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My friend is a Little League coach. His team was in the field. There was a runner on third.
The pitcher intentionally did not step on the rubber. He then faked a pitch to home and threw the runner out at third base.
The umpires ruled that it was deceptive, and thus awarded home to the runner at third.
But isn't that what the pitcher was trying to do? Be deceptive? If the rule states that a foot be on the rubber, then doesn't this negate the requirement to throw to home?
Baseball Rules Acadamy has a page for little league rules including 8.05 (g)
8.05 - With a runner or runners on base, it is an illegal pitch when
(g) the pitcher makes any motion naturally associated with the pitch while not touching the pitcher’s plate ...
For some divisions, this is penalized (with runners on base) as a balk. Feinting a throw to home would seem to fit with that description.
