Judgement call?

It is BOTH......It is a balk when the pitcher steps to first base and throws to the first baseman who, because of his distance from the base, is (or would have been) unable to try a tag against the runner at first base....

The judgment factor comes in play with this..."the first baseman who, because of his distance from the base, is (or would have been) unable to try a tag against the runner at first base...." it is up to the judgment of the umpire if the 1st baseman is close enough to make a play....

To me, if I have a 6 foot tall first baseman who is 6 feet from the bag, he can make a reasonable tag attempt.....

In the 2 man umpire system, this can be harder to see effectively....The pros (4 man) seem to rarely call this balk at all.....

guess that doesnt help much....

It is not a balk if the pitcher steps and throws to the BASE, regardless of where F3 is or whether he can make a play in the runner. It is a balk if he throws to F3 and not toward the base, unless F3 is in position or moving to make a play (tag attempt).

Thanks guys. The pitcher actually threw it directly to the 1B who looked a bit surprised but caught it and made a half-hearted tag attempt on the runner.