By definition, you can’t have a balk with no one on base. A balk is an illegal motion by a pitcher designed to deceive a runner. No runner, no deception, no balk.
Cecil has made it official – tucker0171 et al. were right. In this week’s column (not yet posted online) Cecil notes that he made a mistake 24 years ago, and the 7.05(h) and (i) rules cited in the original column actually cover what happens in complicated situations such as a Ball 4 which also goes in the stands, not additional ways to get to first without hitting the ball. Moreover, the fifth way is to be a pinch runner. (The person credited with asking the question which triggered the update is “Thom, via AOL”. If that’s someone here on this message board, please step forward and take a bow.)
To recap the “five ways to get to first base without hitting a ball” are:
- Base on balls
- Hit by pitch
- Dropped third strike
- Catcher’s interference
- Pinch runner
And here’s the link to the updated column. I know it’s not active yet, but I can’t resist the opportunity to beat Arnold 
In case anyone’s wondering, the URL for a recent or current column is of the form http://www.straightdope.com/columns/yymmdd.html, where yymmdd is the numeric year, month, and date.
(And I can’t resist the opportunity to edit the post and fix Chronos’ link, MWAHAHAHA! edited to fix link)
[Edited by Arnold Winkelried on 08-16-2000 at 05:16 PM]
Why isn’t a balk considered as one of the 5 ways to reach first?
It is none of the other five, it is most similar to catcher interference as it is pitcher error. And if nobody is on base, batter goes to first. (Pitchers rarely balk without somebody on base, but it can and does happen).
I find it a much more acceptable answer than the pinch runner, which is technically true, but I think cheating on the answer a bit.
Screeme
Arnold, you stinker! I thought I had remembered to uncheck “Automatically parse URLs” so that it wouldn’t turn into a link!
Or was the real link wrong, too? Which one did you “fix”?
Screeme, I don’t know baseball, myself, but BobT says a few posts up, there, that a balk with nobody on is by definition impossible. Duke it out with him.
And before you duke it out with me about the balk, here is the official definition of balk in the major league rulebook
It’s at http://www.majorleaguebaseball.com/u/baseball/mlbcom/headquarters/rules2.htm
Sorry to complicate things just when Cecil has simplified them, but legend has it that Ty Cobb once stole first base from second. The story is that he had set up a double steal while on first, got to second and saw that the man on third hadn’t run home, and stole first on the next throw in order to try the double steal again.
It may not have happened, but if it could have, then the rules allow another way for a player to arrive at first.
(sniffing armpits) I think I put on enough deodorant today.
If I remember right, you had some punctuation in the “real” link which would have made it inoperable after the column was posted. There really was something to fix! 
I guess I’m still confused. I understand the idea of a batter becoming a runner on a dropped strike three, but on ball four as well? Does that mean the batter could actually get to second if ball four went wild enough to get past the catcher, but not wild enough to go into the stands?
The ball is still in play after ball four. The batter can walk or crawl or whatever he wants to do to get to first base. However, unless someone calls “Time”, the ball is in play and everybody can start moving around.
If you watch amateur baseball, it is not uncommon to see a batter run down to first after a walk and then break for second in order to draw a throw from the catcher in order to allow a runner on third to score, or, alternately, steal second base. (If the batter makes it to second base on that play, it would be a walk and a stolen base.)
Since 1920, you are not allowed to run the bases in reverse order for purposes of “making a travesty of the game.” In other words, if you are going to run back one base, you have to have a reason for doing it, like getting caught off base on a line drive.
The story of a runner stealing second and then returning to first have been attributed to several players, most notably Germany Schaefer, but no cases have been confirmed.
Someone pointed out the question doesn’t say “batter” gets to first. Neither does it say at first he’s a runner once there. But if we assume batter, then another way would be for the batter to be the first baseman, who makes the third out for his team and then reports to his duty station of first base.
It violates the spirit of the question, but if you’re barroom betting, then all’s fair…
-bs-
Ah, nice to know Kevin is still making errors. I had season tickets when he played for the Northern League Saint Paul Saints. I once saw him make three errors in one inning…that kid had potential. He was playing third back then.
Rule 7.05h applies to the batter runner. A possible scenario would be: With a runner on third the batter takes ball four. He is awarded first base. No one calls time so the ball is still in play. The catcher throws the ball to the pitcher who throws over to third in an attempt to pick off the runner. The ball goes into the stands, so the batter runner (no longer just the batter) is awarded one base, namely second.
And, to stick my nose into another point, the pitcher cannot balk without men on base. (A balk is an attempt, usually inadvertent, to deceive runners. No runners, no balk.) But even if he could, the batter is not awarded a base. Whenever a balk occurs the batter may either accept the pitched ball as played (no balk rule in effect) or accept it as a balk (runners advance) and no pitch. First case would be if, say, the pitcher completes his pitch after balking and the batter homers.
Twenty-four years after the first column on this issue and the Straight Dope still have not provided a complete and accurate answer. As a lifelong baseball fan and owner of several books on the rules here is how I see it.
All baseball fans know the three common ways a batter can get to first base without hitting the ball.
1). The walk or base on balls (Rule 6.08a).
2). The hit batsman (provided that the batter does not swing at the pitch and that he makes an honest effort to get out of the way; Rule 6.08b).
3). Defensive interference (Rule 6.08c). This is usually catcher’s interference but another fielder could interfere with the batter; see p.70 of the Sporting News’ “Baseball’s Knotty Problems” (1990) for a situation involving the first baseman interfering with a pitched ball.
The other ways in which a batter can get to first base without hitting the ball involve cases where the third strike is not caught by the catcher. These cases are complicated and involve certain restrictions (see Rule 6.09b) that are best summed up by a sentence (p. 131) in “Baseball by the Rules”: “If it’s a third strike and if it’s not caught by the catcher, and if first base is empty or if first base is occupied and there are two out, a batter may make a run for first.”* Having established when the batter can make a run for first (i.e., becomes a batter runner) on a third strike that is not caught by the catcher, one can now examine situations in which he may end up at first. I provide four scenarios. (numbered 4-8 below) where the batter may end up at first base. Number 8 involves a situation involving obstruction and a third strike (not caught). In each case the preconditions already
discussed apply. I give each scenario a different number because, although each one involves a third strike that was not caught by the catcher, this alone DOES NOT entitle the batter to first base (see more below); acts that occur after the third strike (not caught) are what cause the batter(runner) to end up at first base. The article implied that the “dropped” third strike entitled the batter to first base - NOT TRUE!!!
4). On the third strike (not caught) the batter(runner) makes it to first base before a play can be made on him. This is the most common situation whereby a batter(runner) may end up at first after a third strike (not caught). In 5-8 below, scenarios are given where a batter may end up at first, because the ball ends up being “dead” before a play can be made on him
5). The third strike (not caught) gets lodged in the mask or paraphernalia of the umpire (Rule 5.09g, 7.05i). Refer to the Case Book example on p. 71 in “Make the Right Call” (1995).
6). The third strike gets lodged in the mask or paraphernalia of the catcher (Rule 5.09g). In your discussion you do not mention the “catcher’s mask or paraphernalia” scenario. That is because it is only mentioned in Rule 5.09g and not Rule 7.05i (which you cite in your article). Major League Baseball’s rulebook is not cross-referenced well and this is a classic example. Of course in this case it is no big deal since the ball almost never gets lodged in the mask or paraphernalia of the umpire or catcher. However, back in 1976 in a game between the Brewers and Athletics (see pp. 101-102 in “Baseball By the Rules” for a full discussion) a pitched ball did get lodged in the catcher’s paraphernalia and the umpire knew he had to award the runner a base but he could not find it in the rule book (probably because it was not mentioned at 7.05i).
7). A third strike (not caught) goes out of play, such as into the stands or into one of the dugouts (Rule 7.05h). An example here would be that the batter swings at strike three, the catcher does not come up cleanly with the ball before it rolls into the dugout.
8). After the third strike (not caught), the batter(runner) is obstructed by a fielder while he is running to first base. The ball is dead and the batter(runner) is to be awarded first base (Rule 7.06a). This is not a variant of the defensive interference example in No. 3. Defensive interference is an act by a fielder that hinders or prevents a batter from hitting a pitch (see b under the definition of “interference” in the Rules). Obstruction is the act of a fielder impeding the progress of any runner(including a batter-runner) when he is not in possession of the ball (see the definition of “obstruction” in the Rules).
In the article, the SD complains that Rule 7.05hconflates two distinct situations (wild pitch going into the stands, pick off going into the stands). However, more seriously SD conflates what happens to a batter after a fourth ball and a dropped third strike. After a fourth ball is called a batter is entitled to first base; however, after a third strike that is not caught (with first base empty, or first base occupied and two out) the batter is not entitled to first base!!! He may run to first base, but the defense can make a play on him. You also did not mention the preconditions (Rule 6.09b) that exist before a batter can run to first on a third strike not caught by the umpire.
If we want to extend it to players who are not batters then we have a ninth example.
9). The player becomes a pinch runner. (This example does not involve the player originally being a batter.)
Thus, I count nine different ways a player can get to first base without hitting a ball. I truly hope you will revisit this issue yet again.
Sincerely yours,
G. Moore
Bronx, NY
*Rule 6.09 b restricts this to situations where 1) first base is not occupied or 2) where first base is occupied with two outs, because in other situations(e.g., first base occupied with one out) keeping the ball live on a third strike that is not caught by the catcher would create “force” scenarios, where it would be to the defense’s advantage for the catcher to intentionally drop the third strike. For example, let’s say a runner is on first and the batter strikes out. The catcher could keep the ball alive by dropping it, throwing through to second base (to get the runner who was on first out), and the second baseman (or shortstop) then throwing over to first for a double play.