Four Letter Word During the play of any baseball game you will hear four-letter words that will arouse both tame and violent responses. Some of these words are traditional baseball vocabulary, some are obscenities called out from the crowd. None, however, cause as much confusion and anger as the mysterious word “Balk.” When stated this four-letter word that can stop anybody dead in his tracks. There is no rule in baseball more widely misunderstood today …showed first 75 words of 930 total…

…showed last 75 words of 930 total…purpose for which it was created. The balk is no exception. If umpires didn’t regulate the pitchers actions then the game would have an unfair advantage favoring the defensive side. If there were not a balk rule then pitchers would be forever concerned with faking out the base runner, rather than pitching to the batter instead. The next time you see a balk called remember its purpose and appreciate the umpire for calling it.