The Balk-anization Edition

On confusing rules and the extremely theoretical.

Chris Erickson (CE) is a friend of WITI and media director in Texas. He's a military veteran that used to specialize in advanced logistics and now convinces people they want to buy stuff from his clients.

I recently watched a video that asked the question: “What are the seven ways a batter can reach first base in baseball?” I was able to name six of them, but was shocked to learn that a balk was not one of them… except, apparently, when sometimes it is?

According to the MLB’s definition, a balk occurs “when a pitcher makes an illegal motion on the mound… As a result, any men on base are awarded the next base.” Basically, pitchers aren’t allowed any movements that could be deceptive, including faking a pitch or an attempted pick-off without actually following through. If they’re judged to have made such a movement, the punishment is that all of the runners already on base around that pitcher get to stroll over to their next base unchallenged, before the pitch is retaken. 

Why is this interesting?

Because this already extremely subjective rule has layers that make things even more complicated. In fact, there may be no rule in any sport more complicated than the balk. I’ve been watching baseball for almost four decades (during which there have been at least two rule changes around the balk) and I still have a hard time wrapping my head around it. But recently, I’ve been determined to understand all of the nuances. 

Here's where it starts to get tricky: if a balk is called, but the batter has already reached first base safely and all other runners have advanced at least one base, the balk is ignored. It's as if the rule has its own “undo” button. However, if any part of this doesn't happen naturally, the balk penalty kicks in: all runners advance one base, and the batter goes back to the plate to try again. This rule essentially says, “If the outcome is what we wanted anyway, let's pretend the balk never happened.”

Of course, this also creates some fun scenarios to imagine. What if the batter attempts to make it to first base, misses that base, and is called out? Under an appeal for the balk, they are considered to have advanced to that base despite not reaching first base safely. Wait, what? So now the undo is undone.

So what if the balk is called on a fourth ball where the batter would normally advance to first base when there is already a player on first? Then, in this situation, with the requirement that there is already a runner on first base, all runners can advance at least one base. That weird little caveat means base runners can attempt to advance more than one base, at their own risk. Unlike a walk, where runners must advance only a single base, during a balk, base runners can throw caution to the wind and see if they can capture an extra base, or two … or three.

While my tenuous grasp on the entire subject is marginally better now, what I did realize when bringing up the subject in my baseball group chat is that I think I’ve identified the theoretical Holy Grail of baseball plays: the Inside-The-Park Grand Slam Balk.

In a bases-loaded situation with a full count of 3 balls and two strikes, a pitcher could balk while also throwing a fourth ball. In this situation, the batter is entitled to take his base, but because a balk was called, runners on base could start a chain reaction of taking the base they’re allowed. The runner on third is going to score by default because of the walk, but at this point, just as they would if the batter had been walked, the other runners will just fill the remaining bases. That is unless they throw the aforementioned caution to the wind and try to capture some extra bases. Say the pitcher isn’t paying attention or in a fit of rage threw the ball into the outfield, the runners already on second and third can attempt to take more bases. 

The ball isn’t dead, because the play isn’t over, because of the actions the base runners are now taking. If you’ve made it this far into this article and you’re not a baseball fan, let me just emphasize how insane of a decision this would be. However, you now have runners in play that are taking additional bases and the defending team needs to take action. As soon as they do, the batter who has now reached first on the balking walk (a new term I am coining just for this) is dealing with a live ball that is still in play. Is he going to just stand there? Chaos has erupted on the field. Now he is running, too. Poor fielding and errors may be happening as his teammates decide they’re going for it. Now they’re all getting the go-ahead wave from the third base coach. With a little bit of luck, these hypothetical players are about to make theoretical history.

It’s highly improbable, but not impossible, for four runs to score on this one balk—if only the universe would align. The only real question is: can we come up with a name for this now or do we have to wait to name it for one of the players involved should it ever come to pass? Is it wrong to call it the Inside-The-Park Grand Slam Balk if nothing was ever “slammed”? (CE)

Quick Links (or, previous WITI articles that use the word ‘balk’ in them):
Why is this interesting? - Thursday, May 2: On alcohol, adaptogens, and a post-drinking world.
The Tetragrammaton Edition: On God, language, and knowledge
The Encyclopedia of Happiness: On journaling, search-ability, and insight
The Metaphor Edition: On slivers, figurative language, and the “f-word”