Pickoff

Pitchers in professional baseball use the pickoff move often, perhaps several times per game or even per inning if speedy baserunners reach base.

Pitchers with more confidence in their ability to eliminate batters directly via strikeouts or flyouts use fewer pickoff attempts.

In lower-skilled amateur games, the pickoff move is less common due to the potential for an error if the pitcher throws wild or the fielder fails to make the catch.

The snap throw is when the pitcher quickly lifts his back foot behind the pitching rubber and slings the ball to the first baseman.

It is very easy for a pitcher to repeatedly look just once at the runner and then start the pitching motion as the head turns to pick up home plate again.

By taking a large lead, the runner can hope to force the pitcher to make mistakes, therefore helping the batter, by improving their chances at the plate.

Pitchers should be aware of this, and take care not to attempt to pick-off a runner, to the point of fatigue or losing focus on the batter.

On July 11, 1964, Hal Stowe of the Charlotte Hornets was brought in to pitch in a tied game, with two outs and one runner on base.

The Hornets scored the go-ahead run in their half of the inning, thus giving Stowe credit as the winning pitcher, despite not throwing a single pitch.

[2][3] On August 24, 1983, Tippy Martinez of the Baltimore Orioles picked off three consecutive Toronto Blue Jays base runners in the first half of the 10th inning.

Game 4 of the 2013 World Series ended with a pickoff, as Koji Uehara of the Boston Red Sox threw to first base, causing St. Louis Cardinals' runner Kolten Wong to be tagged out.