In baseball, a pitcher may commit a number of illegal motions or actions which constitute a balk. A balk ordinarily results in an immediate dead ball and nullification of any pitch, and each runner is awarded one base. The batter generally returns to bat with the previous count. There are cases when a balk may be ignored partially or completely, though this is very rare. The balk rule in Major League Baseball was introduced in 1898. In certain seasons, there has been a flurry of balks as umpires tried to restrict certain pitching motions. The principal seasons in this regard were 1950, 1963, and 1988. Currently, Bob Davidson is known as the "balk umpire."