Balk

In baseball, a pitcher may commit a number of illegal motions or actions which constitute a balk. When a balk occurs, immediate ensuing play is allowed to continue. If each baserunner advances one base safely, the infraction is ignored. Otherwise, the balk is called "no pitch" and each runner is awarded one base.

Related Topics:
Baseball - Pitcher - Balk - Baserunner

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There are two motivations behind the balk rule. A pitcher is constrained to a certain set of motions prior to and during a pitch; if these are violated, a procedural balk will be called. Some pitching actions are illegally deceptive to runners or the batter; these punitive balks penalize such deception.

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