Intentional balk

After a failed attempt at throwing the ball out of play, the South Australia pitcher deliberately balked to try and send the runner home.

[2][3] Intentionally committing a balk in Major League Baseball (MLB) resulted from an idea raised by Los Angeles Dodgers coach Bob Geren, who came up with the concept during a spring training session as a way to prevent sign stealing.

[5] After Geren raised the idea in spring training, it was executed by Dodgers pitcher Kenley Jansen against the Chicago Cubs on June 15, 2019.

[6] An intentional balk occurred at least twice during the 2021 season: on May 26 when the Cubs' Craig Kimbrel intentionally balked against the Pittsburgh Pirates to stop sign stealing in the ninth inning (the Cubs held a three-run lead at the time),[7] and on September 6 when Collin McHugh of the Tampa Bay Rays intentionally balked against the Boston Red Sox in the 10th inning to avoid the runner at second base being able to steal signs (the Rays held a two-run lead at the time).

[8] In 2022, MLB introduced PitchCom, an optional wireless communication system used by players in place of visible signs.