2B Umpire Roberto Ortiz ejected Yankees RF José Caballero (Replay Review decision that upheld out call/pace of play/disengagement no-call; QOCY) in the top of the 10th inning of the #Yankees-#Rays game. With one out and none on, Yankees batter José Caballero attempted to steal second base during Aaron Judge's at bat, thrown out by Rays catcher Hunter Feduccia to second baseman Brandon Lowe and affirmed as an out (call stands) upon Replay Review as the result of a manager's challenge by Yankees manager Aaron Boone. Replays do not conclusively indicate whether Lowe tagged Caballero while he was off the base, the call was correct.* At the time of the ejection, the Yankees were leading, 6-3. The Yankees ultimately won the contest, 6-4, in 10 innings.

This is José Caballero's first career MLB ejection.

This is Roberto Ortiz's 5th ejection of 2025, 1st sinceAugust 12 (Don Kelly; QOC = N [Balls/Strikes]).

HP Umpire Ryan Blakney ejected Red Sox manager Alex Cora (balk no-call on Hunter Brown; QOCY) in the top of the 7th inning of the #RedSox-#Astros game. With two out and one on, Red Sox batter Romy Gonzalez took two pitches from Astros pitcher Brown, ruled ball one and strike one. Boston contended that Brown balked because he failed to declare his switch from Windup Position during the first pitch of the at-bat to Set Position for the second pitch of the at-bat. By rule, a pitcher needn't declare use of Set Position with a runner on the base—it is not a balk—the call was correct.* At the time of the ejection, the Astros were leading, 2-1. The Astros ultimately won the contest, 4-1.

We first note Official Baseball Rule 6.02(a)(13) pertaining to balks, which states, "If there is a runner, or runners, it is a balk when the pitcher delivers the pitch from Set Position without coming to a stop."

Because pitcher Springs failed to come to a complete stop while in Set Position, as in OBR 5.07(a)(2), 1B Umpire John Tumpane was correct to call out "balk" when the infraction occurred.

OBR 6.02(a) continues, specifying the penalty for a balk violation: "The ball is dead, and each runner shall advance one base without liability to be put out, unless the batter reaches first on a hit, an error, a base on balls, a hit batter, or otherwise, and all other runners advance at least one base, in which case the play proceeds without reference to the balk."

Although the ball ultimately becomes dead on a balk, if the pitcher pitches, that pitch may still count, as long as it results in the batter-runner reaching first base and all other runners advancing at least one base.

In this situation, the pitch missed low for ball four, which meant that runner R1 Williamson would have been forced to advance to second base, by virtue of batter Rodríguez becoming a runner on the base-on-balls.

But instead of applying the "play proceeds without reference to the balk" portion of the penalty due to both batter and runner advancing at least one base, the umpires enforced the base award for the runner and returned the batter to home plate, where he proceeded to strike out instead of taking his base.

Video as follows:

With none out and a runner on third in the bottom of the 1st inning of the Tides vs Jumbo Shrimp game in Triple-A, lightning struck somewhere near Jacksonville's stadium, and the thunder just happened to clap as Contreras was beginning his delivery. Replays indicate that in the wake of the thunder, both the pitcher and batter left their respective positions (pitcher stepping off the rubber and batter exiting the box). HP Umpire Thomas ruled that Contreras balked first and waved home Jacksonville baserunner R3 Jakob Marsee to put Jacksonville on the board.

Official Baseball Rule 6.01(a)(1) governs the start-stop balk and states, "If there is a runner, or runners, it is a balk when the pitcher, while touching their plate, makes any motion naturally associated with their pitch and fails to make such delivery." To that end, the balk call was technically correct.

However, OBR 5.12(b)(1) addresses the case of calling "Time" during inclement weather: "The umpire in chief shall call 'Time' when in their judgment weather, darkness, or similar conditions make immediate further play impossible." This rule would have empowered the umpire to call "Time" during play itself, if the loud thunder clap were to have been deemed a condition making immediate further play impossible.

Finally, OBR 5.04(b)(2) discusses what happens when both a pitcher and batter violate a rule, such as both leaving positions during delivery: "Both the pitcher and batter have violated a rule and the umpire shall call time and both the batter and pitcher start over from 'scratch.'" Under this rule, the play could have been nullified and ruled no-pitch, effectively baseball's version of a do-over.

It should also be noted that in college, NCAA Rule 4-2-b, the lightning rule, addresses what to do in a lightning situation: "In the case of lightning, the game administrator and umpire-in-chief shall follow lightning guidelines..." Under these guidelines, gamesmust come to an immediate halt upon lightning striking within a certain distance of the stadium and the suspended games may not be resumed until at least 30 minutes have elapsed since the last lightning strike within the prescribed radius. High school is similar.

But professional baseball has no such rule, meaning that the entirety of lightning or thunder-related pauses falls into the umpire's hands of judgment.

 

With one out and one on (R3), A's pitcher Leclerc threw to third baseman Baty to try and hold Mets baserunner R3 Tyrone Taylor at third base. Baty was not covering third base at the time and the throw was directed to him, not to the base. Accordingly, 3B Umpire Mahrley ruled a balk for violation of Official Baseball Rule 6.02(a)(2), and awarded Taylor home, scoring a run, bringing A's manager Mark Kotsay out of the dugout to argue.

OBR 6.02(a)(2) states, "if there is a runner, or runners, it is a balk when the pitcher, while touching their plate, feints a throw to first or third base and fails to complete the throw."

We then reference the MLB Umpire Manual interpretation of this rule, which states, "The pitcher shall be charged with a balk if, while in contact with the rubber, they throw to a fielder who is either in front of or behind first or third base and obviously not making an attempt at retiring the runner at that base. However, there is no violation if the pitcher throws the ball directly to first or third base in this situation."

Thus, when pitcher Leclerc threw to fielder Baty off of third base but not anticipating the throw in an attempt to retire the runner at third base, he violated OBR 6.02(a)(2) by failing to complete a throw directly to third base, instead throwing to a fielder not at the base.

It is important to note that OBR 6.02(a)(2) applies to first and third base, but not second base. Had this play occurred at second base, it would not have been a violation of the balk rule.

Video as follows:

Fresh into the Padres-Cubs game as a relief pitcher in a mutually disastrous first inning, San Diego pitcher Logan Gillaspie added to the carnage by immediately balking twice, with 3B Umpire Nate Tomlinson calling the crew in for consultation after just two pitches.

At issue was pitcher Gillaspie declaring to HP Umpire Mark Wegner his intention to pitch from Windup Position, which ordinarily grants the pitcher one step back before a second step forward, upon which the pitcher releases the ball.

Instead, Gillaspie took his first step back, but then brought both feet together, as in Set Position, stopping on the rubber, before restarting the motion and delivering the ball to the batter. Did Gillaspie change his mind about Windup vs Set and just not tell anyone?

Chicago's dugout cried foul, leading to Tomlinson's intervention and the crew's determination that Gillaspie had balked by stopping mid-delivery.

Because Gillaspie pitching from Windup interrupted his motion by stopping, this is a start-stop balk, as in OBR 6.01(a)(1), "If there is a runner, or runners, it is a balk when the pitcher, while touching their plate, makes any motion naturally associated with their pitch and fails to make such delivery," and (5), "...makes an illegal pitch."

Video as follows:

With one out and a runner on second base in the bottom of the 7th inning of the Mets-Marlins game, New York pitcher Minter slipped during his 0-1 delivery to Marlins batter Otto Lopez, releasing the ball mid-fall, which was ultimately scooped up by the catcher.

HP Umpire Dreckman then called a balk pursuant to Official Baseball Rule 6.02(a)(11), which states, "If there is a runner, or runners, is a balk when the pitcher, while touching their plate, accidentally or intentionally has the ball slip or fall out of their hand or glove."

Although New York argued that it should be deemed a legal pitch, since Minter released the ball toward home plate during his delivery (as opposed to simply dropping the ball from Set Position but before delivery), the MLB Umpire Manual instructs officials to nonetheless call a balk in this situation, because the ball did not make it to the foul line before being picked up by the catcher.

MLBUM's interpretation of this balk rule states, "A pitched ball that slips out of the pitcher’s hand and crosses the foul line shall be called a ball; otherwise it will be called no pitch. If the ball does not cross the foul line, this would be a balk with runner(s) on base."

Accordingly, this is a balk and as we know, you can't just be up there and just doin' a balk like that.

Video as follows:

With none out and runners on first and second base (R1, R2), Guardians runner R2 Arias took off for third base, drawing a throw from Padres pitcher Kyle Hart to Machado, who waited to tag Arias. But instead of giving himself up, Arias wrapped up Machado, who mimed a fake throw to second base where following runner Hedges was advancing.

Umpire Bacon, ruling that Arias' actions prevented Machado from making a potential play on another runner, ruled now-retired baserunner Arias guilty of interference pursuant to Official Baseball Rule 6.01(a)(5): "Any batter or runner who has just been put out, or any runner who has just scored, hinders or impedes any following play being made on a runner. Such runner shall be declared out for the interference of their teammate."

Broadcasters also erroneously alleged that pitcher Hart balked in making his initial throw to third base, which was unoccupied to begin the play, and without first disengaging the rubber. 

While a pitcher is generally prohibited from throwing to an unoccupied base from the rubber, OBR 6.02(a)(4) makes one key exception that is relevant here: "If there is a runner, or runners, it is a balk when the pitcher, while touching their plate, throws, or feints a throw to an unoccupied base, except for the purpose of making a play."

Because R2 Arias was attempting to advance to third base, Hart's throw to third qualifies for the purpose-of-making-a-play exception to the balk rule and is therefore legal.

Video as follows:

Just days after Clemson's incorrectly officiated hidden ball trick against Ole Miss, umpires nearly made another misstep on a similar play in the South Africa vs Nicaragua game in the World Baseball Classic Qualifier by calling a balk and awarding a run on what turned out to be a legal play by the defense.

Whereas the Clemson game featured an improperly ruled out call during a dead ball, with the umpire who called Ole Miss' runner out also having clearly previously signaled "Time", the WBC play didn't involve a dead ball whatsoever.

Related Post: Clemson's Hidden Ball Trick vs Ole Miss Was Illegal (2/18/24).

Related Post: Clemson's Hidden Ball Trick & Rule Requirements (6/3/24).

With one out and a runner on second base in the bottom of the 7th inning, Nicaragua's baserunner R2 tagged up and advanced to third on a fly ball to right field. After South Africa threw the ball to third base, the third baseman faked handing the ball back to the pitcher, keeping it for himself in his glove, while the pitcher slowly meandered back toward the mound.

While the pitcher stood on the back dirt on the pitcher's mound, Nicaragua's runner at third base took his lead, upon which South Africa's third baseman tagged the runner while off his base. Instead of calling the runner out, however, umpires called a balk on the South Africa pitcher, ruling that he illegally stood on the mound during a hidden ball trick attempt, which is illegal...just not under the ruleset that applied for this game.

Pursuant to NCAA Rule 9-3-f, the pitcher is not allowed to be on any part of the mound (dirt) while a hidden ball trick attempt is in progress, the penalty for which is a balk and base award for the runner(s).

But the World Baseball Classic doesn't play under college (NCAA) rules, it plays under professional (OBR)'s rulebook, which states that the pitcher's only restriction is that they may not stand "on or astride" the rubber without possession of the ball.

In other words, this playwould have been illegal (and thus a balk) in college, but in pro, it is a legal play and the runner is therefore out on the tag. After conference, the umpires ultimately did arrive at the correct conclusion, reversing their earlier erroneous balk call and declaring the runner out on the tag.

Refer to this summary of the different pitcher restrictions by ruleset (college/high school/pro):

Video as follows:

HP Umpire Jim Wolf ejected Guardians manager Stephen Vogt (balk call on Tim Herrin; QOCN) in the top of the 7th inning of the #Guardians-#Twins game. With two out and one on, HP Umpire Wolf called Guardians pitcher Herrin for a balk during Twins batter Jose Miranda's plate appearance, scoring baserunner R3 Christian Vázquez on the ensuing base award. Replays indicate that although Herrin did indeed start and stop his motion, batter Miranda also infracted by starting to step out of the batter's box, the rule for which states that since a batter cannot cause a balk, the play should be started over from scratch, the call was incorrect. At the time of the ejection, the Twins were leading, 6-3. Twins ultimately won the contest, 6-3.

This is Jim Wolf (28)'s 2nd ejection of 2024.

Official Baseball Rule 5.04(b)(2) Comment: "If after the pitcher starts their windup or comes to a 'set position' with a runner on, they do not go through with their pitch because the batter has inadvertently caused the pitcher to interrupt their delivery, it shall not be called a balk. Both the pitcher and batter have violated a rule and the umpire shall call time and both the batter and pitcher start over from 'scratch.'"

OBR 6.02(a)(1): "If there is a runner, or runners, it is a balk when the pitcher, while touching their plate, makes any motion naturally associated with their pitch and fails to make such delivery."

This is the 144th ejection report of the 2024 MLB regular season.

This is the 73rd manager ejection of 2024. Ejection Tally: 73 Managers, 22 Coaches, 49 Players.

This is Cleveland's 2nd ejection of 2024, T-2nd in the AL Central (CWS 8;CLE, KC, MIN2; DET 0).

This is Stephen Vogt's first career MLB ejection.

This is Jim Wolf's 2nd ejection of 2024, 1st sinceJune 28 (Joe Espada; QOC = Y [Balls/Strikes]).

HP Umpire Ben May ejected Diamondbacks bench coach Jeff Banister (pitch clock violation) in the bottom of the 6th inning of the #Diamondbacks-#Phillies game. With one out and two on, HP Umpire May called Diamondbacks pitcher Justin Martinez for a balk (stepped toward unoccupied third base and failed to throw), after which HP Umpire May called a pitch timer violation on substitute pitcher Joe Mantiply, who failed to start his delivery prior to the expiration of time following the pitching change, the call was correct. At the time of the ejection, the Phillies were leading, 3-0. The Phillies ultimately won the contest, 4-1.

The hidden ball trick—wherein the defense confuses the offense about the ball's whereabouts—must comply with several rules, including those pertaining to the pitcher as well as to the fielder holding the ball (and other fielders, too).

NCAA Rule 8-3-p states, "If, on an attempted squeeze play or steal of home plate, the catcher steps on or in front of home plate without possession of the ball or touches the batter or the bat, the pitcher shall be charged with a balk and the catcher with interference." The equivalent rules throughout the levels are OBR 6.01(g) and NFHS 8-1-1e.1.

Throughout the 15-minute delay as a result of the umpire's call and subsequent LSU protest (yes, college still has protests, no protesting a judgment call still should result in denial), the broadcast focused on the catcher's positioning at home, claiming he was not "on or in front" of home plate.

Rather than engage too much with this argument, we instead turn to a different rule that brings us to the same conclusion. NCAA 8-2-e-2 discusses catcher's interference that occurs whenany runner is attempting to steal a base: "[A stealing runner at any base] shall be awarded the base the runner is attempting to reach."

As for the balk component, R3 is awarded home plate either via balk or because of attempting to steal the base when catcher's interference occurs while R1 gets second base because the batter becoming a runner on the catcher's interference award forces R1 to advance.

For reference, defensive interference is defined as "an act by a fielder (usually the catcher) that hinders or prevents a batter from hitting a pitch" and replays indicate this catcher jumped in front of the batter, blocking his access to home plate (and the pitch) prior to the pitch's arrival. The batter had no free choice at this point to swing or not swing (and before arguing the batter must swing, think about it...requiring the batter swing here means catchers will get seriously injured...).

After the play as LSU set up to appeal R3's missed base touch of home plate (ruled "safe"/no miss by the umpire), R2 ran toward third base in an attempt to draw a throw, since all appeals must occur during a live ball (in OBR/NCAA) and be made before any subsequent pitch, play, attempted play.

Drawing a throw to third would thus be a play or attempted play and close the window on the appeal on old R3 at home. Nonetheless, the umpire ruled R3 safe because even though the runner didn't touch home plate during the initial play, the interference and obstruction rules allow umpires to award base touches in order to nullify the act of interference or obstruction.

Video as follows:

Official Baseball Rule 6.02(a)(5) Comment states, "A quick pitch is an illegal pitch. Umpires will judge a quick pitch as one delivered before the batter is reasonably set in the batter’s box. With runners on base the penalty is a balk; with no runners on base, it is a ball." (there were no runners.)

OBR's definition of Quick Pitch goes one step further: "A QUICK RETURN pitch is one made with obvious intent to catch a batter off balance. It is an illegal pitch."

One pitch prior to the play in question, Cortes delayed his delivery by throwing a "slow pitch"—a tactic he has employed in the past—only to then quick pitch White Sox batter Corey Julks on the very next pitch by hurrying his delivery as Julks was just starting to come reasonably set.

But instead of calling Cortes simply for making a quick return pitch with obvious intent to catch Julks unaware or unprepared, Diaz called a minute moment of Cortes's pivot foot breaking contact with the rubber before Cortes threw home.

Diaz's call was technically correct, but from a game management standpoint, a harder call to sell than the obvious quick pitch that occurred. This is because throughout baseball, if you slow it down and zoom in enough, you'll find thatmany pitchersroutinely break contact between pivot foot and rubber during delivery, which sets a dangerous precedent.

Why is it called here and not when, say, Justin Verlander does it routinely? The answer is the same conclusion made at the very beginning of the article—it was a quick pitch, that's what made the sequence illegal. Just because we mightknow a rule doesn't mean we have to apply it to a situation which can be adjudicated using a much moreobvious rule.

Video as follows:

This disengagement delivery involves two main components: #1, replays indicate pitcher Francis disengaged his pivot foot from the pitcher's plate during delivery, quickly re-engaging and firing home for a called strike three, which (#2) the television on-screen strikeout graphics indicate was located outside (and above) the strike zone.

Let's tackle the strike zone location issue first. When batter Torres stepped back in the batter's box during the pitch sequence, his stance as the pitch neared home plate remained similar to his standing stance—e.g., there was no "crouch" as expected during most pitches. This is reflected by the adjusted computer strike zone data as well as online zone visualizations, all of which agree the pitchwas a strike, given Torres' elevated strike zone due to standing back in the batter's box. The location issue was officiated properly.

As for the disengagement issue, we note that all pitches must be made with the pivot foot in (reasonable) contact with the rubber/pitcher's plate. If runners are on base and a pitcher's foot slips and they interrupt delivery, this can be called a start-stop balk pursuant to Official Baseball Rule 6.02(a)(1). But if the bases are empty, there's no penalty other than to allow the pitcher to reset the play, re-engage, and retry the pitch.

...except that as of 2023, we have a pitch clock which means the pitcher might well be under a time crunch that prevents them from properly resetting the play. That appears to be what happened here: pitcher Francis had just three seconds remaining after the inadvertent disengagement, meaning he didn't have time to recover and retry from scratch.

Instead, Francis quickly re-engaged and threw. We now refer to OBR 5.07(a) and 6.02(a)(5), both of which concern an illegal pitch known as the quick pitch: "A quick pitch is an illegal pitch.Umpires will judge a quick pitch as one delivered before thebatter is reasonably set in the batter’s box. With runners on basethe penalty is a balk; with no runners on base, it is a ball. Thequick pitch is dangerous and should not be permitted."

A central component of the quick pitch, however, is spelled out in OBR 5.07(a)(2) Comment: "If, however, in the umpire’s judgment, a pitcher delivers the ball in a deliberate effort to catch the batter off guard, this delivery shall be deemed a quick pitch, for which the penalty is a ball."

It would appear the pitcher did not intend to catch the batter off guard (also, the batter was somewhat reasonably set already) as much as he was rushing in an attempt to catch his own mistake of his pivot foot slipping off the rubber. A common sense approach to this play would be to declare "Time" and simply hit the reset button—no strike three call, no automatic ball, just a redo. This is the fairest outcome. Except the pitch clock was at the three-second mark when Francis slipped off the rubber, so the most likely outcome here would be a pitch clock violation on the pitcher and automatic ball for that reason.

As for who might see this, a pitcher out of Set (or even Hybrid) may have their back or pivot foot out of view of the home plate umpire, who would have to look through the front/free foot or leg to see the pivot foot slipping off the rubber. That's where the 1B and 3B Umpires can help—big time. What appears to have occurred here is 1B Umpire Nic Lentz and/or 3B Umpire and Crew Chief Lance Barksdale observed the disengagement, but also knew that with no runners on, there really isn't a penalty per se for it (not withstanding the pitch timer violation). Unfortunately, no one on the crew seemed to take it a step further to 1) the pitch clock issue, or 2) the quick pitch issue.

Instead, the crew, which did not put the entire play together, allowed the strikeout to stand.