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7 replies

Gaining Ground

coach2709coach270910,000+ posts
Left handed pitcher tries to pick runner off at first by lifting his right leg and going to first. Under NFHS rules there is no 45 degree rule - the pitcher has to go to first by gaining ground.

Gaining ground is when the pitcher actually moves to the base he is throwing. He cannot pick his leg up and go back down with it and make the throw to the base. Is that correct?

Tonight I was watching a game as a fan and in a first and third situation the RHP tried the double move (third to first move) but from where I was standing (I did NOT have a good look at it and I am not arguing either way - I saw it and started thinking about this) but the pitcher just picked his leg up and went down and then turned to first. I did not think he gained ground and I was wondering if this applied in this situation?

I hope this makes sense and if it doesn't I will try to clarify more.

Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude. Thomas Jefferson

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P pilsner500+ posts
Although it is true that there is no 45 degree rule in the NFHS rule book, reference is made to the 45 degree angle in the NFHS case book.

From page 50 of case book...
6.2.4 SITUATION B: With R1 on first, F1 attempts a pickoff while stepping at an angle but to the home plate side. RULING: Balk. To comply with the requirement to "step directly toward," F1 must step to the first-base side of a 45-degree angle between the center of the pitcher's plate and between home and first base. (6-2-4b)

As to the other part of the question...
Yes, the pitcher has to gain ground with his non-pivot foot toward third base while feinting there before he can turn toward first. The gain doesn't have to be much but if he picked his foot up and put it back down in the same place while feinting to third it would be a balk. Of course, whether he gained ground would be umpire judgement.
coach2709coach270910,000+ posts
Thanks Pilsner - that is pretty much what I thought but wanted to make sure.

One last question - why wouldn't NFHS not have the 45 degree rule - especially when they do reference it in the casebook? I can see where balks are umpires judgment and that is fine but it would seem to me it would eliminate some people arguing over the call. It would give the umpire a reference to make the call.
Michael S. TaylorMichael S. Taylor1,000+ posts
If it is in the casebook then HS has the rule. You won't find the 45 rule in any rulebook except maybe NCAA. The 45 is an interp not a rule. It is what umpires use as a reference for stepping to a base. I had a coach ask this question in a HS play-off. I told him he had 45 degrees. He said OK and that was that. There shouldn't be any argument about the ruling.
LonBlue67LonBlue67100+ posts
I was watching the SEC tournament games this weekend on TV and one of the pitchers was called for a balk - the commentators said, "well, thats why im not an umpire, I have no idea what he did there, I guess its a balk, beats me." Roll Eyes


on the replay it was clear the pitcher did not gain distance to First - he jumped-turned but his non-pivot foot landed back in the exact spot it started, just in front of the rubber.

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