Discussions: Quick Pitch

Baseball is a sport of rules: there are 10 of them. Basketball has between eight and 14 (depending on who you ask), Football; 18, Hockey has a whopping 87 of them (albeit divided into 10 "sections"), and Soccer doesn't have rules at all; they're called Laws and there are 17 of them. But back to baseball, from the Objectives of the Game (Rule 1) to the Official Scorer (Rule 10), baseball has only one rule that specifically concerns the defense; only one rule specifically targeted towards one position player. Rule 8 is titled "The Pitcher," and defines - in detail - what a pitcher may and may not do. UEFL'er Garrett writes...

Can we start a discussion on [Royals' pitcher Bruce Chen's] "quick pitch"?

With HP Umpire Mike Everitt presiding, Bruce Chen was called for an illegal pitch while facing White Sox batter Brent Morel... but was it really a "quick pitch?" Rule 8.01 defines two legal pitching positions: the Windup and Set [or Stretch] Positions. In this clip, Chen uses the Windup Position, wherein "any natural movement associated with his delivery of the ball to the batter commits him to the pitch without interruption or alteration." In the clip shown, it appears Chen jumbled several movements together, including a 'misstep' with his left (pivot) foot while in contact with the rubber, which under Rule 8.01(d), is an illegal pitch, the penalty for which (with the bases unoccupied) is a ball. From the Windup, the pitcher may move his free foot one step back, not his pivot foot. Rule 8.05(e) Comment specifically defines the 'Quick Pitch' as a ball delivered before the batter is "reasonably set in the batter's box," the penalty for which is an automatic ball (as in Rule 8.01[d]). 8.05(e) Comment shifts the focus from the pitcher to the batter. Discussion: Were Chen's actions illegal? Under 8.01(a), 8.05(e) Comment, or both? In a related story, Anonymous writes....

Does anyone know what happened here, I thought that with no runners on, a quick pitch was ruled a ball. Did the umpire have the stop sign up because he himself wasnt ready, or was it a quick pitch because posada wasn't ready

This half-month old comment refers to a call made by Home Plate umpire Ed Rapuano during the July 19th Yankees-Rays game. In the top of the 9th inning, with a 0-2 count and one out with nobody on base, Rays pitcher Joel Peralta threw a pitch to Yankees batter Jorge Posada. The pitch was deemed by Rapuano to be a quick pitch (illegal pitch); curiously, Rapuano did not call for an automatic ball as prescribed by rule: the count remained 0-2. Discussion: Was this the correct call? Why wasn't a ball added to the count, or was the scorer just not paying attention?

Though these two plays did not result in ejection, Rules 8.01 & 8.05(e) Comment have played a part in two heave-hos so far this season. Both ejections, Rob Drake (1) and Ed Hickox (1), were quick pitch no calls and both were ruled to have a Quality of Correctness of Correct.