Manager wants the umpire to demonstrate this rule for him, a breakdown

The best part of baseball rules is you can tell half of them came to exist because of kids arguing on a field.

Ump is right. You’ll see this called more at other bases than first, but this is a great example of being too far off the bag which you can’t be.

Dumb rule. Play baseball. If you don’t want to get picked off, judge your lead off the bag carefully. It shouldn’t matter where a first baseman stands. He’s a fielder on defense.

That’s not the intent of the rule nor the correct interpretation of the rule. As long as there is a legitimate play to the base it is a legal pickoff attempt and the umpires are using too much judgment to call a balk. A balk is a play meant to deceive the runner-none on this one

I could be wrong but I feel like it should be similar to offside in soccer, if the first baseman is closer to the bag than the runner it should be legal.

So if the runner starts a stela or a bluff and the pitcher turns and throws to the first baseman who isn’t on the bag… what’s the difference?

I don’t get this the why of this rule at all, I have to be missing a basic premise. If runners are off a base, what is the problem with the defense throwing wherever they can to tag them out?

So a left handed first baseman can stand in the exact same place and its legal, but a right handed first baseman cant? More stupidity from mlb.

Great recap once again... That far off the bag he's a fielder not a first-baseman. He couldn't even turn and touch the bag from that distance. Ump made the right call. Hope to see more like it.

1st baseman should know better. You can’t play that far off the bag knowing and or assuming there will be a pickoff attempt based on who’s on base. This is on 1B

It would not be unprecedented for the ump to talk to the first baseman after the first throw over to tell him he needs to get close to the bag. That would have been an appropriate way to handle it.

wrong argument,every Ump has a flavor of rules for that game(strike window)when he missed the first time he set the tone of what a player expects is allowed, because he set the tone he needed to say hey, cant do that,because the player thinks now I can get away w this, Ump fkd up

I was taught this by an ex big league pitcher 15 years ago. As I understand it, it is the correct call

It’s cheating on the defense side bc the space between the base n lead off is for the offense & the defense should be defending the base

Not a balk. Once the pitcher steps off the rubber he can throw to anyone.

this isnt a new rule? I remember this debate years ago like mid 90's about whether or not an uccoupied base means runner or 1B not holding but its been called a balk forever

Baseball has so many tikky-tak rules. Which is kinda cool but this one is tough to grasp. Runner ought to be able to manage bases regardless of defensive player positioning. Help me understand!

Gay rule

I played first base for 10 years. The empire is correct. The first baseman must have his foot on the bag to make the pic.

This is another one of those situations where baseball has to get out of their own way. The play that the rule is supposed to prevent would add intrigue to the game. You fall asleep taking your lead at first base and get pickled? Get fucked buddy, pay attention next time.

@Kyle_Sielaff you asked and you received. I sent your request for this play and he did it.

So the call was right, this is a non story, and the manager is a whiney baby like most baseball managers.

If that’s an actual rule, it’s retarded. He should be able to throw it to any player standing absolutely anywhere on the field.

I would think the rule can be simplified to a) 1st baseman must be able to stand flat footed, reach and touch the bag. If he can’t ? Balk. At that point it’s the umpires discretion as to when that gets called. Manager wants to argue? Can he touch the base? End of discussion

It’s in the rule book. Managers don’t read the rule book.

It is a good call he was over a body's length off the bag

Ump did a solid job explaining Very obviously illegal and logical why as well

Crazy that the Jomboy team has the time and resources to pull that many comps!

Gary Owen shows must be struggling

At this point, the games would go a hell of a lot more smoothly if the umps just didn't exist anymore. Just have a governing body off the field checking replays on close calls. Balls & strikes could be easily automated by tech ALREADY IN PLACE.

In high school we ran a play 2015/2016 where if a runner was on second with a big enough lead the pitcher would step off throw to either the SS or second baseman both whom were off the base to basically trap the runner and tag them out

He’s gotta be just trying to play the ump, otherwise it’s pathetic that a MLB manager doesn’t know the rules. They pushed the rule, got called on it, and now he’s trying to get the ump to second-guess himself and box himself in by drawing an actual line. It’s gamesmanship.

Yeah Ump is right that was WAY off the bag 😂 Especially once you see the breakdown at the end

Another power hungry umpire who probably got bullied as a kid and now just takes it out on players "I decide when he's too far" not oh he has to be 2 ft from the base any farther than that and it's a walk what a loser