WBC Hidden Ball Trick - Out or Balk? OBR vs NCAA

Just days after Clemson's incorrectly officiated hidden ball trick against Ole Miss, umpires nearly made another misstep on a similar play in the South Africa vs Nicaragua game in the World Baseball Classic Qualifier by calling a balk and awarding a run on what turned out to be a legal play by the defense.

Whereas the Clemson game featured an improperly ruled out call during a dead ball, with the umpire who called Ole Miss' runner out also having clearly previously signaled "Time", the WBC play didn't involve a dead ball whatsoever.

Related Post: Clemson's Hidden Ball Trick vs Ole Miss Was Illegal (2/18/24).

Related Post: Clemson's Hidden Ball Trick & Rule Requirements (6/3/24).

With one out and a runner on second base in the bottom of the 7th inning, Nicaragua's baserunner R2 tagged up and advanced to third on a fly ball to right field. After South Africa threw the ball to third base, the third baseman faked handing the ball back to the pitcher, keeping it for himself in his glove, while the pitcher slowly meandered back toward the mound.

While the pitcher stood on the back dirt on the pitcher's mound, Nicaragua's runner at third base took his lead, upon which South Africa's third baseman tagged the runner while off his base. Instead of calling the runner out, however, umpires called a balk on the South Africa pitcher, ruling that he illegally stood on the mound during a hidden ball trick attempt, which is illegal...just not under the ruleset that applied for this game.

Pursuant to NCAA Rule 9-3-f, the pitcher is not allowed to be on any part of the mound (dirt) while a hidden ball trick attempt is in progress, the penalty for which is a balk and base award for the runner(s).

But the World Baseball Classic doesn't play under college (NCAA) rules, it plays under professional (OBR)'s rulebook, which states that the pitcher's only restriction is that they may not stand "on or astride" the rubber without possession of the ball.

In other words, this play would have been illegal (and thus a balk) in college, but in pro, it is a legal play and the runner is therefore out on the tag. After conference, the umpires ultimately did arrive at the correct conclusion, reversing their earlier erroneous balk call and declaring the runner out on the tag.

Refer to this summary of the different pitcher restrictions by ruleset (college/high school/pro):

NCAA 9-3-f is the most restrictive, prohibiting pitchers from being on the dirt of the mound at all.

NFHS 6-2-5 takes a moderate approach, stating pitchers may not stand within five feet of the rubber.

OBR 6.02(a)(9) is the most lenient, only prohibiting pitchers from standing "on or astride" the rubber.

Video as follows:

Robo Ump (ABS Challenge System) Debuts at MLB Spring

Baseball's electronic 'robo ump' Automated Ball/Strike System (ABS) debuted in MLB Spring Training and it took only a half inning before Chicago challenged HP Umpire Tony Randazzo's ball call, with ABS overturning it to a strike. Here's how ABS will work during its MLB Spring Training experiment and what that could mean for the future of TV's on-screen strike zone box graphic.

MLB brings the formerly Triple-A ABS challenge system to select Spring Training games in 2025, reducing team challenges to two per club (down from three in Triple-A). As is the case in Triple-A, only a batter, catcher, or pitcher may challenge a ball or strike call and the challenge request (indicated by tapping one's head) must be made immediately after the call in question. Teams lose their challenges with an unsuccessful challenge while they retain their challenges if the review results in an overturned call.

Taking a 17-inch wide home plate, ABS calculates every batter's strike zone the same way: the bottom of the zone stands at 27% of a batter's height, while the top is 53.5% of their height, regardless of where their actual hollows-beneath-the-knee and midpoint-between-belt-and-shoulders actually line up.

ABS also calculates the depth of home plate a little differently than TV. Whereas TV broadcasts display the ball's projected location at the front edge of home plate, ABS uses the middle of the plate's depth (the back edge of the plate's rectangle portion / base of triangle vs. TV's front edge).

In other words, ABS does not address the 2D vs 3D strike zone problem nor does it address the issue of fluctuating zone height in real-time, but it appears to serve more as a game management tool than one of absolute accuracy: the hope is that teams will buy in to ABS and if it's successful in that regard, it won't matter if ABS is actually accurate because the players and managers will accept it on its face alone.

MLB has indicated it may no longer be a fan of television's graphical strike zone, since TV's methodology conflicts with ABS: the league is concerned discrepancies between TV and ABS might make it harder to sell fans and teams alike on the challenge system. Will ABS spell the end of K-Zone on TV? Will it matter that ABS makes incorrect calls sometimes? Stay tuned...

Video as follows:

Clemson's Hidden Ball Trick vs Ole Miss Was Illegal

Clemson pulled off a hidden ball trick against Ole Miss during the 2025 Shriners Children's College Showdown, but while umpires called an "out" when Tigers 3B Josh Paino tagged runner Collin Reuter at third base, the rules state the out should never have happened because the ball was declared dead following the previous play.

Clemson is no stranger to hidden ball tricks at third base, having successfully executed the trick play during the 2024 NCAA season. In reviewing that play, we outlined several rules requirements for the defense in securing this kind of an out.

Related Post: Clemson's Hidden Ball Trick & Rule Requirements (6/3/24).

The difference between that play and the present one, however, is that in the Ole Miss game, "Time" was out while last season, "Time" was very much still in.

In other words, Clemson's Paino completed the prior play by attempting a tag on baserunner Reuter at third base, ruled "safe" by the rotating umpire. After the tag attempt, however, the umpire also called "Time" which was mirrored by the returning 3B Umpire on the left field line.

College, professional, and high school rule codes all agree: "While the ball is dead, no player may be put out" (NCAA 6-1-a). OBR 5.06(c)(2) continues, "...no bases may be run and no runs may be scored." The exceptions to this include awarded bases that occurred during live ball action (e.g., overthrow into the stands) or a dead-ball appeal (in high school only; appeals are live-ball only in college and pro).

Meanwhile, a ball does not become live again until, at the earliest, the pitcher is back on the rubber and the umpire calls "Play": "The plate umpire shall call “Play” as soon as the pitcher takes their place on his plate with the ball in their possession."

Because the pitcher in this game remained on the grass throughout the entire sequence (which, had the ball remained live, would have been proper as college requires a pitcher remain off the mound during a hidden ball trick attempt), the dead ball was unable to become live again, meaning this out call at third base during a dead ball should never have happened. In other words, a hidden ball trick generally cannot happen after a "Time" call immediately preceding it.

Video as follows:

Clemons, Jiménez, MacKay, Merzel, Tomlinson Hired; Emmel, Layne, Vanover Retired

Major League Baseball hired umpires Paul Clemons, Emil Jiménez, Alex MacKay, Dan Merzel, and Nate Tomlinson to its full-time staff after Paul Emmel, Jerry Layne, and Larry Vanover joined Angel Hernandez in retirement following the 2024 MLB season. Vic Carapazza, Doug Eddings, and Andy Fletcher were promoted to Crew Chiefs to replace the three retiring chiefs.

New Hires

Paul Clemons joins MLBU at the age of 34 after 14 years in Minor League Baseball, joining MiLB in 2011, and working 249 major league games on his way to joining the full-time staff.

Emil Jiménez earns a full-time slot after 10 years of minor league ball, joining the Gulf Coast League as a rookie in 2015. He brings 246 games of MLB experience with him to the permanent roster.

Alex MacKay first joined the minor leagues in 2012 and joins MLB 13 years and 262 major league games as a call-up later.

Dan Merzel is the most experienced of the new-hire class, having worked 452 major league games prior to his hiring. He first worked a minor league game in 2011.

Nate Tomlinson rounds out the list of hires, with 303 games of major league experience and has been in professional baseball's minor leagues since 2011.

Retirements

Paul Emmel retires from MLB after 25 years of service time, having been a crew chief since 2017. Emmel did not work in 2024 due to medical leave.

Jerry Layne's 36 years of service time (since 1989) placed him as the senior-most member of the MLB staff over the past few seasons, ever since Joe West retired in 2022. Layne also did not work on the field in 2024, but did work periodically in the replay room last season. He retires as a crew chief.

Larry Vanover retires after 32 years of MLB experience, but unlike Emmel and Layne did work on the field in 2024. Vanover's retirement as a crew chief means three chief spots need to be filled, meaning that...

Promotions to Crew Chief

Vic Carapazza has been promoted to crew chief after 14 years on the full-time MLB staff,

Doug Eddings is a new crew chief after 26 years on staff, and

Andy Fletcher is a new crew chief after 25.5 years on the MLB staff.