Dodgers Team News

Dodgers News: Joe Maddon Calls Out Julio Urias on Balking

The Dodgers are entering Wednesday’s game feeling very confident after their 6-0 win on Tuesday. Every single part was in working order: Rich Hill pitched great, the bullpen maintained Hill’s greatness, and the offense never stopped. This momentum is exactly what the team needed in order to support that the rookie, Julio Urias, who will be starting tomorrow.

Though fans everywhere are excited to see the 20-year old get a start in the postseason, Joe Maddon is not. Reporters asked Maddon how he felt about Urias’ pick off move, to which he replied that it’s “Balking 101”.



If you’re not quite sure which pick off move he is referring to, here is Urias showing it off against Bryce Harper in the NLDS:

Joe Maddon would go on to say the he’d like to see, “…a little more scrutiny with that overall.”

Check out everything Maddon had to say about Julio Urias’ notorious pick off move here:

Now the question at hand is whether or not Julio Urias is making a motion associated with his delivery or if his free leg passes the pitching rubber. It is very difficult to tell from the television, though Maddon says it’s obvious from that perspective.

According to MLB.com,

A balk will be called when a pitcher who is on the rubber makes any motion naturally associated with his pitching delivery and does not actually deliver the ball, feigns a throw to first or third base and fails to complete the throw, or fails to step directly toward a base before throwing to that base. Once a pitcher has swung his free leg back past the pitching rubber while in the process of his leg kick, he must then deliver the ball to the plate or to second base on a pick-off attempt.

If it was a problem before, than umpires would have called him on it. Hopefully the umpires in Wednesday’s game are not influenced by Maddon’s words and call the game the way they see it!

Dodgers, Cubs Shaping Up to Be A Great Series for 2016 NLCS

Alex Perez

Whittier College Alumnus. Editor In Chief of Dodgers Nation. Lifelong Dodgers fan.

4 Comments

  1. If joe (the old wino)maddon knew what he was talking about he’d be an umpire stop begging for help

  2. I’m afraid the tight wad that runs the front office will continue to be satisfied to just win the division. He needs to realize it’s not HIS money he’s spending but the teams. Unless a miracle happens, this team will never be able to compete with the Cubs.

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