Tennessee Coach Tony Vitello Ejected for Arguing a No Step Balk Call by HP Umpire John Brammer

HP Umpire John Brammer ejected Tennessee Volunteers head coach Tony Vitello during Missouri's conference-opening series sweep for arguing a no step balk call on a pickoff attempt in the 3rd inning of Mizzou's eventual 7-4 win. Report: www.closecalls...
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The no step balk rule is universal to all rule sets and, for college, the NCAA rule is 9-c-3-1, which states that the pitcher while touching the pitcher's plate "must step toward the base, preceding or simultaneous with any move toward the base."
For professional baseball, the rule is OBR 6.02(a)(3) and "Requires the pitcher, while touching their plate, to step directly toward a base before throwing to that base." The high school equivalent is NFHS 6.2.4b.
Tennessee pitcher Chase Burns appeared to fail to gain distance and direction toward first base, constituting a violation of the step balk rule. It should be noted the step balk rule only applies in the event that the pitcher is on the rubber when they begin their throw. if the pitcher legally disengages first, then there is no need to actually step to the base as the pitcher is treated like any other infielder for the purposes of throwing to a base (DO NOTE that the "action clock" or pitch clock-esque pace of play rules and step off limits would apply in this situation).

[@TheFreshmanWIT]

You'd commented on a previous video that you didn't like the mechanic the umpire used for the ejection... would be a cool/informative video to show a bunch of umpires ejecting, and giving opinion/grades/ratings/etc on each one. Super subjective, but perhaps fun all the same.

[@leo421loveselevators]

I just saw in sundays game that Rob Drake is now umpire number 8

[@colinhill7715]

I wish Vitello would shut his mouth once and awhile

[@bd5289]

Vitello ejected is equivalent to "the sun came up today"

[@Ashallond]

Vitelli is like this all the time. The SEC is getting tired of his trash antics like this. Go find where he gets suspended for bumping a ref.

[@mptr1783]

he has "Little Mans Disease" and thinks he going to intimidate umpires into not making calls but he should be learning that hes probably hurting his team more than helping

[@willcruikshank7972]

Tired of Vitello winning all the time

[@coltsjason]

I called one 2 weeks ago in a college game and coach told me thier was no such thing of course he watched the rest of the game from the clubhouse thing was pitcher knew what he done soon as he seen me throw my arm up he said dang it I didn't step did i?

[@edalovrich]

John is an excellent umpire and has been since I worked with him in the Northwoods League oh so long ago......

[@BlazePokePulls]

Brammer was my Chief at Minor League White Sox camp in 2008. My other crew mates were Steve Barga, Tak, David Trinidad and Tony Gutierrez. Great times.

[@strongestnattyever-videos2247]

Proof..?

[@BlazePokePulls]

@@strongestnattyever-videos2247 What do you want? A locker room picture together?

[@GreyhoundAggie]

Brammer is a fantastic umpire

[@garygemmell3488]

I can hear the coach's argument now. "HE'S NEVER BEEN CALLED FOR THAT BEFORE!". To which my reply was "In that case, all the other umpires were doing it wrong. We're doing it right today.".

[@austingallagher53]

His leg also twitched before he picked which would also be a balk correct?

[@michaelhogg324]

Yes he did

[@jimtoms7591]

Excellent call by the umpire. Coach needs to refer to the rule book and all will be well.

[@SchillerDuval]

Lol Vitello wouldn’t read the rule book if it was a foot in front of his face. He’s a bully and needs to be ejected more often.

[@michaelhogg324]

​@@SchillerDuval I agree

[@Godrocks75]

@@SchillerDuval You are 100% correct

[@Briansgate]

like 10% Boone? lol

[@chaset42]

Or you could understand that coaches do this all the dang time to try and light a fire in their team

[@michaelmack9376]

Baseball wants to improve pace of play, how about changing this culture where even the easy calls require a manager coming out and arguing until he's ejected. Balks can be questionable, no doubt, but this one was obvious and clear. No point in an argument or even a discussion, and getting ejected over it is just stupid.

[@JoRyGu]

Right, but he was already ejected, and pretty quickly too. What else are you going to do?

[@michaelmack9376]

@@JoRyGu True, Its more of a cultural thing in baseball. There's no other sport that has this culture of every call we have to wait while the manager comes rushing out to argue and we have to stop the whole game to have a 'discussion'.

[@jamesmurray3948]

Balks are not arguable but they can be explained if the manager comes out. I don't think NCAA mimics MLB where a step balk signal is given and the manager will be ejected just for coming out. But Vitello argued for sure.

[@hoaglanddrew]

I don't believe that it says in the NCAA rules that you cannot argue a balk.

[@jamesmurray3948]

@@hoaglanddrew It’s not in the rules but in the mechanics manual. A little different than MLB. 6. “Step balk,” the head coach is allowed to receive an explanation from the umpire that the call was a for a step balk. Should the head coach continue to argue the call, he will be warned to immediately return to his position (or the dugout) or be subject to immediate ejection.

[@ericshingler8915]

Everyone loves to see a ViteLLo sweep 😊

[@joshnaudi]

I always had a longer fuse on bad weather days. If I have to be out here, you have to be out here too. ;)

[@mptr1783]

Poor Tony, he argues so much that he even argues calls that are right..........

[@chaset42]

Some folks don’t understand that coaches argue and get tossed to fire their guys up. Sad but true. We call them casuals.

[@jeffreyramsdell4781]

This guy coaches division 1?

[@prsguitars42]

He shouldn't be!!!!

[@jeffreyramsdell4781]

@@prsguitars42 I Cant stand him at all! Something about him that makes your wanna throw up

[@willcruikshank7972]

@@prsguitars42best baseball coach in the country

[@juan833blue]

College or MLB; Arguing a Balk is the same as arguing Balls and Strikes; an immediate EJECTION

[@timothyhadley4938]

Brammer is an excellent umpire who made it to AAA in the minor leagues before returning to NCAA baseball. He is as professional as they come. I suspect the TN coach chose to get himself ejected, hoping it would fire up his players. It didn't work.

[@ryantalcott3733]

Coach still hasn't gotten over last tourney ejection.

[@jefflemoine2370]

This could just as easily have been called for the front leg buckling before the pivot foot moves.

[@rj7411]

Wow! That is an eagle eye'd umpire. Love it. Have a shower coach, and the next game too.

[@jamesrivera6068]

Great call. 👏🏽 As always the coach is clueless.

[@ackattack1002]

I think it was a rally-ing ejection. Get ejected before the game gets too out of hand to fire your guys up and hopefully produce a rally

[@michaelfalkner1186]

And now he's got a four-game vacation for it.

[@ackattack1002]

@@michaelfalkner1186 no he doesn’t…

[@michaelfalkner1186]

@@ackattack1002 To my understanding, that is the standard suspension for a college ejection.

[@randominternet5586]

@@ackattack1002 Why wouldn't he have to do the 4 game suspension like others, does he have a special rule applied?

[@fatshibaballs]

ridiculously good call.

[@maxable9128]

Shocking

[@mae2759]

Dude's a clown.

[@MO-hj8lj]

why didnt the ump watch R3 touch home after awarding the balk? maybe not part of this OPED but a mechanic nonetheless

[@damienbell3155]

Outstanding call.

[@darinlegore284]

good call on balk, and proper pre-ejection warning

[@ILOVEUMPS]

Also broke the knee, beginning his motion prior to the move

[@Briansgate]

Is the pitcher allowed to say 'hey ump, i'm not arguing, can I just get clarification?" from the ump that called him on it? Instead of getting it second hand?

[@herestoyoudoc]

strictly speaking, only the manager is allowed to ask for a clarification however, a player may respectfully ask, and if it will not unduly delay the game, many umpires will engage, especially in lower levels and especially between innings. But the umpire might also refuse players should be very careful about this; if the umpire suspects a challenge to authority, it will go badly.

[@Blt-rr2lm]

I don’t like the balk rules, especially now with a pitch clock. The runner can bluff, why not the pitcher? The pitch clock changes a lot that has to do with deception. As long as the batter has a chance to get set, (which the new rules allow) and the pitcher is on the rubber, I don’t care how he delivers the pitch.

[@Phil007QOS]

What about the pitch right down the middle called a ball in the video at the 15 second mark.

[@alcoraces]

In.

[@teebob21]

Ah, the terrible effects of TV parallax. That pitch was 6+ inches inside.

[@tankerdriver6329]

If it’s down the middle, why is your catcher pulling it back 5 inches to his left?

[@hoaglanddrew]

I don't believe the NCAA rules prohibit arguing a balk call.

[@priceright8963]

Tennessee can never seem to catch a break, can they?

[@umpireva5440]

They don't deserve one

[@priceright8963]

@@umpireva5440 Tony Vitello actually seems likable in comparison to you. And that's saying a whole lot.

[@umpireva5440]

@@priceright8963 too funny😋

[@deanb024]

First of all, it was a great call. Second, the coach is a clown.

[@umpireva5440]

@@priceright8963 thank you, coming from a vitello fan. THATS A Compliment 🤣🤣

[@davidvelleman3525]

The rule makes reference to "A pitcher who is touching the pitcher's plate" needing to make a step towards the base under this rule. However, in this case the pitcher disengages from the pitcher's plate with his right leg as part of his throwing motion to first, which should theoretically make him simply an infielder rather than a pitcher by rule (among other things, meaning that if he throws the ball into dead-ball territory the runner gets 2 bases instead of 1). Why doesn't that buy him out of this balk call?

[@LindsayImber1]

NCAA 9-3-c-5 should help here: The jump-turn move is legal if the pitcher’s free foot steps toward and gains ground to the base that the ball is being thrown. Otherwise, a balk shall be called.

[@ronpeacock9939]

His disengage didn't have him stepping back off the plate before his move. Meaning, this is a jump move and thus, you have to gain distance. He didn't properly disengage to become a fielder, so he wasn't treated as such. Re-watch the video and you'll see he didn't properly disengage for that.

[@ekdar123]

On jump-turn moves such as this, the player remains defined as a pitcher. Throws out of play would be one base and failure to throw would be a balk. The pitcher has to disengage prior to the pickoff move to be considered an infielder.

[@alanhess9306]

You are wrong David. In order to disengage the rubber the pitcher must place his pivot foot behind the rubber. His pivot foot was moved toward third base and landed in front of the rubber. That is not a disengagement. It is a move from the rubber. His free foot, as explained in the video, must move toward the base he is throwing to. This is a clear balk.

[@mae2759]

David, disengagement only legally happens after you step off toward the 2nd base side of the rubber. The "jab step" for righties to go to first has always been considered from the rubber.

[@rayray4192]

Little too quick? Is that a new balk rule? Too quick? You are better off muting the audio.