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 Changing the Rules Chronology of Changes to Major League Baseball Official Rules Table F: Rule Changes 1870-1899 |
| Table F: Rule Changes 1870-1899 | ||
| DATE | RULE CHANGE | Rule |
| 1870 | A runner is allowed to overrun first base. | 7.08 |
| 1870 | The batter is given the right to call for a high or a low ball. | |
| 1872 | The pitcher is allowed to snap the ball during delivery, but he's restricted to a below-the-waist motion. | 8.01 |
| 1872 | The ball is required to weigh not less than 5 and not more than 5 1/4 ounces, with a circumference of not less than 9 and not more than 9 1/4 inches. | 1.09 |
| 1872 | An "injured" ball is to be changed only in even innings upon request of the captain of either team. | 3.01 |
| 1875 | The (unpadded) catcher's glove is introduced, by Charles G. Waite. | 1.12 |
| 1876 | The National League is established. | |
| 1876 | The umpire says, "Play" for the first time. | 4.15A |
| 1876 | If an umpire is unable to see whether a catch has been fairly made, he may confer with spectators and players. | |
| 1877 | To choose an umpire the league selects "three gentlemen of repute" in each city where there is a team. At least three hours before a game the visiting team chooses the umpire from among them. | 9.01 |
| 1877 | A time at bat is not charged to a batter who walks. | 10.16 |
| 1877 | Canvas-covered bases are required. They are fifteen inches square, the same as today. | 1.06 |
| 1877 | Home plate is relocated to its present spot. | 1.05 |
| 1878 | Umpires get paid, by the home team: five dollars a game | |
| 1879 | The National League names twenty men living in or near cities where the league has teams as "fit" to be umpires, and each game is run by someone from the list. This rule remained in force until 1883. | 9.01 |
| 1879 | An umpire's fees and expenses are paid by the visiting club. An umpire is given the power to impose fines-of not less than ten dollars and not more than twenty dollars-when he thinks it's necessary. | |
| 1879 | An umpire may terminate a game after a rain delay of thirty minutes. | 4.12 |
| 1879 | The pitcher is required to face the batter when he pitches. | 8.01 |
| 1879 | All pitched balls must be called strikes, balls, or fouls. The number of strikes in an out is officially three. | 6.05 |
| 1879 | There are nine balls in a walk. | 6.08A |
| 1880 | The runner hit by a batted ball is out. | 7.08 |
| 1880 | The catcher is required to catch a third strike on the fly | 6.05 |
| 1880 | The base on balls decreases to eight. | 6.08A |
| 1880 | The limits of the fines an umpire may impose change. Now it's not less than five dollars and not more than fifty dollars. | |
| 1881 | The base on balls is seven. | 6.08A |
| 1881 | The pitching distance is lengthened to fifty feet. | 1.07 |
| 1881 | The pitcher is fined for deliberately hitting a batter with the ball. | |
| 1881 | A spectator who "hisses or hoots" at or insults the umpire may be ejected from the grounds. | 9.01E |
| 1881 | The base runner may no longer be put out when he is returning to his base on a foul ball. | 5.09 |
| 1882 | The three-foot base line is adopted. | 1.04 |
| 1882 | Umpires may not reverse decisions on matters of judgment. | 9.02 |
| 1882 | Umpires may not confer with spectators or players. [General Instructions to Umpires] | |
| 1882 | If an umpire imposes a fine or declares a forfeit, he must report it to the league secretary within twenty-four hours. | 4.18 |
| 1882 | Umpire corruption rears its ugly head for the first and only time: a National League umpire, Richard Higham, is expelled from the league for collusion with gamblers. | |
| 1882 | The American League is formed. | |
| 1883 | A foul ball caught on the bounce ceases to be an out. It must be caught before it touches the ground. | 6.05A |
| 1883 | The first system of salaried umpires is introduced, under the same system that is in use today. The four men hired came from cities not represented in the league. | 9.01 |
| 1883 | An error is charged to the pitcher for a base on balls, wild pitch, hit batter, and balk. | 10.13 |
| 1883 | Pitching is allowed from anywhere up to shoulder height. | 8.01 |
| 1884 | Almost all restrictions on a pitcher's motion are lifted. He may throw the ball with virtually any motion he chooses, provided that his delivery is not higher than his shoulders and he is facing the batter at the moment of wind-up. He is allowed only one step before delivery. | 8.01 |
| 1884 | A base on balls is six. | 6.08A |
| 1885 | Home base may be made of marble or whitened rubber | 1.05 |
| 1885 | The bat may have one flattened side. (This rule lasted only one year.) | 1.1 |
| 1885 | The pitcher is credited with an assist on a strike-out | 10.11 |
| 1886 | A base on balls is five. | 6.08A |
| 1886 | The pitcher's box becomes four feet by seven feet. | 1.07 |
| 1886 | An umpire may introduce a new ball at any time. Before this year, when a ball was lost, the umpire gave the team five minutes to find it before he threw in a new one. An umpire must have two baseballs at his disposal at all times. | 3.01 |
| 1886 | A hit batsman is not charged with a time at bat. | 10.02 |
| 1886 | First and third base are moved within the foul lines. | |
| 1886 | No stolen base is credited to a runner for bases advanced by his own volition. | 10.08 |
| 1887 | The pitcher's box is 4 feet by 5 1/2 feet. | 1.07 |
| 1887 | . A pitcher must keep one foot on the rear line of the box and may not take more than one step in delivering the ball. Before delivery he must hold the ball in front of him so that it is visible to the umpire. | 8.01 |
| 1887 | No error is charged to the pitcher for a base on balls, wild pitch, hit batter, and balk. | 10.13 |
| 1887 | A batter hit by a pitched ball is entitled to first base and not charged with a time at bat | 6.08b |
| 1887 | The umpire may call a game if the spectators are disorderly. The maximum fine for arguing with an ump or protesting a call is ten dollars. | |
| 1887 | The batter is no longer allowed to request a high or low pitch. | 6.08b |
| 1887 | A strike-out is called on four strikes. (This rule lasted only one season.) | 6.05 |
| 1887 | Home plate is to be made of rubber and is to be twelve inches square | 1.05 |
| 1887 | A base on balls is scored as a hit and counted as a time at bat. This rule lasted one season only. | 10.16 |
| 1888 | A base on balls is not counted as a hit and not charged as a time at bat. | 10.16 |
| 1888 | If a runner is hit by a batted ball, the batter is credited with a hit | 10.05 |
| 1888 | The strikeout is back to three strikes. | 6.05 |
| 1888 | It is a ground-rule double instead of a home run if the ball is batted over the fence in fair territory where the fence is less than 210 feet from home plate | 6.09 |
| 1888 | The mandatory fine for a coach who leaves the coach's box to protest a call is $5. | |
| 1888 | An error is charged to the pitcher for a base on balls, wild pitch, hit batter, and balk. | 10.13 |
| 1888 | A hit batsman is awarded first base and credited with a hit. | 6.08 |
| 1888 | A batter is credited with a hit when his batted ball hits a base runner. | 10.05 |
| 1889 | No error is charged to the pitcher for a base on balls, wild pitch, hit batter, and balk. A pitcher is not credited with an assist on a strikeout. | 10.13 |
| 1889 | The sacrifice bunt is statistically recognized, but the batter is charged with a time at bat. | 10.09 |
| 1889 | A base on balls is four, and there it remains. | 6.08A |
| 1890 | The ump is called "Mr. Umpire" for the first time | |
| 1891 | Substitutions are allowed at any time during a game, but once he has been substituted for, a player may not return. | 3.03 |
| 1892 | It's a ground-rule double instead of a home run if the ball is hit over the fence in fair territory if the fence is less than 235 feet from home plate. | 6.09 |
| 1893 | A batter credited with a sacrifice is not charged with a time at bat. | 10.09 |
| 1893 | The pitching distance is increased to sixty feet, six inches, where it remains today. | 1.07 |
| 1893 | . The pitcher's box disappears (never to be seen again) and is replaced by the rubber-a slab twelve inches long and four inches wide. | 1.07 |
| 1893 | The pitcher is required to place his rear foot against the slab. | 8.01 |
| 1894 | The batter is charged with a strike for hitting a foul bunt. | 6.05D |
| 1895 | The pitcher's rubber is enlarged to its present size of 24 by 6 inches. | 1.07 |
| 1895 | The maximum diameter of the bat is increased to 2 3/4 inches, where it remains today. | 1.1 |
| 1895 | The infield fly rule is adopted: the umpire may call an infield fly when there is one out and first and second or first, second, and third base are occupied. | 6.05E |
| 1895 | A strike is charged to a batter for a foul tip. | 6.05A |
| 1895 | The limits on fines change again-to not less than $25 and not more than $100. If the crowd becomes so unruly that the game is sped for more than fifteen minutes, the umpire may declare a forfeit. (If that happens, the visitors win, 9-0.) | 4.17 |
| 1896 | A $25 fine is imposed on a coach or a player who uses vulgar language. It costs players $5 to $10 for any other first offense, $25 and possibly ejection for a second offense, and mandatory ejection for a third offense | |
| 1897 | Intentionally discoloring or injuring the ball is punishable by a $5 fine. The ball is replaced. | 3.02 |
| 1897 | The umpire has twelve hours to report a fine or an ejection to the league president, four hours for a "flagrant offense." [9.05A and 9.05B] | 9.05A/B |
| 1898 | A stolen base is credited to the base runner when he reaches a base he attempts to steal without the aid of batting or fielding errors or a hit by the batter. | 10.08 |
| 1898 | The first official balk rule: a pitcher is compelled to throw to a base if he makes a motion in that direction. | 8.05 |
| 1899 | The balk rule is refined: a pickoff throw may not be faked; a pitcher must complete his motion. | 8.05 |
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