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 Changing the Rules Chronology of Changes to Major League Baseball Official Rules Table 9: Changes to Rule 9 |
| Table 9. Changes to Rule 9 (The Umpire) | ||
| DATE | RULE CHANGE | Rule |
| 1845 | Provisions are made for an umpire. | 9.01A |
| 1858 | One umpire, chosen by the home team, is in charge of a game | 9.03A |
| 1860 | The umpire of a game is selected by the captain of each team. He is given the authority to suspend play, and he must make a call when a ball is foul. | 9.04 |
| 1861 | At the end of a game an umpire must declare the winning club and record his decision in the scorebook of each team before he leaves the field. | 9.04 |
| 1865 | The umpire must also record the results of a game in the scorer's book. | 9.04 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 1881 | A spectator who "hisses or hoots" at or insults the umpire may be ejected from the grounds. | 9.01E |
| 1882 | Umpires may not reverse decisions on matters of judgment. | 9.02 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 1901 | If an offense is "flagrant" enough, the league president may suspend a player or coach who has been fined and/or ejected by an umpire | 9.05C |
| 1903 | If there is only one umpire in a game, he may stand anywhere on the field he likes. | 9.03A |
| 1906 | The umpire gets authority over the groundskeeper. | 9.01E |
| 1910 | The umpire organization chart is established. The plate umpire-the one who judges balls and strikes-is appointed the umpire-in-chief, and the others are field umpires. An umpire may not interfere with or criticize his colleagues' decisions. Only the umpire-in-chief may declare the game a forfeit. | 9.04 |
| 1910 | An umpire must warn players on the bench for excessive yelling before he can fine or otherwise punish them for it. | 9.01D |
| 1910 | Before a game begins, the umpire must announce any special ground rules. | 9.04 |
| 1914 | In the case of fire, panic, or storm, the umpire does not have to wait until the pitcher has the ball on the mound to call a time-out. | 9.04 |
| 1940 | The umpire assumes authority over trainers. | 9.01E |
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