Baseball's Pitching Rule Changes
How MLB Rule Changes Have Affected the History of Baseball
Jun 26, 2007
Baseball's first official rules, known as the Cartwright Rules, were first drawn up in 1845 by Alexander Cartwright. As brilliant as Cartwright's plan was, some of his initial schemes have since been amended or abandoned altogether. This is especially true with respect to the rules governing pitching. Here is a quick baseball primer on the original pitching rules, how they have changed, and how each change has affected the sport dramatically.
1. Pitching Motion
The Cartwright Rules required pitchers to "pitch" the ball as though they were tossing a horseshoe. So, when the first official recognized baseball game was played in 1846, pitchers delivered the ball to the batter in an underhanded motion.
By 1884, however, the National League (which now controlled baseball) changed the rule and allowed pitchers to deliver the ball in an overhanded motion towards home plate. (Of course, some pitchers today, like Mike Myers of the New York Yankees, still throw the ball in what can best be described as a modified underhand motion.) However, after the 1884 rule change, most pitchers delivered pitches anywhere from a sidearm delivery to a completely over-the-top motion.
The rule change benefited pitchers. In 1883, the National League's ERA was 3.16. By 1885, the average ERA had dropped to 2.82, and the League's batting average had also dropped from .262 in 1883 to .241 in 1885.
2. Foul Balls and Strikes
Initially, under the Cartwright Rules, a foul ball was not a strike. Therefore even a mediocre hitter could foul off ball after ball, just waiting for that perfect pitch. So, in 1858, a rule was created that made all foul balls strikes unless there were already two strikes on the batter.
Soon thereafter, hitters began bunting the ball with two strikes -- knowing they could make contact and would not be punished for a foul ball. In response, the rule was further amended to state that a ball bunted foul is always a strike, even if there are already two strikes.
3. Moving the Pitcher's Box Back
Originally, the pitcher was 45 feet away from the hitter. There was no pitching mound, just a line at the proper throwing distance. This changed dramatically, when the throwing spot was pulled back to 50 feet away from home plate and the pitcher's line was replaced by a rectanglular box. The pitcher was allowed to deliver the ball to home plate from any spot within that 12' x 3' white-painted pitcher's box.
In 1893, responding to the meek offenses on most teams, the National League moved the pitcher's spot even further back to 60 feet-6 inches from home plate, and replaced the pitcher's box with a rectangular piece of flat rubber. As a result of these changes, National League offenses exploded. The year before the box was pulled back, the National League batting average was .245. By 1894, it had risen to .309.
Although pitchers would eventually adjust somewhat to having to pitch from a much greater distance, the balance of power had clearly shifted in favor of the hitters. That would continue for almost a decade. Until the next innovation.
4. The Invention of the Pitching Mound
Tired of getting hammered every outing, pitchers began petitioning the National (and now American) Leagues to create a 15-inch high pitching mound. The American and National Leagues agreed and made the change. Overnight, the game was handed back to pitchers.
In 1893, the National League Batting Average was .269 and the League ERA was 3.26. The next year, now throwing off the mound, pitcher's ERAs dropped more than half a point to 2.73, and batting averages tumbled 20 points. That trend would continue until approximately 1920, the nadir coming in 1908, when NL batters hit just .239, while pitchers logged an amazing composite ERA of 2.38. This period, which was defined by dominant pitching and impotent hitting, became known as the Dead Ball Era.
5. Outlawing the Spitball and Changing the Composition of the Baseball
Prior to the 1920 season, pitchers were allowed to add spit, vaseline, oil, or any other liquid goop they could find to make the ball float better through the air. This practice was called throwing a "spitball". In early 1920, baseball owners voted to outlaw the spitball, with a few exceptions. In the 1920 season, teams could designate two pitchers as spitballers, and they were free to doctor the ball. At the end of the 1920 season, those pitchers who threw spitballs were told that they were grandfathered under the rule change, and were thus allowed to throw the pitch until they retired.
Outlawing the spitball (and it's cousin the emery pitch) led to the biggest offensive explosion in baseball history. Babe Ruth led the way, hitting 54 homers in 1920 and then 59 in 1921. He was soon followed by the likes of Cy Williams, Rogers Hornsby, Al Simmons and George Sisler, all of whom combined average and power in a way that had never been seen in the game's history.
