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What the hell is the rubber rectangle on top of a pitchers mound used for?
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That's the place that the pitcher must stay in contact with at all times while pitching to a batter.
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And what the hell is a balk or baulk? It's something a pitcher does but that's all I know.
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Balks are a little more complicated...
Simply put, once you start your pitching motion towards home plate, you aren't allowed to stop it. If you do, it is a balk and any runners on get to advance one base.
It's there so that pitchers can't act like they are throwing home, keep the ball, then pick someone off base.
In reality, it can get more complicated. You can start to pitch, for example, and throw to a base as long as your leg that you picked up hasn't gone forward.
The rule is strict too. There have been instances of pitchers who have started to pitch and get knocked over by a gust of wind, and get called for a balk.
Here is the official rule for what a pitcher can and cannot do:
http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/of.../pitcher_8.jsp