Key takeaways
- Remember what the rule is for: with a runner on base, any motion that starts a pitch has to finish as a pitch.
- From the set position, hold the ball in both hands and come to a complete stop before delivering; skipping the stop is one of the 13 listed balks.
- Step directly towards a base before throwing to it from the rubber; faking a throw to first or third is a balk, while faking to second is legal.
- Count disengagements in MLB: two pickoff attempts or step-offs per plate appearance, and an unsuccessful third is penalised as a balk.
- With the bases empty there is no balk to call; an illegal pitch is simply a ball.
A balk is an illegal act by the pitcher while a runner is on base, and the penalty is that every runner moves up one base. The 2026 edition of the Official Baseball Rules, which governs the 2026 MLB season, defines it in those terms and lists 13 separate balk actions in Rule 6.02(a). With the bases empty there is no such thing as a balk.
The 13 actions read like a miscellany until you notice what they share. Each is a way of making a runner believe something about the next pitch that is not true. The rulebook says so itself: its comment on Rule 6.02(a) tells umpires that "the purpose of the balk rule is to prevent the pitcher from deliberately deceiving the base runner", and that where there is doubt, the pitcher's intent should govern.
Why the pitcher is the one restricted
A runner on first leads off and has to decide in a fraction of a second whether the pitcher is throwing home or throwing over. Everything he knows comes from the pitcher's body. If a pitcher could begin his delivery and then whip the ball to first, or pretend to throw and keep the ball, no runner could safely take a lead at all. MLB's glossary dates the first specific balk rules to 1898 and says that before them, runners had to play it safe because pitchers could fool them by any means.
The rules therefore fix what a pitcher's movements mean. Rule 5.07(a) allows two legal pitching positions, the Windup and the Set, and in both, once the pitcher makes a natural movement associated with delivering the ball, he is committed to the pitch without interruption. A balk is mostly a broken commitment.
The 13 balk actions, grouped by the false signal
Paraphrased from Rule 6.02(a). "On the rubber" means while touching the pitcher's plate.
| Rule 6.02(a) | What the pitcher does | What a runner is misled about |
|---|---|---|
| (1) | Starts a motion naturally associated with his pitch, on the rubber, and does not deliver | Whether the pitch is coming |
| (13) | Delivers from the Set Position without coming to a stop | When the pitch is coming |
| (10) | Takes a hand off the ball after reaching a legal pitching position, other than to pitch or throw to a base | Whether he is about to pitch |
| (11) | Lets the ball slip or fall from his hand or glove while on the rubber, accidentally or intentionally | Whether play is about to start |
| (2) | Fakes a throw to first or third base while on the rubber and does not complete it | Whether a pickoff is coming |
| (3) | Throws to a base from the rubber without first stepping directly towards it | Where the ball is going |
| (4) | Throws, or fakes a throw, to an unoccupied base from the rubber, other than to make a play | Whether a play is on |
| (5) | Makes an illegal pitch, such as a quick pitch or a pitch without his pivot foot on the rubber | When the pitch is coming: a quick pitch arrives before the batter is set |
| (6) | Delivers to the batter while not facing him | Where the ball is going |
| (7) | Makes a pitching motion while not touching the rubber | Whether a pitch is possible at all |
| (9) | Stands on or astride the rubber without the ball, or fakes a pitch while off the rubber | Whether he even has the ball |
| (8) | Unnecessarily delays the game | — (a pace rule, not a deception rule) |
| (12) | Pitches during an intentional walk while the catcher is outside the catcher's box | — (a positioning rule for the catcher) |
Some balks need no intent at all. A ball that slips from the pitcher's hand on the rubber is a balk "accidentally or intentionally", and Rule 5.02(a) separately makes it a balk if the catcher leaves his box during an intentional walk before the ball leaves the pitcher's hand. The deception principle explains the rule; it is not a defence once one of the listed acts happens.
Moves that look like balks but are legal
These come up constantly, and the rulebook's comments settle them:
- Faking a throw to second base is legal. The ban on fakes covers first and third only.
- The full turn to second. With a runner on first, a pitcher may turn all the way around without hesitating towards first and throw to second; that is not a throw to an unoccupied base.
- Stepping off the rubber. A pitcher who steps backwards off the rubber with his pivot foot becomes an infielder under Rule 5.07(e), and from there he may throw anywhere. A wild throw from that position is treated like any infielder's throw.
- A batter who causes the stop. If the batter inadvertently makes the pitcher interrupt his delivery, the comment on Rule 5.04(b)(2) says it shall not be called a balk; time is called and both start again.
Some legal options come with conditions attached. From the Windup Position a pitcher may pitch, step and throw for a pickoff, or disengage, but if he moves into a set or stretch position instead, it is a balk. And a pitcher who swings his free foot past the back edge of the rubber must pitch, unless he is throwing to second on a pickoff play.
The penalty, worked through
Rule 6.02(a) makes the ball dead and moves each runner up one base without liability to be put out. There is one exception: if the pitch is delivered anyway and the batter reaches first on a hit, an error, a walk, a hit-by-pitch or otherwise, and every other runner advances at least one base, the play proceeds as if the balk never happened. MLB's glossary adds that a pitch thrown during a balk is waved off.
Three hypothetical situations show how that plays out, each starting with a runner on second and a 1–1 count, and a pitcher who delivers from the stretch without stopping:
- The batter pops out. The balk is enforced: the runner goes to third, the pop-up does not count, and the pitch is waved off, so the batter resumes at 1–1.
- The batter singles and the runner scores. The batter reached first on a hit and the runner advanced at least one base, so the play stands and the balk is ignored. The offence keeps its single.
- The bases were loaded instead. Every runner moves up one base, so the runner from third scores. Under the official scoring rules no error is charged for an advance on a balk (Rule 9.12(f)), and balks are on the Rule 9.16(a) list of ways a run can be earned against the pitcher.
Two approved rulings fill in the gaps. If the pitcher balks and also throws wildly, runners may try to go beyond the base they are awarded, at their own risk. And a runner who misses the first base he is advancing to, and is called out on appeal, is still treated as having advanced one base.
With nobody on base, Rule 6.02(b) applies instead: an illegal pitch is called a ball unless the batter reaches first anyway. A ball that slips out of the pitcher's hand is a ball if it crosses the foul line and no pitch if it does not.
The stop in the Set Position
The missing stop is the balk the rulebook singles out. Rule 5.07(a)(2) requires a pitcher working from the stretch to hold the ball in both hands in front of his body and "come to a complete stop" before delivering, and it adds an instruction that is unusual in a rulebook: "This must be enforced." Umpires are told to watch closely because pitchers keep trying to "beat the rule" to hold runners.
The stop matters only with runners on base. With the bases empty, the comment says no stop is required, though a delivery meant to catch the batter off guard is a quick pitch and is called a ball. With runners on, a pitcher standing with his pivot foot on and parallel to the rubber and his other foot in front of it is presumed to be in the Set Position unless he has told the umpire before the at-bat that he will use the Windup.
The comment on Rule 5.07(a) adds two more traps. A pitcher who disengages must drop his hands to his sides, and one who takes a second step towards home plate or resets his pivot foot during his delivery has balked if anyone is on base.
The disengagement limit
Since 2023, MLB has also enforced a limit that you will not find in the balk list itself. According to MLB's pitch timer page, pitchers are allowed two disengagements per plate appearance — a pickoff attempt or a step-off each count as one — and the limit resets if a runner advances during the plate appearance. MLB's balk entry says a third disengagement results in a balk; in practice a third pickoff attempt that fails moves the runner up a base, while one that succeeds is simply an out. Mound visits, injury timeouts and offensive team timeouts do not count against the limit.
That turns the running game into a budget. Once a pitcher has used both disengagements, a runner can extend his lead knowing that the next throw over has to retire him or it costs a base, and the pitcher has to decide early whether a runner is worth spending them on.
One caution about reading MLB's own glossary entry: it still mentions "all five of its allotted mound visits" and points readers to "section 8" of the rules, and both are out of date. Rule 5.10(m)(1) of the 2026 rulebook sets four mound visits per nine innings, and MLB's pace-of-play entry says the limit has been four since 2024. The rulebook was also reorganised after a December 2014 committee vote, which is why the balk list now sits in Rule 6.02(a); an older explainer that cites a section 8 rule is using the pre-2015 numbering.
Balks in youth baseball
Little League's explanation is a useful reminder that the rule depends on leads. It says balks apply in its Intermediate 50/70, Junior and Senior baseball divisions, but are not called in the Major Division and below or in softball, because runners there cannot lead off — so there is nothing to deceive. Those divisions rely on an illegal-pitch rule instead.
For anyone pitching a career
If you take a pitcher's career in Baseball Career Sim 2026, the game asks pitching questions with the count, the runners and the score in view. We are not claiming its simulator calls balks; the point is that the real rule explains why runners on base change a pitcher's options at all. Baseball pitching roles explained covers how starters, relievers and closers differ, and two-way players explained covers players who both pitch and hit, and so meet this rule from both sides. The Baseball Career Sim 2026 guide covers choosing a path in the first place.
For the front-office side, our guide to baseball draft simulators explains how pitchers are compared on the numbers in 162-0 Baseball Draft & GM Team. More rules explainers live in the baseball section, and every game is listed under sports career and GM games.
Baseball Career Sim 2026 uses a fictional league, fictional teams and fictional players. 162-0 Baseball Draft & GM Team draws its player pool from real players' careers and rates them with its own estimates. No league, team, players' association or player is affiliated with or endorses either game. MLB and MLB.com are trademarks of their owners and are named only to identify the rules cited, as is Little League.
Good to know
Frequently asked questions
What is a balk in simple terms?
What happens when a pitcher balks?
Can a balk be called with nobody on base?
How many pickoff attempts can a pitcher make in MLB?
Are balks called in Little League?
Sources
- Official Baseball Rules, 2026 Edition (opens in a new tab)Office of the Commissioner of Baseball — accessed
- Balk & Disengagement Violation (2023 rule change) | Glossary (opens in a new tab)MLB.com — accessed
- Pitch Timer (2023 rule change) | Glossary (opens in a new tab)MLB.com — accessed
- Pace of Play | Glossary (opens in a new tab)MLB.com — accessed
- What is a balk? (opens in a new tab)Little League — accessed
League, team and athlete names appear here only to identify the rules, records and history being discussed. Reign Creative LLC's sports games are not affiliated with, endorsed by or licensed by any league, team, players' association or athlete, and all names and marks belong to their owners.
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