Nestor Cortes Fake Pitch - Legal or Illegal?

Yankees pitcher Nestor Cortes executed an unusual delivery against Cleveland, pantomiming a fake pitch during his windup to Guardians batter Andrés Giménez. HP Umpire Mark Carlson and crew no-called the peculiar sequence, but with such a bizarre pitch, was there a rules violation to enforce?

This isn't Cortes' first unorthodox delivery, as in early 2023, Cortes reacted to HP Umpire Reed Basner's quick pitch (automatic ball) call by drawing out his windup and throwing a "slow pitch" instead. We discussed its legality, finding that although the quick pitch comes with its own penalty (automatic ball with the bases empty or a balk with runners on base), a "slow" pitch does not.

Article: Legality of Nestor Cortes' Delay from Windup Position (3/28/23).

This time around, Cortes added a fake pitch motion prior to his actual throw, leading to similar questions as to its legality. Official Baseball Rule 5.07(a)(1) governing Windup Position states, "Any natural movement associated with his delivery of the ball to the batter commits him to the pitch without interruption or alteration. He shall not raise either foot from the ground, except that in his actual delivery of the ball to the batter, he may take one step backward, and one step forward with his free foot."

If an umpire deems Cortes failed to heed the "without interruption or alteration" portion of this rule, the penalty wouldn't be the same as if Cortes were to have pitched from off the rubber (illegal pitch), thrown a quick return pitch (illegal pitch), or taken an additional step during delivery (treated as an illegal pitch). The penalty for all these would be an automatic ball added to the count; had there been runners on base, it would be treated as a balk instead.

But simple violation of the "without interruption or alteration" part of the rule alone, while grounds for a potential balk call had there been runners on base (e.g., under OBR 6.02(a)(1)), with the bases empty, there is no penalty as there would be for a bona fide illegal pitch.

Accordingly, the only remedy is a "don't do that" instruction to the pitcher, which does not carry with it a ball added to the count or other real gameplay penalty.

Video as follows:

MLB Ejection 011 - Derek Thomas (1; Tim Hill)

HP Umpire Derek Thomas ejected White Sox pitcher Tim Hill (balls/strikes; QOCY) in the top of the 9th inning of the #Reds-#WhiteSox game. With none out and none, Reds batter Nick Martini singled (advanced to second on an error), Tyler Stephenson lined out (R2 Martini advanced to third), Jonathan India hit a sacrifice fly (Martini scored), and Benson was called out on strikes. Replays indicate of the seven callable pitches thrown by Hill during his appearance, Thomas officiated all properly (7/7 = 100% accuracy), the call was correct.* At the time of the ejection, the Reds were leading, 11-4. The Reds ultimately won the contest, 11-4.

This is Derek Thomas (106)'s 1st ejection of 2024.

*UEFL Rule 6-2-b-1 (Kulpa Rule): |0| < STRIKE < |.748| < BORDERLINE < |.914| < BALL.

The 2-2 pitch to Martini was located 1.06 horizontal inches (px -0.84) from being deemed incorrect.

This is the 11th ejection report of the 2024 MLB regular season.

This is the 6th player ejection of 2024. Prior to ejection, Hill's line was 1.0 IP, R, SO.

Ejection Tally: 3 Managers, 2 Coaches, 6 Players.

This is Chicago's 1st ejection of 2023, T-1st in the AL Central (CWS, MIN 1; CLE, DET, KC 0).

This is Tim Hill's 1st career MLB ejection.

This is Derek Thomas' 1st ejection since August 3, 2023 (David Bell; QOC = Y [Balls/Strikes]).

Wrap: Cincinnati Reds vs Chicago White Sox, 4/14/24 | Video as follows:

MLB Ejection 010 - John Libka (1; Joey Gallo)

HP Umpire John Libka ejected Nationals 1B Joey Gallo (strike two and three calls; QOCY) in the top of the 8th inning of the #Nationals-#Athletics game. With one out and none on, Gallo took a 2-1 changeup and 3-2 fastball from A's pitcher Lucas Erceg for called second and third strikes. Replays indicate the pitch ruled strike two was located over the outer edge of home plate and belt-high (px -0.76, pz 2.94) and the pitch ruled strike three was located over the outer edge of home plate and waist-high (px -0.71, pz 3.26 [sz_top 3.52]), the call was correct.

This is John Libka (84)'s 1st ejection of 2024.

*UEFL Rule 6-2-b-1 (Kulpa Rule): |0| < STRIKE < |.748| < BORDERLINE < |.914| < BALL.

The 2-1 pitch was located 1.85" & 3-2 pitch was 2.45 horizontal inches from being deemed incorrect.

This is the 10th ejection report of the 2024 MLB regular season.

This is the 5th player ejection of 2024. Prior to ejection, Gallo was 0-3 (2 SO) in the contest.

Ejection Tally: 3 Managers, 2 Coaches, 5 Players.

This is Washington's 2nd ejection of 2023, 1st in the NL East (WAS 2; NYM 1; ATL, MIA, PHI 0).

This is Joey Gallo's 1st ejection since August 25, 2023 (Carlos Torres; QOC = N [Balls/Strikes]).

This is John Libka's 1st ejection since July 7, 2023 (Andy Haines; QOC = Y [Balls/Strikes]).

Wrap: Washington Nationals vs Sacramento Las Vegas Oakland Athletics | Video as follows:

MLB Ejection 009 - Clint Vondrak (1; Bob Melvin)

HP Umpire Clint Vondrak ejected Giants manager Bob Melvin (strike three call to Jorge Soler; QOCY) in the top of the 7th inning of the #Giants-#Rays game. With two out and two on, Giants batter Soler took a 2-2 slider from Rays pitcher Colin Poche for a called third strike. Replays indicate the pitch was located over the inner half of home plate and at the hollow of the knee (px -0.71, pz 1.60 [sz_bot 1.79 / RAD 1.67 / MOE 1.59]), the call was correct.* At the time of the ejection, the Rays were leading, 2-1. The Rays ultimately won the contest, 2-1.

This is Clint Vondrak (15)'s 1st ejection of 2024.

*This pitch was located 0.12 vertical inches from being deemed incorrect.

This is the 9th ejection report of the 2024 MLB regular season.

This is the 3rd manager ejection of 2024. Ejection Tally: 3 Managers, 2 Coaches, 4 Players.

This is San Francisco's 1st ejection of 2024, 1st in the NL West (SF 1; ARI, COL, LAD, SD 0).

This is Bob Melvin's 1st ejection since July 16, 2023 (Dan Bellino; QOC = Y [Pitch Clock Violation]).

This is Clint Vondrak's 1st ejection since August 20, 2023 (Elvis Andrus; QOC = Y [Balls/Strikes]).

Wrap: San Francisco Giants vs Tampa Bay Rays, 4/12/23 | Video as follows:

MLB Ejection 008 - Jeremie Rehak (1; Reese McGuire)

HP Umpire Jeremie Rehak ejected Red Sox catcher Reese McGuire (strike three call; QOCY) in the bottom of the 9th inning of the #Orioles-#RedSox game. With none out and none on, Red Sox batter McGuire took a 3-2 fastball from Orioles pitcher Craig Kimbrel for a called third strike. Replays indicate the pitch was located over the outer half of home plate and belt-high (px -0.54, pz 2.86 [sz_top 3.33]), the call was correct. At the time of the ejection, the game was tied, 3-3. The Orioles ultimately won the contest, 9-4, in 10 innings.

This is Jeremie Rehak (35)'s 1st ejection of 2024.

*UEFL Rule 6-2-b-1 (Kulpa Rule): |0| < STRIKE < |.748| < BORDERLINE < |.914| < BALL.

This pitch was located 4.49 horizontal and 8.11 vertical inches from being deemed incorrect.

This is the 8th ejection report of the 2024 MLB regular season.

This is the 4th player ejection of 2024. Prior to ejection, McGuire was 0-4 (2 SO) in the contest.

Ejection Tally: 2 Managers, 2 Coaches, 4 Players.

This is Boston's 1st ejection of 2024, T-1st in the AL East (BOS, NYY, TOR 1; BAL, TB 0).

This is Reese McGuire's first career MLB ejection.

This is Jeremie Rehak's 1st ejection since Sept 12, 2023 (Chris Johnson; QOC = N [Balls/Strikes]).

Wrap: Baltimore Orioles vs Boston Red Sox, 4/11/24 | Video as follows:

A's-Rangers Double Play - Infield Fly or Ordinary Effort?

Oakland turned an inning-ending double play against Texas when Rangers batter Jared Walsh's soft infield pop fly evaded diving A's second baseman Zack Gelof near the pitcher's mound, with 2B Umpire Tom Hanahan initially appearing to signal an infield fly, before declaring the batter safe, electing not to invoke the infield fly rule because none of the Athletics infielders could have caught the batted ball with ordinary effort.

With one out and runners on first and second base in the bottom of the 7th inning, Walsh's quasi-fly ball initially attracted speculation that the infield fly rule would be invoked, but as second baseman Gelof slid in an unsuccessful attempt to catch the batted ball, Oakland recovered and turned the inning-ending double play when umpires ruled the infield fly rule did not apply.

Gelof's slide may have tipped the scales against ruling this play an infield fly, as pitcher Austin Adams would have had to range backwards, off the mound to field the ball and Gelof was the other closest infielder, meaning that according to the umpire, no infielder was in a place where this ball could have been caught with ordinary effort.

This might be the infield fly counterweight to LF Umpire Sam Holbrook's infamous postseason infield fly call in Atlanta, when the umpire ruled that a shortstop deep into left field could have caught a fly ball with ordinary effort because he was camped under the ball before suddenly vacating that position.

Although formally termed an "infield fly" the definition and rule may more accurately be deemed the "infielder fly rule."

An infield fly is defined as "a fair fly ball (not including a line drive nor an attempted bunt) which can be caught by an infielder with ordinary effort, when first and second, or first, second and third bases are occupied, before two are out," and the infield fly rule results in the batter being declared automatically out while the ball itself remains live.

When Walsh's batted ball fell to the ground and the infield fly rule was not invoked, that forced both preceding baserunners R1 and R2 to advance, allowing pitcher Adams to turn a double play when both R1 Adolis García and R1 Jonah Heim didn't advance.

Video as follows:

MLB Ejection 007 - John Bacon (1; Aaron Boone)

HP Umpire John Bacon ejected Yankees manager Aaron Boone (strike two call; QOCY) in the bottom of the 7th inning of the #Marlins-#Yankees game. With none out and none on, Yankees batter Alex Verdugo took a 1-1 slider from Marlins pitcher Andrew Nardi for a called second strike. Replays indicate the pitch was located over the outer edge of home plate and at the hollow of the knee (px -0.88, pz 1.45 [sz_bot 1.57 / RAD 1.45]), the call was correct. At the time of the ejection, the Marlins were leading, 4-1. The Marlins ultimately won the contest, 5-2.

This is John Bacon (70)'s 1st ejection of 2024.

*UEFL Rule 6-2-b-1 (Kulpa Rule): |0| < STRIKE < |.748| < BORDERLINE < |.914| < BALL.

This pitch was located 0.41 horizontal inches from being deemed incorrect.

This is the 7th ejection report of the 2024 MLB regular season.

This is the 2nd manager ejection of 2024. Ejection Tally: 2 Managers, 2 Coaches, 3 Players.

This is New York's 1st ejection of 2024, T-1st in the AL East (NYY, TOR 1; BAL, BOS, TB 0).

This is Aaron Boone's 1st ejection since Sept 20, 2023 (Lance Barrett; QOC = N [Balls/Strikes]).

This is John Bacon's 1st ejection since July 16, 2022 (Mike Matheny; QOC = Y [Interference]).

Wrap: Miami Marlins vs New York Yankees, 4/10/24 | Video as follows:

The Reasonably Set Pitch Clock Loophole & Alert Walk

We again saw a potential pitch clock loophole as HP Umpire Gabe Morales called Giants pitcher Jordan Hicks for a violation and automatic ball, resulting in a walk, as San Francisco complained that Nationals batter Joey Gallo failed to come set so that Hicks could pitch the baseball.

The issue here is the difference in pre-pitch requirements and restrictions for batters and pitchers between the pitch clock rules and the Official Baseball Rules which pre-date the pitch timer.

To refresh the pitch clock rules state, "Batters must be in the box and alert to the pitcher by the 8-second mark or else be charged with an automatic strike" while pitchers may not come set or begin delivery before the batter satisfies these criteria.

The pre-existing rules, on the other hand, further restrict the pitcher as OBR 6.02(a)(5) Comment (amongst other places) states, "A quick pitch is an illegal pitch. Umpires will judge a quick pitch as one delivered before the batter is reasonably set in the batter’s box. With runners on base the penalty is a balk; with no runners on base, it is a ball. The quick pitch is dangerous and should not be permitted."

Accordingly, a pitcher may not pitch to a batter before said batter is reasonably set, while a batter according to the pitch clock rules is not required to become reasonably set but only alert to the pitcher.

Alert is a lesser standard to achieve than "reasonably set" which means, theoretically, a pitcher may be entrapped into quick pitching a batter who is not "reasonably set" by the expiration of time (since the batter is not required to be).

Then again, perhaps the solution is to reinterpret "reasonably" to weed out any unfair gameplay.

Video as follows:

Angel Again? Step-Off Disengagement Delivery Strikeout

After HP Umpire Angel Hernandez called Yankees batter Gleyber Torres out on strikes in the 1st inning vs Toronto, New York manager Aaron Boone argued the strikeout shouldn't count because Blue Jays pitcher Bowden Francis stepped off the rubber during his delivery, causing Torres to back out of the box.

This disengagement delivery involves two main components: #1, replays indicate pitcher Francis disengaged his pivot foot from the pitcher's plate during delivery, quickly re-engaging and firing home for a called strike three, which (#2) the television on-screen strikeout graphics indicate was located outside (and above) the strike zone.

Let's tackle the strike zone location issue first. When batter Torres stepped back in the batter's box during the pitch sequence, his stance as the pitch neared home plate remained similar to his standing stance—e.g., there was no "crouch" as expected during most pitches. This is reflected by the adjusted computer strike zone data as well as online zone visualizations, all of which agree the pitch was a strike, given Torres' elevated strike zone due to standing back in the batter's box. The location issue was officiated properly.

As for the disengagement issue, we note that all pitches must be made with the pivot foot in (reasonable) contact with the rubber/pitcher's plate. If runners are on base and a pitcher's foot slips and they interrupt delivery, this can be called a start-stop balk pursuant to Official Baseball Rule 6.02(a)(1). But if the bases are empty, there's no penalty other than to allow the pitcher to reset the play, re-engage, and retry the pitch.

...except that as of 2023, we have a pitch clock which means the pitcher might well be under a time crunch that prevents them from properly resetting the play. That appears to be what happened here: pitcher Francis had just three seconds remaining after the inadvertent disengagement, meaning he didn't have time to recover and retry from scratch.

Instead, Francis quickly re-engaged and threw. We now refer to OBR 5.07(a) and 6.02(a)(5), both of which concern an illegal pitch known as the quick pitch: "A quick pitch is an illegal pitch. Umpires will judge a quick pitch as one delivered before the batter is reasonably set in the batter’s box. With runners on base the penalty is a balk; with no runners on base, it is a ball. The quick pitch is dangerous and should not be permitted."

A central component of the quick pitch, however, is spelled out in OBR 5.07(a)(2) Comment: "If, however, in the umpire’s judgment, a pitcher delivers the ball in a deliberate effort to catch the batter off guard, this delivery shall be deemed a quick pitch, for which the penalty is a ball."

It would appear the pitcher did not intend to catch the batter off guard (also, the batter was somewhat reasonably set already) as much as he was rushing in an attempt to catch his own mistake of his pivot foot slipping off the rubber. A common sense approach to this play would be to declare "Time" and simply hit the reset button—no strike three call, no automatic ball, just a redo. This is the fairest outcome. Except the pitch clock was at the three-second mark when Francis slipped off the rubber, so the most likely outcome here would be a pitch clock violation on the pitcher and automatic ball for that reason.

As for who might see this, a pitcher out of Set (or even Hybrid) may have their back or pivot foot out of view of the home plate umpire, who would have to look through the front/free foot or leg to see the pivot foot slipping off the rubber. That's where the 1B and 3B Umpires can help—big time. What appears to have occurred here is 1B Umpire Nic Lentz and/or 3B Umpire and Crew Chief Lance Barksdale observed the disengagement, but also knew that with no runners on, there really isn't a penalty per se for it (not withstanding the pitch timer violation). Unfortunately, no one on the crew seemed to take it a step further to 1) the pitch clock issue, or 2) the quick pitch issue.

Instead, the crew, which did not put the entire play together, allowed the strikeout to stand.

Video as follows:

MLB Ejection 006 - Alfonso Marquez (2; Miguel Cairo)

HP Umpire Alfonso Márquez ejected Nationals bench coach Miguel Cairo (strike one call to Jacob Young; QOCY) in the bottom of the 2nd inning of the #Phillies-#Nationals game. With two out and two on, Nationals batter Young took a 3-0 sinker from Phillies pitcher Christopher Sánchez for a called first strike. Replays indicate the pitch was located over the outer half of home plate and above the hollow of the knee (px 0.43, pz 1.72 [sz_bot 1.59]), the call was correct. At the time of the ejection, the game was tied, 1-1. The Nationals ultimately won the contest, 3-2.

This is Alfonso Márquez (72)'s 2nd ejection of 2023.

This is the 6th ejection report of the 2024 MLB regular season.

This is the 2nd coach ejection of 2024. Ejection Tally: 1 Manager, 2 Coaches, 3 Players.

This is Washington's 1st ejection of 2023, T-1st in the NL East (NYM, WAS 1; ATL, MIA, PHI 0).

This is Miguel Cairo's 1st ejection since Sept 27, 2022 (Brennan Miller; QOC = N [Check Swing]).

This is Alfonso Márquez's 2nd ejection of 2024, 1st since March 30 (Yohan Ramírez; QOC = U [Throwing At]).

Wrap: Philadelphia Phillies vs Washington Nationals, 4/7/24 | Video as follows: