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 Changing the Rules Chronology of Changes to Major League Baseball Official Rules Table 6: Changes to Rule 6 |
| Table 6. Changes to Rule 6 (The Batter) | ||
| DATE | RULE CHANGE | Rule |
| 1858 | Balls caught on one hop are no longer outs. | 6.05 |
| 1858 | The called strike is introduced. | 6.05 |
| 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 catcher is required to catch a third strike on the fly | 6.05 |
| 1880 | The base on balls decreases to eight. | 6.08A |
| 1881 | The base on balls is seven. | 6.08A |
| 1883 | A foul ball caught on the bounce ceases to be an out. It must be caught before it touches the ground. | 6.05A |
| 1884 | A base on balls is six. | 6.08A |
| 1886 | A base on balls is five. | 6.08A |
| 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 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 |
| 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 | A hit batsman is awarded first base and credited with a hit. | 6.08 |
| 1889 | A base on balls is four, and there it remains. | 6.08A |
| 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 |
| 1894 | The batter is charged with a strike for hitting a foul bunt. | 6.05D |
| 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 |
| 1901 | The first two fouls are termed strikes (in the National League). | 6.05B |
| 1901 | The infield fly rule is in effect when there are no outs as well as one out. | 6.05E |
| 1901 | The American League joins the majors (the National League got started in 1876), and the rule discrepancies begin. For instance, the National League declares that any foul ball not caught on the fly is a strike unless the batter has two strikes on him. The AL does not agree-at least not right away. | 6.05 |
| 1903 | The American League agrees that any foul ball not caught on the fly is a strike unless the batter has two strikes on him. | 6.05 |
| 1926 | It is 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 250 feet from home plate. | 6.09 |
| 1931 | A fair ball that bounces through or over a fence or into the stands is considered a ground-rule double instead of a home run. | 6.09 |
| 1973 | The year of the DH. The American League votes to accept the designated hitter rule on a three-year experimental basis. The National League votes against it. | 6.1 |
| 1976 | The American League accepts the DH as a permanent part of the rules. The National League reaffirms its opposition. | 6.1 |
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