Help me win an argument about cheating in sports....

Your coworker is an idiot. Stop talking to him and make your life better.

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cheat

/CHet/

verb

gerund or present participle: cheating

1.

act dishonestly or unfairly in order to gain an advantage, especially in a game or examination.

"she always cheats at cards"

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I think the main thing would be intent.

Yea, I hit submit too fast, what I meant was if a pitcher drops the ball or unintentionally balks

If there is a referee, then these things are not cheating because there is a neutral party officiating these things fairly. If it's pickup ball (with no referee), committing a foul is cheating if the guilty party disputes his action as an attempt to get away with it.

You're pretty much right.

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Uhhh keeping the runner from getting a big lead or stealing a base.

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By giving him the base for free?

Uhh except that a shitload of balks don't happen while trying to keep a runner close. Plenty of times a pitcher just barely flinches on the rubber. It's a balk but not because the pitcher is cheating trying to prevent the runner from stealing.

Would he consider stepping out of bounds as cheating?

People needs to learn that life and rules aren't always dealt with in absolutes. Is batting out of order in baseball against the rules? Yes. Is scuffing or doctoring the ball against the rules? Yes. But they aren't equal. One results in an automatic out and the other gets a player ejected from a game plus possible fines and suspension.

Interesting take. I guess by definition he's correct, but I would never think to look at it that way.