It was a strategic balk. Recognizing the speed of Hyeseong Kim (26, Los Angeles Dodgers), the 'Cy Young pitcher' Corbin Burnes (31, Arizona Diamondbacks) executed a tactical balk.

Burnes made his start on Nov. 11 (Korea time) at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona, against the Dodgers in the 2025 Major League Baseball season, delivering a stellar performance with 7 innings pitched, 5 hits allowed, 2 walks, and 5 strikeouts, leading Arizona to a 3-0 victory. This marked his second win of the season (2-1), lowering his earned run average to 2.95.

Burnes, the 2021 National League (NL) Cy Young Award winner who signed a six-year, $210 million free-agent contract with Arizona last winter, did not meet expectations in the early part of the season. He missed his start against the New York Mets on Nov. 6 due to shoulder pain and underwent an MRI, which revealed no structural issues in the shoulder, and he returned to face the Dodgers after a 10-day hiatus.

Burnes faced his first crisis in the third inning. After allowing a single to lead-off batter Michael Conforto, he induced a ground ball from Hyeseong Kim to second base. Conforto, the preceding runner, was forced out at second base, replacing him with Hyeseong Kim at first. After that, Austin Barnes hit Burnes' first pitch, but it resulted in a line drive out to second base, leading to Shohei Ohtani coming to the plate.

Hyeseong Kim, a fast runner, was at first base against powerful hitters. Perhaps feeling anxious, Burnes threw a pick-off throw to first base before throwing his first pitch to Ohtani. Aiming to focus on Ohtani, Burnes struggled with his control, possibly distracted by Kim. Both the first pitch cutter and the second pitch changeup were outside the strike zone. In an attempt to carefully compete, Burnes threw another pick-off throw to first base before his third pitch. It seemed that further pick-off attempts at first base would be difficult.

According to the pitch clock rule implemented in Major League Baseball starting in 2023, a pitcher is limited to three pick-off attempts against a single batter. If the third pick-off attempt fails to catch the runner, it will be called a balk for violating the disengagement from the pitching plate.

Though Burnes had already thrown two pick-off attempts, he threw another to first base for his third attempt. Hyeseong Kim quickly returned to base, resulting in a balk for failing to disengage from the pitching plate, allowing him to advance to second base. Observing this situation, Eric Karros, a commentator for the Dodgers’ dedicated broadcasting partner SportsNet LA, noted, "First base was open, and two balls were thrown to Ohtani. There was no intention to give Ohtani a good pitch, and it seemed they were trying to catch even a rookie at first base. Everyone may think it was a mistake, but they had no intention of throwing a pitch to Ohtani," interpreting it as an intentional balk.

In the continued situation with two outs and a runner at second, the third pitch changeup thrown to Ohtani was also completely outside the strike zone. Reaching a 3-ball count, Burnes intentionally walked Ohtani to first base before choosing to pitch to the next batter, Mookie Betts. Burnes managed to get Betts out with a fly ball to center field, escaping the two-out, first and second base crisis.

As analyzed by Karros, Burnes' balk was intentional. According to Japanese media 'Full Count,' in a post-game interview, Burnes stated, "With fast runner Hyeseong Kim at first, it was two balls against Ohtani. I thought it would not be possible to compete against Ohtani, so I aimed to get an out with a pick-off. I intended to walk Ohtani and thought if I could get Kim out, that would be fortunate. If I failed to get an out, I would then pitch to Betts."

Faced with a disadvantageous count against Ohtani, who had demonstrated strong hitting prowess the previous day (Nov. 10) by hitting a game-winning three-run home run, Burnes had no intention of recklessly challenging him. Historically, Burnes had struggled against Ohtani before this game, with a record of 3 hits in 6 at-bats including 1 home run until that day. He also allowed a hit to Ohtani in his first at-bat of the game. Hence, Burnes, after throwing two pick-off attempts to get Kim out, proceeded to throw a surprising third pick-off attempt, but Kim managed to return safely.

Although it was an intentional balk focused on Ohtani, it is noteworthy that Burnes was also conscious of Kim's speed. Despite having only debuted in Major League Baseball for a week, opposing pitchers are already recognizing Kim as a 'nuisance baserunner.' The value of Hyeseong Kim's explosive speed, one of the few in the Dodgers, is now apparent.

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