"you're a balk!"

So, last night was an exciting night for me as my beloved Detroit Tigers were on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball. The game did not go so well for the Tigers and at one point, I believe in the 5th inning, Tiger's pitcher Justin Verlander was called for a balk. I explained to my girlfriend sitting next to me, in a rare moment of humility, "I have been watching baseball all of my life, I know why they have the rule for balks, but for the life of me, if I saw one right before my eyes, I would have absolutely no idea that it was a balk or know that I should call it a balk." Instead of being amazed at my humility, my girlfriend took the moment to probe the issue of the balk, and asked me to clarify what exactly a balk is. Again, I reiterated "I DON'T KNOW" and then tried to explain the purpose of the balk rule, to which she replied- "thats stupid." I assured her that it was not stupid and that it made perfect sense and that there was a great rationale for the balk rule. (I mean, there had to be, right?)

As per usual when she frustrates me, she is asking perfectly rational questions that she has been trained as a lawyer to ask, but are also more reflective of her native sense of curiosity, which I love. Yet, it can be difficult when you grew up with a game and the rules are hard-wired into your system because thats just how the game is played and you never stop to ask the reasons "why" or "is this the best way?" So, in any case, at the height of my frustration, I ended the discussion with a curtly dismissive "I just want to watch the game!" And she appropriately responded-- "you're a balk!"

So, while my girlfriend's native sense is to be curious and to ask the difficult questions, my native sense is to read and find out and have the answers. So here it is--the official Major League Baseball explanation of what are allowable pitching moves. It may be stupid babe, but the first balk rules were put in place in 1898, so, if its stupid then at least its stupid tradition.

I don't want to actually suggest that this makes it easier to understand, but at least this provides some explanation and some context. Hope you enjoy! Go Tigers!