Pitcher Going to Mouth Before Pitch

 
A pitcher going to his mouth and then gabbing the baseball (without properly wiping off) is one of our most misunderstood NF rules. We went over this in detail during the winter class, but let's review:
 
Choose between one of these three actions ("A", "B", or "C") for each of the 6 situations at the bottom of this note:
A) No penalty
B) Add a "ball" to the hitter's count
C) This is a balk, so advance each runner one base
 
1a. With no runners: While off the rubber, the pitcher goes to his mouth and then grabs the ball.
1b. Same as 1a, but with runners on base.
 
2a. With no runners: While off the rubber, the pitcher goes to his mouth, then grabs the ball, then engages the pitching rubber.
2b. Same as 2a, but with runners on base.
 
3a. With no runners: While on the pitching rubber, the pitcher goes to his mouth, then grabs the baseball.
3b. Same as 3a, but with runners on base.
 
Call
In summary, there is no penalty until the pitcher engages the rubber. A balk is called only in rare cases (see below).
 
In NF:
1a and 1b: "A" -- No penalty until the pitcher engages the rubber
2a and 2b and 3a: "B" -- Add a ball to the hitter's count when on the rubber
3b: "C" -- This is consider the only time that a balk would be assessed for a pitcher going to his mouth without properly wiping off!