BALK RULE REVISED FOR
HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL
At its
annual meeting in Indianapolis, Indiana, on June 18-19, the National
Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Baseball Rules Committee
defined what is a balk and what is not for a high
school baseball pitcher.
Rule 6-1-1 was revised to specify when a
baseball pitcher can turn his shoulders toward base runners while on the mound.
It is now legal for a pitcher to turn his shoulders to check a runner if he is
in the set position and in contact with the pitcher’s plate. However, if the
pitcher turns his shoulders in the windup position to check a runner, it is a
balk. Turning the shoulders after bringing the hands together during or after
the stretch is also a balk.
“The use of
the shoulder turn while in the set position does not afford the pitcher an
advantage, ” said B. Elliot Hopkins, NFHS assistant
director and liaison to the NFHS Baseball Rules Committee. “The prohibition of
such actually creates a disadvantage.”
In other
changes, Rule 1-4-6 states that players now have the
option of wearing batting helmets equipped with attached facemasks or guards.
Regardless of whether the mask is produced with the helmet or attached after
the helmet is manufactured, all attached facemasks or guards must meet NOCSAE
standards at the time of the mask’s attachment.
“NOCSAE
recently developed a standard for facemasks and guards, and the committee felt
it would be prudent to incorporate that new standard into our existing rule,”
said NFHS Baseball Rules Committee Chairman Greg Brewer.
The
committee also modified rules pertaining to coaches uniforms. Rule 3-2-1 was changed to state that a coach
who is not in his or her team’s uniform shall be restricted to the bench or
dugout and cannot enter the field unless one of his or her players is ill or
injured. Along the same lines, any coach occupying the coach’s box must be
dressed in his or her team’s uniform.
Also, Rule 3-1-1 was clarified so that if an illegal
player on either offense or defense is discovered by an umpire, that player
shall be restricted to the bench or dugout for the rest of the game. If an
illegal offensive player re-enters the game, he will be called out immediately
and ejected; an illegal defensive player will simply be ejected.
Baseball is
the fourth-most popular sport among boys at the high school level with 453,792
participants during the 2002-03 season, according to
the High School Athletics Participation Survey conducted by the NFHS. It also
ranks third in school sponsorship with 14,988 schools offering the sport.