The pitcher brings his pitching hand to his mouth and immediately places his hand on the ball and engages the pitching plate.

• A. This is not an infraction.
• B. A ball shall be awarded to the batter.
• C. The pitcher shall be warned not to repeat the infraction.
• D. A balk shall be awarded to all runners.

Answer: (B)

Touching the pitcher's mouth and then placing that hand on the ball shows the pitcher is moistening or treating the ball with a substance, which is not allowed. When the ball is tainted by a foreign substance, the umpire should penalize the batter by awarding a ball, and the pitch is dead. This specific violation is treated with a ball call to the batter because it directly affects the ball's condition and the fairness of the pitch. A warning isn’t the standard remedy for this action, and a balk is tied to illegal pitching motion with runners on base, not to substances on the ball. So the correct call is awarding a ball to the batter.