During today's game, the base umpire warned our pitcher about a possible rules violation. While the umpire was correct to issue a warning, he was incorrect regarding the consequence of such a violation.
Here's what happened:
Jack Lebert was pitching for the Warriors in the bottom of the third inning. Jack was taking signs from his catcher, Paco Lauciello, while standing behind the pitching rubber. Once the signs were communicated, Jack then stepped on the rubber and delivered his pitch.
This sequence of events results in a violation of the "pitching ritual." Pitchers are instructed to take signs while on, not off, the pitching rubber. The reason for this is to slow pitchers down enough to avoid quick pitching--which is illegal and a safety issue for hitters.
However, taking signs while off the rubber does not result in a balk. Rather, the umpire should simply instruct the pitcher to "not do that". If the pitcher continues to disregard the umpire's instructions, an ejection might occur. This would be very unusual in youth baseball as most pitchers will comply with the umpire's instructions.
If the pitcher "quick pitches" (i.e., delivers the pitch before the hitter is prepared to hit), that is then considered to be an illegal pitch. The penalty for this is a balk with runners on base or a ball without runners on base.
2011 Chicagoland Tournament Champions & 2011 Lombard Tournament Champions!
