November 26, 2024 • 45 mins
In this episode, we explore the evolution of Major League Baseball through its rule changes over the past century. From the early days of the foul strike rule to modern innovations like pitch clocks and the universal DH, these changes have shaped the way the game is played. We also look ahead to what’s next, including whispers of a 6-inning minimum requirement for starting pitchers and its potential impact on roster construction.
Key Topics Covered:
- Historic Changes That Defined the Game:
- The foul strike rule of 1901: speeding up at-bats.
- The introduction and modification of the sacrifice fly rule.
- The evolution of pitcher’s mound height and the strike zone.
- Modern Era Rule Changes (Post-2020):
- The universal DH and pitch clock.
- Banning defensive shifts to enhance offense.
- Permanent implementation of the extra-innings runner on second base.
- Impact of Rule Changes on Strategy and Roster Construction:
- How changes like limiting pitcher disengagements affect the running game.
- The balance between offense and defense in modern gameplay.
- Whispers of a New Rule:
- Potential implementation of a 6-inning minimum for starting pitchers.
- Speculation on how this could reshape roster sizes, increase injuries, and influence market dynamics.
Listener Takeaways:
- Gain insight into how MLB’s rule changes have historically shaped gameplay.
- Understand the potential future implications of new rule proposals.
Call to Action:
- What do you think about the whispers of a 6-inning minimum for starters? Share your thoughts, email Dean at dean@baseballclassics.com
Be sure to go to FREE Baseball Real-Time DiamondView to get all the latest going on in MLB in one website plus access to 2024 MLB player overall, lefty, and righty stats to sort, filter, and/or group!
No login, freshly updated every day.
https://play.baseballclassics.com/real-time-diamondview
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Unknown (00:02):
Major League baseball fans, get ready for a close up
look from the top step of thedugout. Welcome to the baseball
classics podcast covering anyseason from 1901 to the present.
We'll explore exciting pennantraces, dive head first,
analyzing and even doing somecomparisons that are bound to
(00:23):
settle an argument or start oneup. And now here's your host,
Dean Patino.
Hello again, everybody. Thanksso much for tuning in to this
baseball classics, diamond cast.
It's always great to be withyou, and I hope that wherever
this finds you, you are enjoyinga outstanding day. Now in this
(00:43):
episode, I'm going to coverevery major league baseball rule
change since 1901, and what'simportant about this, why we're
doing this diamond cast episodeand this featured story, because
it's impacted the evolution ofplay in Major League Baseball.
It's impacted the strategy, theskill sets of players, scoring.
(01:04):
And then there's one that's beentalked about recently that could
potentially impact rosterconstruction as well. So we're
going to cover that at the endof this episode, but I'm going
to walk you through history.
We're going to start all the wayback in 1901, take you fast
forward to the present. Andthat's what baseball classics
does, is that we covereverything from 1901 to present.
(01:28):
Alright. So before I dive in, Ijust want to remind you to head
on over to baseballclassics.com/diamond,
view, to get the latest andgreatest of what's happening in
Major League Baseball each andevery day, fresh new content.
You won't find this anywhereelse. Sure, you'll find a little
bit here, a little bit there,some of it here, some of it
(01:48):
there. Are different websites,but we save you all that time,
and you won't again find all ofthis in one place, like what
we've done as a free service foryou. No login required. You have
nothing to lose if you're abaseball fan. Baseball
classics.com/diamond,view, let all the other baseball
fans you know know about that.
(02:11):
You'll do them a favor by doingso. All right, let's get into
the rule changes. So there'sbeen over 60 implemented by
Major League Baseball since 1901so all the way back from the
early days when pitchersdominated the mound to the
modern era of today with homeruns and analytics. So these
rule changes will be interestingto cover as we walk through
(02:33):
them, starting back in 1901that it's going to really
reflect the evolution ofbaseball and how it's influenced
the strategies that teams employon the field. Yet now some of
these rules that we're going tocover will explain which ones
were reversed or modified laterbecause they either introduced
unintended consequences or weredifficult to enforce
(02:56):
consistently, or did not achievethe desired effect on the game.
So of the 60 plus rule changessince 1901,
a whopping 10 of them have beensince 2020, we've all seen it
right, all these rule changes.
It seems like every year there'smultiple rule changes coming at
us, and a lot of that has to dowith the continued advancement
(03:19):
of technology. So we at baseballclassics. We expect more rule
changes to come. We know anotherone that's right on the horizon,
one that we covered recently onthe diamond, cast here the
electronic or automatic strikezone again, that's going to be
incorporated in spring trainingas a trial in 2025
(03:40):
but look for the regular seasonto have that as early as 2026
so there's been whispers aboutanother one amongst baseball
circles considering arequirement for starting
pitchers to pitch at least thefirst six innings. So we know
about these bullpen games thatreally Tampa started several
(04:02):
years ago, and of course, theDodgers used it throughout the
playoffs, including the WorldSeries. That would eliminate
these bullpen games. As baseballwants to see starting pitchers
go at least six innings, thefirst six innings now borrowing
an injury or something likethat. But we'll conclude this
episode on that specific topic,because I've got a lot of
(04:24):
questions about that. Someanwhile, let's dive in to to
these rule changes. And way it'sgoing to work is that I'm going
to start 1901, I'm going toexplain what the change, the
rule change is, and then thereason behind the change. So
here we go change number one,all foul balls not caught on the
(04:46):
fly counted as strikes until thebatter has two strikes. So the
reason is to speed up the gameby preventing batters from
prolonging at bats with multiplefoul balls. So you can imagine
foul balls.
Were not counted as strikes, sothey could just fall, you know,
hit foul balls after foul balls,and,
(05:08):
you know, if they weren't caughton the fly. So anyway, that was
the first change, the secondchange that catchers were
compelled to remain continuouslyunder the bat. This is to
prevent catchers from moving outof position too early, which
could unfairly disadvantage thebatter. Now, another one that
(05:29):
was modified was the drop thirdstrike rule in 1901 Originally,
the batter could reach firstbase on any drop third strike,
regardless of whether there wasa run around first well, this
rule was modified to preventbatters from reaching first base
on a drop third strike if firstbase was occupied with less than
two outs, thereby simplifyingthe rule and preventing
(05:52):
unnecessary complications duringthe game. So those were the
rules in 1901now we skip ahead to 1903
and there were a couple duringthe 1903 season. First one, the
height of the mound was limitedto 15 inches higher than the
level of the baselines, and thereason was to standardize the
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pitcher mound across the league,ensuring consistent Playing
Conditions. Because, of course,as that states pitching mounds
were different heights, and theywanted, of course, to get that
standardized throughout theleague. The second rule changed
in 1903 the foul strike rule wasadopted by the American League,
and the reason was to align withthe National League and maintain
(06:38):
consistency and gameplay rulesbetween the leagues, all right,
1908,so now we skip ahead five years.
There were a couple of morechanges here. First one is that
pitchers were prohibited fromsoiling a brand new ball that
comes into the game. The reasonis to improve visibility and
safety for batters, ensuring theball remained clean and easier
(07:01):
to see. And the second changewas the sacrifice fly rule was
adopted. Did you know there wasno sacrifice fly rule before
that? So the reason was toencourage strategic play by
rewarding a batter for advancinga runner with a fly ball out.
Now. It was actually repealed in1931 then reinstated in 1954 and
(07:27):
here's the reason it wasreinstated. So the sacrifice fly
rule, which allowed a batter tonot be charged with an at bat
when hitting a fly ball thatscored a runner from third base
was introduced to reward battersfor contributing to a run.
However, it was repealed in 1931because it was perceived as
(07:49):
unfairly inflating a batter'sstatistics by not counting the
at bat. So the rule wasreinstated with the added
stipulation that it only appliedif the runner scored after the
catch, balancing the need toreward a contribution while
maintaining statisticalintegrity. How about that? Okay?
1909, there was another rulechange. So you can see, in the
(08:14):
first the first 10 years or soof major league baseball
history, quite a few changesgoing on. All right? This change
in 1909 the relief pitcher mustface at least one batter, and
the reason was to preventmatters from constantly
switching pitchers meetingwithout the new pitcher even
(08:34):
facing a batter, right? Sothey're bringing a new pitcher,
maybe the other team brings in apinch hitter, then they take
that picture up for even throwsthem, brings in another pitcher,
maybe that team changes theirbatter. So again, it's a pre
longing the game. It kind ofreminds you of what, of course,
is has happened with reliefpitchers in today's game, where
they must face at least threebatters. So back in 1909 one
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batter, minimum. Okay. 1910the rule change, stolen base no
longer credited with whenanother runner in a double steal
is thrown out. So you have tworunners on the one runner goes
to steal, he's thrown out. Thatother runner was credited with a
stolen base Getting ThereSafely. But that's this rule
(09:22):
stopped that. So it was toprevent inflated stolen base
statistics and maintain fairnessand crediting successful steel.
So there you go, 19 one through1910
there were, let's say, let'scount them up, 246789,
(09:45):
changes. A lot of changes there.
Okay, so now we go from 1910and we go all the way to 1917
before we get the next rulechange, and that was earn, run
statistics and deaf and.
Positions added to the rules. Sothe reason was to provide a
clearer measure of a pitcher'seffectiveness by distinguishing
(10:09):
between runs caused by errorsand those earned through clean
hits. That didn't happen againuntil 1917
so what does that mean forChristy Matthewson and some of
these other pictures early on,Cy Young that that were giving
up runs, they were countedunearned runs. Were counted as
earn runs. Back then,1920 now 1920 there was quite a
(10:31):
few changes here. So here we go.
First change in 1920 all freakdeliveries, including the spit
ball, were outlawed, and thereason was to standardize
pitching techniques andeliminate unfair advantages
gained through altered ballmovement.
(10:54):
Change number two Bach to becalled if the pitcher releases
the pitch while the catcher isout of his box. The reason to
prevent pitchers from deliveringpitches when the catcher is not
ready, ensuring fair play. Now,it was modified frequently, and
particularly in 1988this was modified the whole Bach
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situation here, and the modifiedreason is the Bach rule has seen
many changes over the years,particularly during the 1988
season, when Major LeagueBaseball attempted to strictly
enforce the Bach rule, leadingto an unprecedented number of
box called 783In 1988 compared to 356 in 1987
(11:42):
what a difference there? So morethan double from 8788
with the enforcement. So it waseventually relaxed due to
widespread confusion andfrustration among players,
managers and umpires. The rulewas later modified to provide
clearer guidelines for whatconstituted a Bucha. You may
remember that back in 1988when there were so many Bach
(12:04):
calls, and of course, the teamswere going crazy. Pitchers were
so frustrated with this. Allright, so that's the second
change that happened in 1920and the third one was the
failure of a preceding runner totouch a base would not affect
the status of a succeedingrunner, and the reason was to
clarify the rules around baserunning and prevent confusion in
(12:29):
scoring plays. There were more,though, there's more changes in
1920 there was just a slope.
Let's see it's kind of up here.
We got 3456,total changes. So let's go to
change number four, the batterwas given credit for a home run
in the last of the ninth inningif the winning run was on base
(12:49):
when the ball was hit out of thefield. The reason was to
properly credit a batter forhitting a home runs that ends
the game reflecting their actualperformance. So again, how many
batters hit a home run, a walkoff home run, if you will, and
then get credit for that priorto 1920
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here's another change, the fifthchange in 1920 the number of
runs batted in RBIs were to beincluded in the official score
To recognize the batter'scontribution to scoring runs,
which became an essentialstatistic for evaluating
players. How about that? RBIsare not officially included in
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the official score until 1920and last but not least, the six
rule change frivolous ninthinning uncontested steals in one
sided games were to be scored asdefensive and different. So
you've, you've heard this,you've seen this throughout the,
you know, throughout the years,where a runner is not being held
on base. And it's a called anindifference, indifference.
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Well, this is where it started,in 1920 so the reason is to
avoid our Fit artificiallyinflating steel statistics in
situations where the defense isnot attempting to prevent the
steel now, in the later years,it was repealed, and the reason
was that the rule was introducedto prevent players from padding
their stats with uncontestedsteals and one sided games.
(14:19):
However, it was later droppeddue to its subjective nature,
which led to inconsistencies andhow it was applied and
criticized for its impact on thestatistical record. But now we
know, of course, in today's,today's day and age of Major
League Baseball, it is a part ofthe rules, all right. 1925,
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one change there the minimumhome run distance was set at 250
feet. That was a minimum homerun distance. It was official
rule to standardize ballparkdimensions and ensure fairness
across different playing fields.
Really interesting back through.
To, I would say at least thethe 1950s 1960s maybe, but
(15:04):
surely, 1950s and prior, thedifferent dimensions out there
for Baseball, baseball parksnow, baseball classics, we have
introduced and brought our realtime ballparks, which is
currently one of our our bestsellers. It's out of stock right
now. We're going to bring itback in a little while, but we
have all the different ballparkdimensions within real time
(15:27):
ballpark. So it was reallyinteresting to see the different
dimensions out there and and howthese teams played major league
baseball in these stadiums withthese crazy outfield dimensions
that they had. So this change,of course, was the standardized
ballpark dimensions and ensurefairness across different
playing fields. Now it wasrepealed shortly after
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implementation. The specificdates unclear when it was
repealed, but the repealedreason was the rule set a
minimum distance of 250 feet fora home run intended to
standardize the dimensions ofballparks. However, it was
quickly abandoned because it didnot account for the very
dimensions of existingballparks, particularly in
(16:09):
older, smaller parks wherehitting a ball 250 feet was
relatively easy. This rule wasseen as unrealistic and
potentially distorting the gameleading to its repeal. Can you
imagine, in today's world, oreven you know, over the recent
decades, that some ballparksmight have their walls only 250
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feet out for a home run, howwhat the stats would have been
like it had that happen? So it'sgood thing they repealed that.
All right, we go to the nextyear, 1926 two changes. One was
a pitcher allowed to use a rosinbag for the first time 1926 to
give the pitchers a legal meansof improving their grip on the
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ball, especially in adverseweather conditions. So 1926
also. 1926 is sacrifice hit isawarded when any runner advances
on a fly out. So the reason wasto encourage strategic hitting
that advances runners even whenthe batter makes an out. So that
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takes us through the 1920s nowwe head into the 1930s and there
was only one season where theyincorporated rule changes in the
1930s it was the 1931 season.
There were four changes. Changenumber one, balls that bounce
over the fence entitled thebatter to two bases. Because you
probably are familiar with thisback in the day, if it bounced
(17:36):
over the fence, it wasconsidered a home run. So this
was the again, to clarify theruling for balls that bounce
out, ensuring consistency andawarding bases change number
two, balls hit over the fenceare to be ruled fair or foul
based on where they are whenthey leave the field. So the
reason was to standardize thecriteria for judging home runs,
(17:58):
ensuring fairness in calls. Soof course, you know, eventually
that's just where the fall pollscame in, and that helped clarify
all of that.
Change number three in 1931sacrifice flies were eliminated
to simplify scoring and reduceemphasis on flouts that advanced
(18:21):
runners. Wow, how about that?
And then the last change in 1931regulations referring to a
batter contacting his own ballwere clarified, as was the area
of bases awarded a batter when adefensive player threw his glove
at a bat or thrown ball, or inthe case of spectator
interference. So this is toclarify ambiguous situations in
(18:43):
the rules and ensure fair play.
Okay, let's go to 1950 so thatlast one's kind of funny, if
they had to put a rule in forthat 1950
the home team must bat second.
19 five zero. Can you believethat it wasn't until 1950 that
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this was an actual rule by MajorLeague Baseball, and this is, of
course, the standardized thebatting order across the league,
ensuring that the home teamalways has the final chance to
score 1950there were other changes in 1950
there were four others. Change.
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Number two, the mound b must be15 inches high, and that's to
standardize the height of thepictures mount, ensuring
consistent Playing Conditions.
Change. Number three, rules fordetermining winning and losing
picture were established so toformalize the criteria for
crediting pictures with wins orlosses, providing consistency in
pitching statistics and changenumber four in 1950 the size of
(19:47):
the first baseman's glove wasregulated, and this is, of
course, the standardizedequipment to prevent an unfair
advantage gained throughoversized gloves. And.
On change number five, thestrike zone redefine to and from
the armpits to the top of theknees, to standardize the strike
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zone and ensure consistentcalling by umpire. So that was
all in 1950and we move forward to 1953
there was just one change,and that is, players were to
remove their gloves from thefield, and this is in 1954 when
batting and no equipment was toshow on the field at any time.
So this rule change was broughtabout 1953 but not started until
(20:33):
1954 to prevent distraction andensure the playing field is
clear and safe. So again, can'tleave your gloves on the field
when you're when you're whenyou're playing, all right, 1954
so this change is a defensiveinterference. Was changed from
an offense solely by a catcherto one by a fielder as well. So
(20:57):
you could have a defensiveinterference, of course, not
just by the catcher, but by thefielders, and that's to
clarifying the rules to ensurefair play by holding all
fielders accountable forinterference. Change number two
in 1954 no fielder could take aposition in line with a batter's
vision with the deliberateintent in any way to distract
the batter. So this, of course,the reason was prevent fielders
(21:21):
from unfairly distracting thebatter, ensuring a fair hitting
environment and change. Three in1954 the sacrifice fly rule was
brought back, this time with theman scoring after the catch only
to incur and this was toencourage strategic fly balls
that advance runners and scoreruns even when the batter makes
an out. And last but not least,1959 one more change for the
(21:44):
50s, and that is, regulationswere set up for minimum
boundaries for all new parks.
325, feet to left field, 400feet to center field. 325,
for right field, and that's thestandardized ballpark
dimensions, ensuring consistencyand fairness across different
(22:07):
playing fields. So again, theminimum boundaries for all new
parks, 325, feet, 400 feet and325, feet from left center to
right. Okay, now we move forwardto the 1960s
and in 1963 we had one rulechange, that's the strike zone.
It was enlarged to from the topof the shoulders to the knees,
(22:30):
the top of the shoulders. So thereason was to give pitchers a
larger target, potentiallyreducing offense and bringing
balance between pitching andhitting. On 1965
there was a change, the size ofthe catcher's mitt was regulated
to standardize equipment andprevent catchers from using
(22:50):
oversized mitts to gain anunfair advantage. In 1968
another change, the anti spitball rule was rewritten and
tightened up because of the waveof moistened pitches that
floatedtowards the plate the prior
season. So the reason is tocrack down on these illegal
pictures that altered the ball'smovement in unpredictable ways,
ensuring fair play. And in 1969there were three changes. The
(23:17):
first one, the pitcher's mound,was dropped five inches. So 1968
was considered the year of thepitcher. So 1969 to rectify
that, they wanted to reducepitcher dominance and increase
offensive production. Since itwas a historically low scoring
season in 1968change number two, the strike
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zone was shrunken to the areafrom the armpits to the top of
the batter's knee. So it'sinteresting just you know, not
too much later, after they madethat initial strike zone change.
And there were a number ofstrike zone changes throughout
the decades, but they changed itback in
(24:01):
1969 to get some more offense.
And then the third rule changewas the Save rule was added to
the official rules for the firsttime. So this is to formalize
the role of relief pitchers,particularly closers, and
provide a statistic to measuretheir effectiveness. I saw the
other day somebody wasrecommending that, as the Cy
(24:21):
Young Award was beingintroduced, that they should
have acloser award, or maybe even
just, let's just say, reliefpitcher award, separate from the
Cy Young, so that way a pitchercould win both, which has
happened. We've seen, of course,relief pitchers win the Cy
Young, but in this case, there'ssuggesting that you add that to
(24:48):
the award category, since,especially since, of course,
relief pitching is such a keypart these days in Major League
Baseball. All right now we're inthe 1970s and.
1970s we had a number ofchanges. So 1971 all major
league players were ordered towear protective helmets. So of
course, the reason was toimprove player safety and reduce
(25:10):
the risk of head injuries frompitched balls. 1973 two changes.
Number one, the rule on glovesize and color was
was minutely outlined forstandardization. So this was to
prevent players from usingoversized or distracting gloves,
ensuring fairness in Fielding.
And change number two, theAmerican League began using, as
(25:30):
you know, the designated hitterfor pictures on an experimental
basis. It's been quite theexperiment since 1973
is it's no longer that. Ofcourse, it's now fully
incorporated. So of course, thiswas to increase offensive
production and prolong thecareers of veteran hit hitters
(25:53):
who could no longer fieldeffectively. Are you in favor of
the designated hitter role?
You're more of a traditionalist,I want to see the batter's pitch
and of course, with the for thestrategy that's involved with
that. So be interesting to hearfrom you. You can write me a
dean at baseball classics.comabout the DH rule? Okay? 1974
(26:16):
the Save rule was rewritten, andthe reason is to redefine the
criteria for awarding saves,ensuring that the statistic
accurately reflected a pitcher'seffectiveness in preserving a
lead. So that was that change,and then change number two and I
74 is minimum standards forindividual championships were
(26:37):
outlined so and that was toestablish clear criteria for
awarding batting titles andother individual honors,
ensuring fairness and playerevaluations. So that was 1974
1975 there were three changes.
It seems like when these changescame, they just came in droves.
And then they, you know, wererelaxed for a bit, then they
(26:57):
came in droves again. So 1975three changes. Change number
one, the ball was permitted tobe covered with COVID because of
the shortage of horses, thereason to address the material
shortage of horse side forbaseballs and maintain the
production and supply ofbaseballs.
(27:19):
Change number two, suspensionfor three days became mandatory
if a batter were to hit a fairball with a filled, doctored or
flat surfaced bat. The reasonwas, of course, to discourage
cheating and maintain theintegrity of the game by
penalizing players who alteredtheir bats for unfair
advantages. And then in 1975 thecurrent save rule was adopted to
(27:44):
formalize and standardize thecriteria for awarding saves,
making the statistic moremeaningful and accurate for
evaluating relief pitchers.
Okay, one more in 1970s Hang inthere, and then we'll, we'll,
we're going to move quicklythrough some of these other
ones. 1978the pitcher can't throw at a
batter. Rule, how about thatone? This is to reduce reduce
(28:05):
the risk of injury and promotesafety by discouraging pitchers
from intentionally throwing atbatters. Up till 1978
you could wail away and justhurl it at batters
intentionally, without anyrepercussion. But of course, now
we know there's warnings, oryou're just tossed out
(28:26):
completely if you're caughtdoing this intentionally. So.
But fascinating, it was until1978
All right, now we fast forwardthrough the 80s, all the way up
to 1988 for just one role changethroughout the entire 1980s
decade, and that is thatcatchers must wear protective
(28:46):
helmets while on defense, andthe reason is to enhance player
safety and reduce the risk ofhead injuries for catchers
during play, that was it in the80s. In the 90s, no changes in
the 2000s we only have one, 2008major league baseball as limited
instant replay for home runcalls, fair or foul. The reason,
(29:07):
of course, to increase theaccuracy of crucial game
decisions by allowing umpires toreview, review and correct
potential errors on home run andboundary calls. That's it. So
really, from 1988through all the way up, we'd go
all the way up to 2014 we had,let's say, from 1989 to 2013
(29:28):
we had just one rule change. Nowwe start to pick things up a bit
here. On the rule change front2014 the rule change was runners
attempting to score may notdeviate from their direct
pathway to the plate to initiatecontact with the catcher.
Catchers cannot block the platewithout possession of the ball.
How about this? You know,growing up for me and to many of
(29:51):
you listening, I'm sure the wayit was, is that you were a
catcher, you were taught toblock the plate. That's what you
had to do.
Two without the ball, of course,and then when you get the ball,
you you know you're alreadyblocking the plate to help
prevent that runner fromtouching it. But 2014
can't do that major leaguebaseball, and that, of course,
(30:12):
was to protect players fromcollisions at home plate, reduce
injuries and encourage saferplay. 2016
the change was slides onpotential double plays will
require base runners to make abonafide attempt to reach and
remain on base. So the reason isto reduce dangerous slide
tactics and protect infieldersfrom injury while ensuring that
(30:36):
runners attempt to reach thebase legitimately. Of course, we
all know about differentinjuries that have taken place
over the years with with runnersreally coming after these either
shortstop or second basemangetting a double play throw, and
they're so vulnerable in a lotof those situations, and these
runners are barely down. Theyjust take them out. So it
(30:57):
reminds me of, you know,football with punters, right?
You hear the high leg kick,they're vulnerable. So you can't
run into the kicker, and if youdo, it's a penalty. So Major
League Baseball caught on tothat finally, but it took until
2016to incorporate a similar type of
role. 2017this changes. Pitchers no longer
(31:20):
required to throw fourintentional balls to walk a
batter. Managers may now ask theumpire to let their batter go to
first base. The reason was tospeed up the game by eliminating
the need for the time consumingprocess of throwing four pitches
during an intentional walk. Idon't know about you, but I was
(31:42):
bummed to see this one go,because it was always
interesting to see somebody actlike they were going to
intentionally walk a batter andthen throw a strike on them
anyway. So 2017that went away. All right. Now
we're into 2020 where we have,again, a bunch of rule changes
that have come about. So rulechange number one in 2020 there
(32:03):
were two pitcher must face aminimum of three batters in an
appearance or pitch to the endof a half inning. And the reason
is, of course, speed up the paceof play. We know that was a big
deal starting 2020 all this paceof play stuff by reducing the
frequency of pitching changes,which often prolong games change
number two in 2020 was thetemporary COVID 19 pandemic
(32:25):
rules added for a shortenedseason. So they were as follows,
extra inning runner on secondbase, automatically. Seven
inning double headers. Thepostseason expands to 16 teams,
universal DH, designated hitter.
(32:48):
And the reason was, these ruleswere implemented to adjust for
the shortened 2020, season dueto the COVID 19 pandemic, aiming
to complete games more quicklyand reduce the strain on players
and teams. Well, let's, let'spause here for just a moment. So
the extra inning runner onsecond base automatically. It's
2024 that still goes on. So somuch for doing that. Only during
(33:13):
this shortened season, seveninning double headers. You
really don't even see doubleheaders anymore, unless it's a
makeup game, but if it is,you've got these seven inning
double headers. So that's to meas more of a on the
traditionalist side. I mean, Ido like to see the technology
advancements take advantage. SoI'm kind of a hybrid guy on
(33:35):
that. But seven inning doubleheaders, not a fan of that
postseason expanded to 16 teams.
We know that that, you know, isa little bit different. But they
did add, you know, in the wildcards and such a universal DH,
well, we know that that's hereto stay as well. So these
supposed temporary changes, rulechanges really were permanent
role changes. They were justkind of to me, they were just
(33:58):
used 2020, in the shortenedseason as a reason to kind of
just force all those in there atthat time, and then, of course,
keep them in now we go to 2022the change here was the draft
lottery implemented todiscourage tanking. So of
course, lot of teams doing thatright, we're just going to lose
(34:18):
out. Who cares? We want a greatdraft pick. So of course, it was
to discourage teams fromintentionally losing games to
secure higher draft picks,thereby promoting competitive
integrity. This really burnsteams like the White Sox, who
had just, of course, the worstseason in major league baseball
history in 2024 so instead ofthem getting the number one
(34:39):
pick, because the way the rulesare with the draft lottery, the
highest pick they can get in2025 I think the highest they
could get is the 10th pick.
That's it. So even though theyhad this lousy season, they're
not going to really benefit fromit. So I do like that. I think
that that's good to keep theseteams so they have to remain
competitive.
(35:00):
Yeah, because they're not goingto benefit just by just by
tanking. Change number two, theNational League officially
adopts the DH. So the reason wasgreat uniformity between the
American League and nationalleagues and increase offensive
production by having the DH inplace of a pitcher. I know
there's been a lot ofcontroversy about that one since
it was first incorporated backin the 1973 season, and then
(35:24):
changed number three in 2022 thepostseason expands to 12 teams,
so to provide more teams withthe opportunity to compete in
the playoffs, increasing fanengagement and revenue. You
know, baseball, of course, for along, long time where the was
the only major sport that reallyhave these pennant winning teams
get into the World Series, andthat was it.
(35:47):
But really, I mean, baseball hadto expand the number of teams
that get in the postseason,certainly from a revenue
perspective, to keep up withsome of the other major sports.
They just had to do it so itmade sense, and I wouldn't be
surprised if we see some more.
It has really been fun to watchand see how they've
incorporated. I think it's beenwell done, all right, 2023
(36:12):
so we have five changes thattook place in 2023
so the bases were increased insize from 15 to 18 inches to
here's the reason to reduce therisk of injury by giving players
more space to avoid collisionsand improve player safety. I
don't really know that I buythat one, but Okay,
(36:36):
next change defensive shifts arebanned. Reason is to increase
offensive production and ensurethat more batter balls resort
result and hits by preventingextreme defensive positioning.
At first, I was a little tornabout this one, because, you
know, if a batter can't pull orcan only pull a baseball, well,
(36:57):
you know, got to learn to hit tothe opposite field and let the
fielders then defend them. Ifwe're, he typically hits the
ball. But then again, I thinkabout, you know, other sports,
you do have to have players incertain parts of the field of
play. So, you know, I'm, I'mwarming up to that one. The next
change is the extra inningrunner on second base. This,
(37:21):
again, was from those 2020temporary roles made permanent
to expedite the conclusion ofextra inning games and reduce
the duration of extended play. Iam not in favor of this at all,
and I'm going to cover this onan upcoming episode about these
ghost runners and explain howMajor League Baseball can fix
it. So that's coming upin an episode in the near
(37:42):
future, another change, thefourth change in 2023 pitch
clocks will be used so to speedup the pace of the game by
limiting the time pitchers havebetween pitches, reducing
downtime and shortening gamelanes. I'm not a fan of the
pitch clock. I don't like thepitch clock. I don't like see
clocks in baseball,but I know that's going to be
(38:02):
here to stay.
There are many other ways thatbaseball could have if pace of
play was the the issue here manyother ways that they could have
increased the pace of playwithout having a pitch clock.
Perhaps I will cover that onanother upcoming episode,
(38:26):
because again, on this thisdiamond cast, we like to cover
controversial topics as well andjust tell it like it is all
right. Change number five in2023 pictures are allowed to
disengagements per plateappearance without penalty.
Reason is to limit the number ofpick off attempts and keep the
game moving while still allowingpitchers some flexibility in
controlling the running game.
Again, I'm not in favor this oneeither. So
(38:50):
not my favorite one. But again,this is probably here to stay as
well. All right, so of the pastMajor League Baseball rule
changes since 2020, 40% of themimpacted the pitcher. The major
league baseball commissioner RobManfred, this past summer
declared that the electronicstrike zone, as we know, will
(39:11):
begin tested in spring training.
2025, now let's talk about thewhispers of this other potential
major league baseball rulechange that's aimed at pitchers
who start a game that must go atleast six innings,
barring some kind of variousother parameters, like injury
and such. So I have somequestions about this, and I
(39:33):
wonder if you do too, and Iwould think that many major
league baseball fans would sothis will clearly have an impact
on every team's rosterconstruction.
So again, at this point, again,there's nothing concrete that
this is going to happen. But youknow, the way that things have
(39:54):
been with the pace of play, itwouldn't surprise me if they
start.
To test this out at some point.
Here's my questions about it.
They're going to do this again,and that is to to force
pitchers, starting pitchers, togo at least six innings. Now, by
the way, I'm all for startingpitchers pitching complete games
(40:16):
and shutouts, just like you knowso many of the greats have
throughout major league baseballhistory. I'm all for that, just
I'm not a fan of the forcingstuff like this. So here's my
questions, could it be thenumber of pitchers on a roster
is governed from 13 untilSeptember to more or less? So
(40:37):
what about a two way player?
Would a two player, two wayplayer be considered one of
those pitchers. Like, what aboutshowtani? Is he gonna be
considered on the roster as astarting pitcher or not? So then
they have to, you know, considerhim on the roster in the pitcher
spot, or is he really more inthe batter's category for the
(40:58):
roster construction, and what ifthe unintended consequence is
more injuries to startingpitchers? How long before they
change the rule? I mean, how dothey know for sure that this
isn't gonna just put unduestrain on starting pitchers? And
of course, it's gonna take sometime, because, again, a lot of
(41:23):
pictures have not beenaccustomed to going really much
beyond five innings, so we haveto stretch these guys out. It's
gonna take some time to it now.
Again, I'm all for it. I justdon't like the forcing part of
it, the six inning requirement,all right, so with the emphasis
on starting pitchers will morebullpen pitchers want to do all
they can to become startingpitchers to earn more. Is that
(41:46):
what's going to happen? So nowthe bullpen pitchers that were
really good, they want to becomestarters so they can earn more
money. And now what happens tothe bullpen? You're going to
have a bunch of bullpen guysthat aren't very good, if so
many of these guys want to bestarters, and what do they do
there? What if you What are yougoing to have six, seven
(42:06):
starters on a on a team now,instead of maybe five or four,
like back in the day? And thenlast question is, will this
widen the gap between big marketteams which can afford
expensive, high quality startingpitchers, more than smaller
market teams that can so whatabout that? They're going to go
after these. You know, the beststarters these teams in large
(42:30):
markets go, bring them and theirstaff these smaller market teams
can't afford them. Then whatnow? I do have a solution for
that that's going to come up onThursdays diamond cast. So you
want to tune into that. That oneis going to be, again, something
that I really don't and haven'tseen talked about hardly at all
(42:50):
in Major League Baseball, butI'm going to bring it up. So
we're going to talk about thaton Thursday's episode. So
should, in your opinion, shouldMajor League Baseball implement
a six inning minimum startingpitcher requirement asking? Of
course, they're gonna be askingstarters to throw longer than
most of them are used to. Again,some are workhorses, and they're
(43:11):
okay, but, but again, many arenot. So here's some stats for
you, as you consider thatquestion, the average innings
pitch per start was down toapproximately 4.73
innings pitched Since 2020 soagain, starting pictures not
(43:33):
even averaging five innings perstart. So that's a significant
decrease from the earlier years,even only, such as 2015
when the average was about 5.72innings. So just over that five
year period, pitchers have losta full inning of of how long
(43:54):
they can survive pitching in agame for whatever the reasons
are, and probably it pitch countfor the most part, these for the
starting pitchers. So now MajorLeague Baseball seeing it go
from 2015 to 5.72innings to 2020 going down to
4.73 innings. I don't have thenumbers yet for the this past
(44:20):
season of 2024 but I doubt it'sit's changed much from the 4.73
innings now you're gonna ask himto go up to six innings minimum.
What's that? What's gonna happento Major League Baseball if you
were to do that? So we'll seewhat happens, of course.
But there's one thing for sureabout this if it were to happen
(44:42):
that there's plenty of pitchersback in the day who loved
hurling all nine innings everychance they got, so maybe
baseball will get back to that.
But what would be unfortunateabout it is that they had to be
forced into it, if you will, asopposed to letting them.
Their talent and their theirconditioning and their their
(45:05):
motion, which you talked aboutagain, another recent diamond
cast episode. Let that be thereason why they're going longer
into the game. So all right,well, thanks for tuning in.
That's a wrap for this baseballclassics diamond cast about
major league rule changes thathave taken place since 1901 all
(45:27):
the way to present. We'll seewhat 2025 has to bring us,
besides the automatic strikezone for spring training, which
I am a fan of. So we'll see youon the next baseball classics
diamond class with anotherfeature story, and until then, I
hope you have a fantastic restof your day. Bye.
Major League baseball fans, get ready for a close up
look from the top step of thedugout. Welcome to the baseball
classics podcast covering anyseason from 1901 to the present.
We'll explore exciting pennantraces, dive head first,
analyzing and even doing somecomparisons that are bound to
(00:23):
settle an argument or start oneup. And now here's your host,
Dean Patino.
Hello again, everybody. Thanksso much for tuning in to this
baseball classics, diamond cast.
It's always great to be withyou, and I hope that wherever
this finds you, you are enjoyinga outstanding day. Now in this
(00:43):
episode, I'm going to coverevery major league baseball rule
change since 1901, and what'simportant about this, why we're
doing this diamond cast episodeand this featured story, because
it's impacted the evolution ofplay in Major League Baseball.
It's impacted the strategy, theskill sets of players, scoring.
(01:04):
And then there's one that's beentalked about recently that could
potentially impact rosterconstruction as well. So we're
going to cover that at the endof this episode, but I'm going
to walk you through history.
We're going to start all the wayback in 1901, take you fast
forward to the present. Andthat's what baseball classics
does, is that we covereverything from 1901 to present.
(01:28):
Alright. So before I dive in, Ijust want to remind you to head
on over to baseballclassics.com/diamond,
view, to get the latest andgreatest of what's happening in
Major League Baseball each andevery day, fresh new content.
You won't find this anywhereelse. Sure, you'll find a little
bit here, a little bit there,some of it here, some of it
(01:48):
there. Are different websites,but we save you all that time,
and you won't again find all ofthis in one place, like what
we've done as a free service foryou. No login required. You have
nothing to lose if you're abaseball fan. Baseball
classics.com/diamond,view, let all the other baseball
fans you know know about that.
(02:11):
You'll do them a favor by doingso. All right, let's get into
the rule changes. So there'sbeen over 60 implemented by
Major League Baseball since 1901so all the way back from the
early days when pitchersdominated the mound to the
modern era of today with homeruns and analytics. So these
rule changes will be interestingto cover as we walk through
(02:33):
them, starting back in 1901that it's going to really
reflect the evolution ofbaseball and how it's influenced
the strategies that teams employon the field. Yet now some of
these rules that we're going tocover will explain which ones
were reversed or modified laterbecause they either introduced
unintended consequences or weredifficult to enforce
(02:56):
consistently, or did not achievethe desired effect on the game.
So of the 60 plus rule changessince 1901,
a whopping 10 of them have beensince 2020, we've all seen it
right, all these rule changes.
It seems like every year there'smultiple rule changes coming at
us, and a lot of that has to dowith the continued advancement
(03:19):
of technology. So we at baseballclassics. We expect more rule
changes to come. We know anotherone that's right on the horizon,
one that we covered recently onthe diamond, cast here the
electronic or automatic strikezone again, that's going to be
incorporated in spring trainingas a trial in 2025
(03:40):
but look for the regular seasonto have that as early as 2026
so there's been whispers aboutanother one amongst baseball
circles considering arequirement for starting
pitchers to pitch at least thefirst six innings. So we know
about these bullpen games thatreally Tampa started several
(04:02):
years ago, and of course, theDodgers used it throughout the
playoffs, including the WorldSeries. That would eliminate
these bullpen games. As baseballwants to see starting pitchers
go at least six innings, thefirst six innings now borrowing
an injury or something likethat. But we'll conclude this
episode on that specific topic,because I've got a lot of
(04:24):
questions about that. Someanwhile, let's dive in to to
these rule changes. And way it'sgoing to work is that I'm going
to start 1901, I'm going toexplain what the change, the
rule change is, and then thereason behind the change. So
here we go change number one,all foul balls not caught on the
(04:46):
fly counted as strikes until thebatter has two strikes. So the
reason is to speed up the gameby preventing batters from
prolonging at bats with multiplefoul balls. So you can imagine
foul balls.
Were not counted as strikes, sothey could just fall, you know,
hit foul balls after foul balls,and,
(05:08):
you know, if they weren't caughton the fly. So anyway, that was
the first change, the secondchange that catchers were
compelled to remain continuouslyunder the bat. This is to
prevent catchers from moving outof position too early, which
could unfairly disadvantage thebatter. Now, another one that
(05:29):
was modified was the drop thirdstrike rule in 1901 Originally,
the batter could reach firstbase on any drop third strike,
regardless of whether there wasa run around first well, this
rule was modified to preventbatters from reaching first base
on a drop third strike if firstbase was occupied with less than
two outs, thereby simplifyingthe rule and preventing
(05:52):
unnecessary complications duringthe game. So those were the
rules in 1901now we skip ahead to 1903
and there were a couple duringthe 1903 season. First one, the
height of the mound was limitedto 15 inches higher than the
level of the baselines, and thereason was to standardize the
(06:14):
pitcher mound across the league,ensuring consistent Playing
Conditions. Because, of course,as that states pitching mounds
were different heights, and theywanted, of course, to get that
standardized throughout theleague. The second rule changed
in 1903 the foul strike rule wasadopted by the American League,
and the reason was to align withthe National League and maintain
(06:38):
consistency and gameplay rulesbetween the leagues, all right,
1908,so now we skip ahead five years.
There were a couple of morechanges here. First one is that
pitchers were prohibited fromsoiling a brand new ball that
comes into the game. The reasonis to improve visibility and
safety for batters, ensuring theball remained clean and easier
(07:01):
to see. And the second changewas the sacrifice fly rule was
adopted. Did you know there wasno sacrifice fly rule before
that? So the reason was toencourage strategic play by
rewarding a batter for advancinga runner with a fly ball out.
Now. It was actually repealed in1931 then reinstated in 1954 and
(07:27):
here's the reason it wasreinstated. So the sacrifice fly
rule, which allowed a batter tonot be charged with an at bat
when hitting a fly ball thatscored a runner from third base
was introduced to reward battersfor contributing to a run.
However, it was repealed in 1931because it was perceived as
(07:49):
unfairly inflating a batter'sstatistics by not counting the
at bat. So the rule wasreinstated with the added
stipulation that it only appliedif the runner scored after the
catch, balancing the need toreward a contribution while
maintaining statisticalintegrity. How about that? Okay?
1909, there was another rulechange. So you can see, in the
(08:14):
first the first 10 years or soof major league baseball
history, quite a few changesgoing on. All right? This change
in 1909 the relief pitcher mustface at least one batter, and
the reason was to preventmatters from constantly
switching pitchers meetingwithout the new pitcher even
(08:34):
facing a batter, right? Sothey're bringing a new pitcher,
maybe the other team brings in apinch hitter, then they take
that picture up for even throwsthem, brings in another pitcher,
maybe that team changes theirbatter. So again, it's a pre
longing the game. It kind ofreminds you of what, of course,
is has happened with reliefpitchers in today's game, where
they must face at least threebatters. So back in 1909 one
(08:59):
batter, minimum. Okay. 1910the rule change, stolen base no
longer credited with whenanother runner in a double steal
is thrown out. So you have tworunners on the one runner goes
to steal, he's thrown out. Thatother runner was credited with a
stolen base Getting ThereSafely. But that's this rule
(09:22):
stopped that. So it was toprevent inflated stolen base
statistics and maintain fairnessand crediting successful steel.
So there you go, 19 one through1910
there were, let's say, let'scount them up, 246789,
(09:45):
changes. A lot of changes there.
Okay, so now we go from 1910and we go all the way to 1917
before we get the next rulechange, and that was earn, run
statistics and deaf and.
Positions added to the rules. Sothe reason was to provide a
clearer measure of a pitcher'seffectiveness by distinguishing
(10:09):
between runs caused by errorsand those earned through clean
hits. That didn't happen againuntil 1917
so what does that mean forChristy Matthewson and some of
these other pictures early on,Cy Young that that were giving
up runs, they were countedunearned runs. Were counted as
earn runs. Back then,1920 now 1920 there was quite a
(10:31):
few changes here. So here we go.
First change in 1920 all freakdeliveries, including the spit
ball, were outlawed, and thereason was to standardize
pitching techniques andeliminate unfair advantages
gained through altered ballmovement.
(10:54):
Change number two Bach to becalled if the pitcher releases
the pitch while the catcher isout of his box. The reason to
prevent pitchers from deliveringpitches when the catcher is not
ready, ensuring fair play. Now,it was modified frequently, and
particularly in 1988this was modified the whole Bach
(11:15):
situation here, and the modifiedreason is the Bach rule has seen
many changes over the years,particularly during the 1988
season, when Major LeagueBaseball attempted to strictly
enforce the Bach rule, leadingto an unprecedented number of
box called 783In 1988 compared to 356 in 1987
(11:42):
what a difference there? So morethan double from 8788
with the enforcement. So it waseventually relaxed due to
widespread confusion andfrustration among players,
managers and umpires. The rulewas later modified to provide
clearer guidelines for whatconstituted a Bucha. You may
remember that back in 1988when there were so many Bach
(12:04):
calls, and of course, the teamswere going crazy. Pitchers were
so frustrated with this. Allright, so that's the second
change that happened in 1920and the third one was the
failure of a preceding runner totouch a base would not affect
the status of a succeedingrunner, and the reason was to
clarify the rules around baserunning and prevent confusion in
(12:29):
scoring plays. There were more,though, there's more changes in
1920 there was just a slope.
Let's see it's kind of up here.
We got 3456,total changes. So let's go to
change number four, the batterwas given credit for a home run
in the last of the ninth inningif the winning run was on base
(12:49):
when the ball was hit out of thefield. The reason was to
properly credit a batter forhitting a home runs that ends
the game reflecting their actualperformance. So again, how many
batters hit a home run, a walkoff home run, if you will, and
then get credit for that priorto 1920
(13:09):
here's another change, the fifthchange in 1920 the number of
runs batted in RBIs were to beincluded in the official score
To recognize the batter'scontribution to scoring runs,
which became an essentialstatistic for evaluating
players. How about that? RBIsare not officially included in
(13:31):
the official score until 1920and last but not least, the six
rule change frivolous ninthinning uncontested steals in one
sided games were to be scored asdefensive and different. So
you've, you've heard this,you've seen this throughout the,
you know, throughout the years,where a runner is not being held
on base. And it's a called anindifference, indifference.
(13:56):
Well, this is where it started,in 1920 so the reason is to
avoid our Fit artificiallyinflating steel statistics in
situations where the defense isnot attempting to prevent the
steel now, in the later years,it was repealed, and the reason
was that the rule was introducedto prevent players from padding
their stats with uncontestedsteals and one sided games.
(14:19):
However, it was later droppeddue to its subjective nature,
which led to inconsistencies andhow it was applied and
criticized for its impact on thestatistical record. But now we
know, of course, in today's,today's day and age of Major
League Baseball, it is a part ofthe rules, all right. 1925,
(14:40):
one change there the minimumhome run distance was set at 250
feet. That was a minimum homerun distance. It was official
rule to standardize ballparkdimensions and ensure fairness
across different playing fields.
Really interesting back through.
To, I would say at least thethe 1950s 1960s maybe, but
(15:04):
surely, 1950s and prior, thedifferent dimensions out there
for Baseball, baseball parksnow, baseball classics, we have
introduced and brought our realtime ballparks, which is
currently one of our our bestsellers. It's out of stock right
now. We're going to bring itback in a little while, but we
have all the different ballparkdimensions within real time
(15:27):
ballpark. So it was reallyinteresting to see the different
dimensions out there and and howthese teams played major league
baseball in these stadiums withthese crazy outfield dimensions
that they had. So this change,of course, was the standardized
ballpark dimensions and ensurefairness across different
playing fields. Now it wasrepealed shortly after
(15:49):
implementation. The specificdates unclear when it was
repealed, but the repealedreason was the rule set a
minimum distance of 250 feet fora home run intended to
standardize the dimensions ofballparks. However, it was
quickly abandoned because it didnot account for the very
dimensions of existingballparks, particularly in
(16:09):
older, smaller parks wherehitting a ball 250 feet was
relatively easy. This rule wasseen as unrealistic and
potentially distorting the gameleading to its repeal. Can you
imagine, in today's world, oreven you know, over the recent
decades, that some ballparksmight have their walls only 250
(16:30):
feet out for a home run, howwhat the stats would have been
like it had that happen? So it'sgood thing they repealed that.
All right, we go to the nextyear, 1926 two changes. One was
a pitcher allowed to use a rosinbag for the first time 1926 to
give the pitchers a legal meansof improving their grip on the
(16:52):
ball, especially in adverseweather conditions. So 1926
also. 1926 is sacrifice hit isawarded when any runner advances
on a fly out. So the reason wasto encourage strategic hitting
that advances runners even whenthe batter makes an out. So that
(17:15):
takes us through the 1920s nowwe head into the 1930s and there
was only one season where theyincorporated rule changes in the
1930s it was the 1931 season.
There were four changes. Changenumber one, balls that bounce
over the fence entitled thebatter to two bases. Because you
probably are familiar with thisback in the day, if it bounced
(17:36):
over the fence, it wasconsidered a home run. So this
was the again, to clarify theruling for balls that bounce
out, ensuring consistency andawarding bases change number
two, balls hit over the fenceare to be ruled fair or foul
based on where they are whenthey leave the field. So the
reason was to standardize thecriteria for judging home runs,
(17:58):
ensuring fairness in calls. Soof course, you know, eventually
that's just where the fall pollscame in, and that helped clarify
all of that.
Change number three in 1931sacrifice flies were eliminated
to simplify scoring and reduceemphasis on flouts that advanced
(18:21):
runners. Wow, how about that?
And then the last change in 1931regulations referring to a
batter contacting his own ballwere clarified, as was the area
of bases awarded a batter when adefensive player threw his glove
at a bat or thrown ball, or inthe case of spectator
interference. So this is toclarify ambiguous situations in
(18:43):
the rules and ensure fair play.
Okay, let's go to 1950 so thatlast one's kind of funny, if
they had to put a rule in forthat 1950
the home team must bat second.
19 five zero. Can you believethat it wasn't until 1950 that
(19:05):
this was an actual rule by MajorLeague Baseball, and this is, of
course, the standardized thebatting order across the league,
ensuring that the home teamalways has the final chance to
score 1950there were other changes in 1950
there were four others. Change.
(19:26):
Number two, the mound b must be15 inches high, and that's to
standardize the height of thepictures mount, ensuring
consistent Playing Conditions.
Change. Number three, rules fordetermining winning and losing
picture were established so toformalize the criteria for
crediting pictures with wins orlosses, providing consistency in
pitching statistics and changenumber four in 1950 the size of
(19:47):
the first baseman's glove wasregulated, and this is, of
course, the standardizedequipment to prevent an unfair
advantage gained throughoversized gloves. And.
On change number five, thestrike zone redefine to and from
the armpits to the top of theknees, to standardize the strike
(20:07):
zone and ensure consistentcalling by umpire. So that was
all in 1950and we move forward to 1953
there was just one change,and that is, players were to
remove their gloves from thefield, and this is in 1954 when
batting and no equipment was toshow on the field at any time.
So this rule change was broughtabout 1953 but not started until
(20:33):
1954 to prevent distraction andensure the playing field is
clear and safe. So again, can'tleave your gloves on the field
when you're when you're whenyou're playing, all right, 1954
so this change is a defensiveinterference. Was changed from
an offense solely by a catcherto one by a fielder as well. So
(20:57):
you could have a defensiveinterference, of course, not
just by the catcher, but by thefielders, and that's to
clarifying the rules to ensurefair play by holding all
fielders accountable forinterference. Change number two
in 1954 no fielder could take aposition in line with a batter's
vision with the deliberateintent in any way to distract
the batter. So this, of course,the reason was prevent fielders
(21:21):
from unfairly distracting thebatter, ensuring a fair hitting
environment and change. Three in1954 the sacrifice fly rule was
brought back, this time with theman scoring after the catch only
to incur and this was toencourage strategic fly balls
that advance runners and scoreruns even when the batter makes
an out. And last but not least,1959 one more change for the
(21:44):
50s, and that is, regulationswere set up for minimum
boundaries for all new parks.
325, feet to left field, 400feet to center field. 325,
for right field, and that's thestandardized ballpark
dimensions, ensuring consistencyand fairness across different
(22:07):
playing fields. So again, theminimum boundaries for all new
parks, 325, feet, 400 feet and325, feet from left center to
right. Okay, now we move forwardto the 1960s
and in 1963 we had one rulechange, that's the strike zone.
It was enlarged to from the topof the shoulders to the knees,
(22:30):
the top of the shoulders. So thereason was to give pitchers a
larger target, potentiallyreducing offense and bringing
balance between pitching andhitting. On 1965
there was a change, the size ofthe catcher's mitt was regulated
to standardize equipment andprevent catchers from using
(22:50):
oversized mitts to gain anunfair advantage. In 1968
another change, the anti spitball rule was rewritten and
tightened up because of the waveof moistened pitches that
floatedtowards the plate the prior
season. So the reason is tocrack down on these illegal
pictures that altered the ball'smovement in unpredictable ways,
ensuring fair play. And in 1969there were three changes. The
(23:17):
first one, the pitcher's mound,was dropped five inches. So 1968
was considered the year of thepitcher. So 1969 to rectify
that, they wanted to reducepitcher dominance and increase
offensive production. Since itwas a historically low scoring
season in 1968change number two, the strike
(23:41):
zone was shrunken to the areafrom the armpits to the top of
the batter's knee. So it'sinteresting just you know, not
too much later, after they madethat initial strike zone change.
And there were a number ofstrike zone changes throughout
the decades, but they changed itback in
(24:01):
1969 to get some more offense.
And then the third rule changewas the Save rule was added to
the official rules for the firsttime. So this is to formalize
the role of relief pitchers,particularly closers, and
provide a statistic to measuretheir effectiveness. I saw the
other day somebody wasrecommending that, as the Cy
(24:21):
Young Award was beingintroduced, that they should
have acloser award, or maybe even
just, let's just say, reliefpitcher award, separate from the
Cy Young, so that way a pitchercould win both, which has
happened. We've seen, of course,relief pitchers win the Cy
Young, but in this case, there'ssuggesting that you add that to
(24:48):
the award category, since,especially since, of course,
relief pitching is such a keypart these days in Major League
Baseball. All right now we're inthe 1970s and.
1970s we had a number ofchanges. So 1971 all major
league players were ordered towear protective helmets. So of
course, the reason was toimprove player safety and reduce
(25:10):
the risk of head injuries frompitched balls. 1973 two changes.
Number one, the rule on glovesize and color was
was minutely outlined forstandardization. So this was to
prevent players from usingoversized or distracting gloves,
ensuring fairness in Fielding.
And change number two, theAmerican League began using, as
(25:30):
you know, the designated hitterfor pictures on an experimental
basis. It's been quite theexperiment since 1973
is it's no longer that. Ofcourse, it's now fully
incorporated. So of course, thiswas to increase offensive
production and prolong thecareers of veteran hit hitters
(25:53):
who could no longer fieldeffectively. Are you in favor of
the designated hitter role?
You're more of a traditionalist,I want to see the batter's pitch
and of course, with the for thestrategy that's involved with
that. So be interesting to hearfrom you. You can write me a
dean at baseball classics.comabout the DH rule? Okay? 1974
(26:16):
the Save rule was rewritten, andthe reason is to redefine the
criteria for awarding saves,ensuring that the statistic
accurately reflected a pitcher'seffectiveness in preserving a
lead. So that was that change,and then change number two and I
74 is minimum standards forindividual championships were
(26:37):
outlined so and that was toestablish clear criteria for
awarding batting titles andother individual honors,
ensuring fairness and playerevaluations. So that was 1974
1975 there were three changes.
It seems like when these changescame, they just came in droves.
And then they, you know, wererelaxed for a bit, then they
(26:57):
came in droves again. So 1975three changes. Change number
one, the ball was permitted tobe covered with COVID because of
the shortage of horses, thereason to address the material
shortage of horse side forbaseballs and maintain the
production and supply ofbaseballs.
(27:19):
Change number two, suspensionfor three days became mandatory
if a batter were to hit a fairball with a filled, doctored or
flat surfaced bat. The reasonwas, of course, to discourage
cheating and maintain theintegrity of the game by
penalizing players who alteredtheir bats for unfair
advantages. And then in 1975 thecurrent save rule was adopted to
(27:44):
formalize and standardize thecriteria for awarding saves,
making the statistic moremeaningful and accurate for
evaluating relief pitchers.
Okay, one more in 1970s Hang inthere, and then we'll, we'll,
we're going to move quicklythrough some of these other
ones. 1978the pitcher can't throw at a
batter. Rule, how about thatone? This is to reduce reduce
(28:05):
the risk of injury and promotesafety by discouraging pitchers
from intentionally throwing atbatters. Up till 1978
you could wail away and justhurl it at batters
intentionally, without anyrepercussion. But of course, now
we know there's warnings, oryou're just tossed out
(28:26):
completely if you're caughtdoing this intentionally. So.
But fascinating, it was until1978
All right, now we fast forwardthrough the 80s, all the way up
to 1988 for just one role changethroughout the entire 1980s
decade, and that is thatcatchers must wear protective
(28:46):
helmets while on defense, andthe reason is to enhance player
safety and reduce the risk ofhead injuries for catchers
during play, that was it in the80s. In the 90s, no changes in
the 2000s we only have one, 2008major league baseball as limited
instant replay for home runcalls, fair or foul. The reason,
(29:07):
of course, to increase theaccuracy of crucial game
decisions by allowing umpires toreview, review and correct
potential errors on home run andboundary calls. That's it. So
really, from 1988through all the way up, we'd go
all the way up to 2014 we had,let's say, from 1989 to 2013
(29:28):
we had just one rule change. Nowwe start to pick things up a bit
here. On the rule change front2014 the rule change was runners
attempting to score may notdeviate from their direct
pathway to the plate to initiatecontact with the catcher.
Catchers cannot block the platewithout possession of the ball.
How about this? You know,growing up for me and to many of
(29:51):
you listening, I'm sure the wayit was, is that you were a
catcher, you were taught toblock the plate. That's what you
had to do.
Two without the ball, of course,and then when you get the ball,
you you know you're alreadyblocking the plate to help
prevent that runner fromtouching it. But 2014
can't do that major leaguebaseball, and that, of course,
(30:12):
was to protect players fromcollisions at home plate, reduce
injuries and encourage saferplay. 2016
the change was slides onpotential double plays will
require base runners to make abonafide attempt to reach and
remain on base. So the reason isto reduce dangerous slide
tactics and protect infieldersfrom injury while ensuring that
(30:36):
runners attempt to reach thebase legitimately. Of course, we
all know about differentinjuries that have taken place
over the years with with runnersreally coming after these either
shortstop or second basemangetting a double play throw, and
they're so vulnerable in a lotof those situations, and these
runners are barely down. Theyjust take them out. So it
(30:57):
reminds me of, you know,football with punters, right?
You hear the high leg kick,they're vulnerable. So you can't
run into the kicker, and if youdo, it's a penalty. So Major
League Baseball caught on tothat finally, but it took until
2016to incorporate a similar type of
role. 2017this changes. Pitchers no longer
(31:20):
required to throw fourintentional balls to walk a
batter. Managers may now ask theumpire to let their batter go to
first base. The reason was tospeed up the game by eliminating
the need for the time consumingprocess of throwing four pitches
during an intentional walk. Idon't know about you, but I was
(31:42):
bummed to see this one go,because it was always
interesting to see somebody actlike they were going to
intentionally walk a batter andthen throw a strike on them
anyway. So 2017that went away. All right. Now
we're into 2020 where we have,again, a bunch of rule changes
that have come about. So rulechange number one in 2020 there
(32:03):
were two pitcher must face aminimum of three batters in an
appearance or pitch to the endof a half inning. And the reason
is, of course, speed up the paceof play. We know that was a big
deal starting 2020 all this paceof play stuff by reducing the
frequency of pitching changes,which often prolong games change
number two in 2020 was thetemporary COVID 19 pandemic
(32:25):
rules added for a shortenedseason. So they were as follows,
extra inning runner on secondbase, automatically. Seven
inning double headers. Thepostseason expands to 16 teams,
universal DH, designated hitter.
(32:48):
And the reason was, these ruleswere implemented to adjust for
the shortened 2020, season dueto the COVID 19 pandemic, aiming
to complete games more quicklyand reduce the strain on players
and teams. Well, let's, let'spause here for just a moment. So
the extra inning runner onsecond base automatically. It's
2024 that still goes on. So somuch for doing that. Only during
(33:13):
this shortened season, seveninning double headers. You
really don't even see doubleheaders anymore, unless it's a
makeup game, but if it is,you've got these seven inning
double headers. So that's to meas more of a on the
traditionalist side. I mean, Ido like to see the technology
advancements take advantage. SoI'm kind of a hybrid guy on
(33:35):
that. But seven inning doubleheaders, not a fan of that
postseason expanded to 16 teams.
We know that that, you know, isa little bit different. But they
did add, you know, in the wildcards and such a universal DH,
well, we know that that's hereto stay as well. So these
supposed temporary changes, rulechanges really were permanent
role changes. They were justkind of to me, they were just
(33:58):
used 2020, in the shortenedseason as a reason to kind of
just force all those in there atthat time, and then, of course,
keep them in now we go to 2022the change here was the draft
lottery implemented todiscourage tanking. So of
course, lot of teams doing thatright, we're just going to lose
(34:18):
out. Who cares? We want a greatdraft pick. So of course, it was
to discourage teams fromintentionally losing games to
secure higher draft picks,thereby promoting competitive
integrity. This really burnsteams like the White Sox, who
had just, of course, the worstseason in major league baseball
history in 2024 so instead ofthem getting the number one
(34:39):
pick, because the way the rulesare with the draft lottery, the
highest pick they can get in2025 I think the highest they
could get is the 10th pick.
That's it. So even though theyhad this lousy season, they're
not going to really benefit fromit. So I do like that. I think
that that's good to keep theseteams so they have to remain
competitive.
(35:00):
Yeah, because they're not goingto benefit just by just by
tanking. Change number two, theNational League officially
adopts the DH. So the reason wasgreat uniformity between the
American League and nationalleagues and increase offensive
production by having the DH inplace of a pitcher. I know
there's been a lot ofcontroversy about that one since
it was first incorporated backin the 1973 season, and then
(35:24):
changed number three in 2022 thepostseason expands to 12 teams,
so to provide more teams withthe opportunity to compete in
the playoffs, increasing fanengagement and revenue. You
know, baseball, of course, for along, long time where the was
the only major sport that reallyhave these pennant winning teams
get into the World Series, andthat was it.
(35:47):
But really, I mean, baseball hadto expand the number of teams
that get in the postseason,certainly from a revenue
perspective, to keep up withsome of the other major sports.
They just had to do it so itmade sense, and I wouldn't be
surprised if we see some more.
It has really been fun to watchand see how they've
incorporated. I think it's beenwell done, all right, 2023
(36:12):
so we have five changes thattook place in 2023
so the bases were increased insize from 15 to 18 inches to
here's the reason to reduce therisk of injury by giving players
more space to avoid collisionsand improve player safety. I
don't really know that I buythat one, but Okay,
(36:36):
next change defensive shifts arebanned. Reason is to increase
offensive production and ensurethat more batter balls resort
result and hits by preventingextreme defensive positioning.
At first, I was a little tornabout this one, because, you
know, if a batter can't pull orcan only pull a baseball, well,
(36:57):
you know, got to learn to hit tothe opposite field and let the
fielders then defend them. Ifwe're, he typically hits the
ball. But then again, I thinkabout, you know, other sports,
you do have to have players incertain parts of the field of
play. So, you know, I'm, I'mwarming up to that one. The next
change is the extra inningrunner on second base. This,
(37:21):
again, was from those 2020temporary roles made permanent
to expedite the conclusion ofextra inning games and reduce
the duration of extended play. Iam not in favor of this at all,
and I'm going to cover this onan upcoming episode about these
ghost runners and explain howMajor League Baseball can fix
it. So that's coming upin an episode in the near
(37:42):
future, another change, thefourth change in 2023 pitch
clocks will be used so to speedup the pace of the game by
limiting the time pitchers havebetween pitches, reducing
downtime and shortening gamelanes. I'm not a fan of the
pitch clock. I don't like thepitch clock. I don't like see
clocks in baseball,but I know that's going to be
(38:02):
here to stay.
There are many other ways thatbaseball could have if pace of
play was the the issue here manyother ways that they could have
increased the pace of playwithout having a pitch clock.
Perhaps I will cover that onanother upcoming episode,
(38:26):
because again, on this thisdiamond cast, we like to cover
controversial topics as well andjust tell it like it is all
right. Change number five in2023 pictures are allowed to
disengagements per plateappearance without penalty.
Reason is to limit the number ofpick off attempts and keep the
game moving while still allowingpitchers some flexibility in
controlling the running game.
Again, I'm not in favor this oneeither. So
(38:50):
not my favorite one. But again,this is probably here to stay as
well. All right, so of the pastMajor League Baseball rule
changes since 2020, 40% of themimpacted the pitcher. The major
league baseball commissioner RobManfred, this past summer
declared that the electronicstrike zone, as we know, will
(39:11):
begin tested in spring training.
2025, now let's talk about thewhispers of this other potential
major league baseball rulechange that's aimed at pitchers
who start a game that must go atleast six innings,
barring some kind of variousother parameters, like injury
and such. So I have somequestions about this, and I
(39:33):
wonder if you do too, and Iwould think that many major
league baseball fans would sothis will clearly have an impact
on every team's rosterconstruction.
So again, at this point, again,there's nothing concrete that
this is going to happen. But youknow, the way that things have
(39:54):
been with the pace of play, itwouldn't surprise me if they
start.
To test this out at some point.
Here's my questions about it.
They're going to do this again,and that is to to force
pitchers, starting pitchers, togo at least six innings. Now, by
the way, I'm all for startingpitchers pitching complete games
(40:16):
and shutouts, just like you knowso many of the greats have
throughout major league baseballhistory. I'm all for that, just
I'm not a fan of the forcingstuff like this. So here's my
questions, could it be thenumber of pitchers on a roster
is governed from 13 untilSeptember to more or less? So
(40:37):
what about a two way player?
Would a two player, two wayplayer be considered one of
those pitchers. Like, what aboutshowtani? Is he gonna be
considered on the roster as astarting pitcher or not? So then
they have to, you know, considerhim on the roster in the pitcher
spot, or is he really more inthe batter's category for the
(40:58):
roster construction, and what ifthe unintended consequence is
more injuries to startingpitchers? How long before they
change the rule? I mean, how dothey know for sure that this
isn't gonna just put unduestrain on starting pitchers? And
of course, it's gonna take sometime, because, again, a lot of
(41:23):
pictures have not beenaccustomed to going really much
beyond five innings, so we haveto stretch these guys out. It's
gonna take some time to it now.
Again, I'm all for it. I justdon't like the forcing part of
it, the six inning requirement,all right, so with the emphasis
on starting pitchers will morebullpen pitchers want to do all
they can to become startingpitchers to earn more. Is that
(41:46):
what's going to happen? So nowthe bullpen pitchers that were
really good, they want to becomestarters so they can earn more
money. And now what happens tothe bullpen? You're going to
have a bunch of bullpen guysthat aren't very good, if so
many of these guys want to bestarters, and what do they do
there? What if you What are yougoing to have six, seven
(42:06):
starters on a on a team now,instead of maybe five or four,
like back in the day? And thenlast question is, will this
widen the gap between big marketteams which can afford
expensive, high quality startingpitchers, more than smaller
market teams that can so whatabout that? They're going to go
after these. You know, the beststarters these teams in large
(42:30):
markets go, bring them and theirstaff these smaller market teams
can't afford them. Then whatnow? I do have a solution for
that that's going to come up onThursdays diamond cast. So you
want to tune into that. That oneis going to be, again, something
that I really don't and haven'tseen talked about hardly at all
(42:50):
in Major League Baseball, butI'm going to bring it up. So
we're going to talk about thaton Thursday's episode. So
should, in your opinion, shouldMajor League Baseball implement
a six inning minimum startingpitcher requirement asking? Of
course, they're gonna be askingstarters to throw longer than
most of them are used to. Again,some are workhorses, and they're
(43:11):
okay, but, but again, many arenot. So here's some stats for
you, as you consider thatquestion, the average innings
pitch per start was down toapproximately 4.73
innings pitched Since 2020 soagain, starting pictures not
(43:33):
even averaging five innings perstart. So that's a significant
decrease from the earlier years,even only, such as 2015
when the average was about 5.72innings. So just over that five
year period, pitchers have losta full inning of of how long
(43:54):
they can survive pitching in agame for whatever the reasons
are, and probably it pitch countfor the most part, these for the
starting pitchers. So now MajorLeague Baseball seeing it go
from 2015 to 5.72innings to 2020 going down to
4.73 innings. I don't have thenumbers yet for the this past
(44:20):
season of 2024 but I doubt it'sit's changed much from the 4.73
innings now you're gonna ask himto go up to six innings minimum.
What's that? What's gonna happento Major League Baseball if you
were to do that? So we'll seewhat happens, of course.
But there's one thing for sureabout this if it were to happen
(44:42):
that there's plenty of pitchersback in the day who loved
hurling all nine innings everychance they got, so maybe
baseball will get back to that.
But what would be unfortunateabout it is that they had to be
forced into it, if you will, asopposed to letting them.
Their talent and their theirconditioning and their their
(45:05):
motion, which you talked aboutagain, another recent diamond
cast episode. Let that be thereason why they're going longer
into the game. So all right,well, thanks for tuning in.
That's a wrap for this baseballclassics diamond cast about
major league rule changes thathave taken place since 1901 all
(45:27):
the way to present. We'll seewhat 2025 has to bring us,
besides the automatic strikezone for spring training, which
I am a fan of. So we'll see youon the next baseball classics
diamond class with anotherfeature story, and until then, I
hope you have a fantastic restof your day. Bye.
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