Baseball History

I know there are still some baseball fans who do not like the DH rule. I would mention one such fan, but since I've already mentioned him TWICE in about a week, so I won't do it this time.

The DH rule turned FORTY-ONE years old over the weekend. That means that it's been around since I was 12 years old. I actually do think it's a weird rule, but at the same time couldn't imagine having to watch pitcher hit (really poorly) most of the time. One of the reasons I hate watching inter-league play in a National League ballparks is because I HATE seeing pitchers come up in a rally inning with two outs. It's like having three outs because you KNOW that nothing is going to happen next.

Asking these guys, some who haven't had to hit AT ALL for many years to participate at the plate seems grossly unfair. Even a great athlete like Michael Jordan couldn't hit major league pitching when he tried baseball for a few seasons. If Micahel couldn't do it when playing regularly, how are ptchers supposed to do it when some may get only half a dozen at-bats a year?

Even if you despise the designated hitter rule, you should be able to say that ALL should convert to the same rule knowing that it is never going away. It's not a matter of preference any more, it's a matter of fairness and safety to participants.

I also like the way that it extends careers. I got to enjoy Jim Thome for a couple seasons in a Twins uniform just because that rule exists. IF you truly hate that rule, you should despise what Thome and his "ilk" have done to sully the pureness of the game. IF you've ever celebrated a Thome Twins blast, you really are not against the DH rule. Logic dictates that you cannot have it both ways.

But I'm not here to talk about the DH rule. I'm here to talk about OTHER baseball rules that have changed. The pro game has been around 130 YEARS. It's been adding and changing rules the entire time. There's no such thing as "playing the game like its meant to be played." Not unless you go way back to the beginning. I'm going to discussing some of those early rules today.

Originally a pitcher had NINE pitches to get a batter out. If he couldn't do it in that time, the batter was awarded a walk. There were even some small variations of that rule. For a brief time strikes weren't called either. A player was expected to HIT the ball by getting a good pitch from the pitcher.

The ball sizes and weights varied greatly. There was no standard ball.

There were regulations on size of the batter box. There were no regulations on bat sizes and weights.

Bases weren't standard either.

Balls that bounced over the wall were considered homeruns NOT ground ruled doubles. Even Babe Ruth was given a designated RUNNER late in his career every time he batted the ball, someone ELSE would run for him from home plate since he could no longer move.

Did you know that the spitball was banned in 1920 BUT that the moistened ball wasn't banned until 1968? That's right, as long as the moisture used wasn't SPIT, you could still legally moisten the ball through the 1967 season.

1968 also brought about a lowered mound and a smaller strike zone. Even though officially the strike zone is still listed as it's always been.

The DH rule IS weird, but it's been around for more than a third of the modern era. It's part of the game. And if you don't like it, you can always stop watching American League games. The National League is as stubborn as some fans. They don't plan on changing their rule either. They are the last holdouts world-wide. And they don't plan on changing soon either.