When Cincinnati batter Elly De La Cruz stepped out of the batter's box during the middle of Brewers pitcher DL Hall's delivery, the Milwaukee pitcher stopped without throwing the baseball, drawing an argument from Reds manager David Bell, who claimed HP Umpire Phil Cuzzi should have called a pitch clock violation, illegal pitch, balk, or otherwise should have awarded an automatic ball to De La Cruz.
Here's why David Bell was wrong.
We know that Official Baseball Rule 6.02(a)(1), regarding start-stop balks, does not apply here, because there were no runners on base and the balk rule only applies "if there is a runner, or runners."
With the bases empty, a pitcher can start and stop delivery without penalty, provided they reset and are still able to start a new delivery prior to the expiration of the pitch clock.
However, OBR 5.04(b)(2) Comment, which explicitly applies to balks, also applies to the pitch clock: "If after the pitcher starts their windup or comes to a 'set position' with a runner on, they do not go through with their pitch because the batter has inadvertently caused the pitcher to interrupt their delivery, it shall not be called a balk. Both the pitcher and batter have violated a rule and the umpire shall call time and both the batter and pitcher start over from 'scratch.'" The primary issue for this scenario is, similar to the balk question, there are no runners on base.
OBR 5.04(b)(2) proper states, "The batter shall not leave their position in the batter’s box after the pitcher comes to Set Position, or starts their windup." De La Cruz violated this rule.
The reason the pitch timer is not explicitly mentioned in OBR 5.04 is that the pitch clock is not mentioned anywhere in the Official Baseball Rules—the clock is a policy document, not a rulebook addendum. That is why the start-from-scratch comment to the rule explicitly mentions a runner on base—because without runners, it is not illegal for a pitcher to start-stop, and the rulebook doesn't address the existence of the pitch clock ("clock" and "timer" do not appear in the Official Baseball Rules; those regulations are listed in a separate policy document).
This creates a vacuum of rules coverage, so to bring us to a fair and common sense resolution for this unique situation, we then refer to OBR 8.01(c), the elastic clause for umpires: "Each umpire has authority to rule on any point not specifically covered in these rules."
Accordingly, with OBR 5.04(b)(2)'s starting over from scratch instruction for both a pitcher and a batter having "violated a rule"—which happened when De La Cruz stepped out of the box mid-pitch—and 8.01(c) allowing for common sense rules application, no penalty of an automatic ball (or strike) is imposed. The do-over just results in a complete reset.
Video as follows:
