Tigers Minor League Baseball Blog

The majority of family and friends who follow my stat line always ask about the column labeled BK. This is the statistical sign for a balk and yes I have two this year, in the same game no less. That is neither here nor there however I get mad at myself for doing it in the first place whenever I have to explain what exactly a balk is. For those who may wonder what a balk is, it’s very hard to explain without acting it or using a diagram so just Google “balk rule” and that should save me some headache. The more I sit and talk about it, the more ridiculous the whole concept of the rule sounds. I realize that rules are rules and it’s a part of what keeps baseball such a great game, but there are certain rules which umpires in particular like to take to the limit. Our team this year has already balked more times than the last two seasons combined. Balking happens, it’s one of those little mistakes that happen over the course of a long season. This amount of balks however, lends me to question whether or not there was a rule change or if umpires are looking extra hard for one of the smallest details in pitching; coming to a stop. This also triggers bad blood between pitchers and umpires, but the umpires will always win because at the end of the day whether we like it or not they can control how we do. Baseball is a game of details and inches, and every little bit and piece is equally important no matter how hard it is to admit. None the less I will have to make my adjustment and my new pre pitch thought is, aaaaand, stop.