowed to land in front of the rubber, not because you can disengage forward, but because it's considered, by custom and practice, to be a move from the rubber. Unfortunately, he refers to this as a disengage, which it isn't.

[asp1007]

@dawgdays78

I'm sorry I don't buy the "By custom and practise" argument.

by custom and practise just means that it is a balk but you haven't seen it called?

I agree with you after referencing the rule that he must disengage backwards, this means that a 'jab step' is only legal if the pitcher's foot remains in contact with the rubber.

[dawgdays78]

@asp1007 "custom and practice" is the code phrase used by umpires when referring to a rules interpretation instead of a blackletter rule. 8.01(e) says a disengage is stepping back. You will not find a rule that states that the pivot can come off the front of the rubber during a jab step move, and that is it considered a move from the rubber. But it is the way it is called.

The point I'm trying to make is that while it is considered legal, it's not a disengage.

[asp1007]

@dawgdays78

Furthermore, I'd point out that the spirit of the 'step off and disengage by stepping backwards' is to provide a clear differentiation between disengaging and beginning the wind up motion. Hence the use of the term 'pivot foot'. In the set position the 'pivot foot' never actually moves.

This would be why I would argue your rule reference is most applicable to the wind up.

[dawgdays78]

@asp1007 Actually, there's no "spirit" involved in the disengage rule. Disengaging is stepping off backward, with the pivot foot. Period.

If a pitcher in windup steps backward with his free foot (the one not on his glove side), that better be the beginning of a pitch or a step to a base, because otherwise it's a balk if there are runners on base.

[GTH916]

@dawgdays78 8.01e does not specify how to step off the rubber. It specifies IF he steps backwards from the rubber, he becomes an infielder. Nothing more, nothing less. Don't make more of a rule than it really is.

[The24fan09]

yeah...this guy was in the pros. i think he knows how to pick a guy off at first base

[baseball642]

As long as your in the stretch u can pick off any way u want but u cant do that if ur in a stretch and u already closed than u would have to step off back

[igotbling4]

ye that illegal untill high school. u have to step behind the base.

[alex0888]

you probably think that because that is what most people are taught, to step backwards. it doesn't mean this is wrong

[deebowandelsyou]

as long as the foot comes OFF of the rubber going to a pitchs turn around pick its legal...righty to 1st lefty to thrid

[naphighuknow12]

actully your foot must be behind to pcik someone off

[coldblaz3]

no ur foot can go anywhere as long as it is a no pitching motion

[scotttenerman888888]

completely legal.

[xCIMODx]

i personally like to step off back wards but i dont think that was a balk.

[24bombers]

Dude, you have to step off the rubber backwards, or you can do the common jump move and jump maybe 2-3 inches off the ground and then spin in your jump land and throw. So just saying I believe you were balking. I play baseball under rules where there are pick offs and stealing so I know what I'm talking about

[bosoxdanc1]

No you don't.

[cuboy01]

Actually you have to step off on the back of the rubber

[CodyAllenmusic]

doesn't matter as long as you come off of it unless you're going to second.

[UMP1R3]

In the video of the kid, if you watch closely, he's almost "falling" towards first base. The rule says "any attempt to fool the runner..." That's where this whole thing got started. BTW>>> I ump usssa, bpa, and dixie youth from 5 year olds to high school seniors.

[bocolvin]

Mike, great video's! However, I have been doing a lot of research with various leagues, umpire organizations and coaches and can NOT find the rule that say's the pitcher has to disengage the rubber before picking to ANY base. I have had MLB, Olympic umpires, and the President of Babe Ruth baseball tell me that it is not a rule and the pitcher has to only gain distance and direction. Please let me know where you got the rule. I really appreciate it.

Thanks

[nextjj4]

A LEFT handed pitcher can throw to 1st WITHOUT stepping off the rubber, and a RIGHT handed pitcher can throw to 3rd without stepping off.. However, a RIGHT handed pitcher throwiung to first, & a LEFT handed to 3rd, would have to step off because there is no way to completely redirect your body in the other direction without doing a balk by beginning a motion towards the plate. Although i cannot find where there is a rule as such,

[nextjj4]

I'velearned from personal experience and seeing my fair share of balks by myself and other pitchers.

[bocolvinIsHitler]

But, make the attempt to do it without lifting the back heel first on a right hander will probably be deemed as a move towards the plate since the heel or knee of the front foot moves first. This is a natural motion associated with pitching and that is why MLB doesn't do it. There is your rule of 8.05(a). It will be called for that reason. Not about disengaging but about natural pitching motion. Try to do it without a motion associated with pitching.

[Hitleristicbocolvin]

It is a balk if they move their front heel or knee first b/c that is a move naturally associated with pitching. It is rule 8.05(a). That is why it isn't done in the MLB. It is an attempt to deceive by doing something naturally associated with pitching. If you do that, it is a balk and here is the rule. That is why the back heel move first b/c it isn't associated with the natural motion of pitching. Try it and a balk will get called b/c of the motion. 8.05(a)