Quick Pitch
During last night’s Yankee game, Joel Peralta of the Rays tried to quick pitch Jorge Posada in the 9th inning. Quick pitching is an attempt by the pitcher to deliver the ball before the hitter is set in the box and catch him off guard. Ed Rapuano -the home plate umpire- immediately called a “no pitch” and warned Peralta not to do this again.
I was unfamiliar with the official rule regarding this, and after conducting some researching on MLB.com, I believe that Ed Rapuano was also confused. Per rule Rule 8.05(e)
A quick pitch is an illegal pitch. Umpires will judge a quick pitch as one delivered before the batter is reasonably set in the batter’s box. With runners on base the penalty is a balk; with no runners on base, it is a ball. The quick pitch is dangerous and should not be permitted.
There was no one on base in this situation, so the pitch should have been called a ball rather than not counting. No telling if this would have changed the outcome of the game, but it isn’t often that you see a veteran umpire make a mistake with the rules.