quote:Originally posted by Infopimp: Curious. You have to trust umpires. And, my experience is most won't call this a balk even if it is. However, how often are you called for a balk even though you don't? Do you show the move to the umpire before you use it? Pre-inning...pregame? To get his ok? The reason I ask is that in a two man umpiring crew, they have absolutely no angle to make this call. And, most won't make the call if "they don't see it".
I’ve haven’t been called for a balk yet, but I’m sure it’ll happen sometime, whether I balk or not. Most of the time I just get angry dads yelling from the stands.
About showing the umpire beforehand, I don’t, but I haven’t really thought about it. I’m not sure I’d want to give any chance to the other team of picking up my move before the game even starts. Plus, in my opinion, any interaction between my team and the umpire should be through my coach. If my coach wants to tell the umpire beforehand that I have deceptive move, I think that would be better than a player telling him.
quote:Originally posted by Infopimp: So, another question. Do you use that fact to your advantage and ever balk intentionally, taking a chance to nail a threatening runner.[/ QUOTE]
I haven’t yet, but it’s still early in the season.
[QUOTE]Originally posted by BobbleheadDoll:
I find the angle of the video deceptive. When I look at it closely he appears to be lined up at a 45 angle to home plate so it looks like he is balking.Lead hip is pointed toward 1stb.
I think his knee should be closed a lot more at full lift to allow more power to be generated. I also felt he commited everything down the line. ie weight forward too soon rather than holding a balance position a little longer. Arm dosen't have any force behind it.
The angle of the video is from the runner’s perspective (9 or 10 feet from the bag).
I’m not sure I get what you’re saying when you say I’m “lined up at a 45 degree angle”. My feet are staggered, but the rest of my body is pointed home (pointed in the same direction as a line drawn from home to second).
And yes you’re right; my arm doesn’t have much force behind it. It’s very hard to keep your shoulders pointed to home (which is imperative for a pickoff move) and still make a strong throw to first. But I’d rather make a soft throw and catch a runner already taking his secondary than try to make a strong throw and sacrifice deception.
quote:Originally posted by BobbleheadDoll:
If you lineup like he appears to do he has trouble generating power to HP as well as his pickoff move.
Keep in mind that this video was taken on Dec 16, well before I was throwing full speed, and, that this is still a work in progress. But I’ll be glad to consider any tips you have if you would mind explaining yourself a little bit better.