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Reply to "Against leg-lifting LHPs: You can instruct (or demand) that your R1s go first-move, but many won't"

@NewUmpire I can appreciate a correct call, but honestly in most parts of the country what you described is going to be called a balk 99.9% of the time.

I also think some don't quite understand what going on 1st move is when compared to a straight steal of a LHP. When you go on first move, you literally on going on the FIRST MOVE of the pitcher. Doesn't even have to be his right foot, although most of the time it is, and I'm surely NOT waiting for him to cross some imaginary line. It is something that you have to look for. Maybe he lowers his glove, maybe his hip starts to rock, maybe it is something as simple as when he turns his head to home, etc.... this list goes on and on. You are basically taking advantage of the human mind. Pitchers are creatures of habit and once they have ingrained a motion into their heads thousands of times it is very hard for them to not do it. Now this is where being REALLY REALLY fast and getting a bigger than usual leads help. I'm not talking about 1/2 way down the line, but 1 to 2 steps more than usual. I would also recommend doing this after the pitcher has thrown over his max number of times. Those 1 to 2 steps are crucial to take. They buffer not only against a throw over to first, but also against a slide step to home. And like I said to start with if the pitcher wheels to 2nd, feints into a cartwheel, and runs around in a circle, 2nd base is yours as 99% of all umpires will call that a balk (whether it is or not).   

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