Pitching position
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In baseball, there are two legal pitching positions, the windup, and the set.
A pitcher is in the windup when, with the ball, he stands on or directly in front of and touching the rubber, with his toes pointing toward home plate. Thence he may elect to take one step back toward second base or to the side with his free leg (for a right-handed pitcher, his left leg). Whether or not he elects to take this step, he must then take one step toward the plate and throw the ball toward the catcher. As an alternative before making any of these steps, he may disengage the rubber by stepping backward with his pivot foot (for right-handed pitcher, his right foot) or step toward and throw or feint a throw to a base, subject to the balk rules. In the windup, the time of pitch is that instant when he commits to taking a step backward, when he takes a step to the side, or when he brings his hands together.
A pitcher is in the set when, with the ball, he stands on or directly in front of and touching the rubber, with his toes pointing toward the side (for a right-handed pitcher, toward third base) and his arms apart at his sides. This is called the stretch, and here he may make any natural preliminary motion he wishes. Thence he must bring his arms together in front of his body, with a discernable stop. This is called coming set. After such a pause, he may then step toward home and pitch. In the set position, the time of pitch is that instant when the pitcher makes a move toward home plate after coming set. Anytime before this instant, the pitcher may step toward and throw or feint a throw to a base, subject to the balk rules, or disengage the rubber by stepping back (toward second base) with his pivot foot.
The stretch is typically most useful when runners are on base, because using a windup causes the pitcher to spend more time on the delivery and thus give a significant advantage to the baserunner. Other methods that the pitcher uses to prevent stealing (called Holding the runner on) include the pickoff, the pitchout and the slidestep. In the pickoff, the pitcher throws the ball to a base instead of pitching to allow a fielder to tag out the baserunner. In the pitchout, the pitcher intentionally throws a ball to the catcher, so that the catcher doesn't need to get into a crouch or worry about the batter swinging. In the slidestep, the pitcher throws a fastball without kicking up his leg, as is usually done to maximise power, but simply by stepping forward. This speeds up the delivery, giving the catcher a wider margain to catch the hitter stealing, but sometimes will catch the hitter off balance if they are expecting a typical pitch.
A pitcher may use either stance for any pitch. Many pitchers can make a more effective pitch from the windup than from the set. A windup takes more time to execute than a pitch from the set. Baserunners may easily steal bases during a windup, thus pitchers will only use the windup when there are no runners, or when the lead runner is on third base, being unlikely to attempt to steal home plate. Some pitchers, particularly relief pitchers, are more comfortable pitching from the set position, and thus use it regardless of the situation.
