How this rule is used today
pinions about enforcing the so-called Catcher’s Balk are many and varied. It is a much misunderstood rule, and one that time has not treated kindly in preserving its original intent. According to Evans’ Official Baseball Rules Annotated the following is the proper historical perspective on this rule:
In the early days, rulesmakers were trying to encourage offense in the rather dull, dead-ball game. To discourage pitchers from intentionally pitching "around" hitters, they deemed it illegal for a catcher to leave his rather spacious, triangular box to assist the pitcher in intentionally walking a hitter. Despite the change in the nature of the game (dead ball vs. live ball) and the downscaling of the catcher’s box, this rule has remained intact. (page 4:8)
The "rather spacious, triangular box" referred to here was formed by extending the first and third base lines to meet a line drawn approximately 10 feet behind the point of home plate parallel to the pitching rubber.
So how is this rule applied today? Again, here is the Evans’ Official Baseball Rules Annotated explanation of the current MLB professional usage of this rule:
Continued...
Please sign in to read the rest of this article:
