Baseball Musings
Baseball Musings
June 02, 2006
Dropping the Ball

Ben Kabak explores the origin of the dropped third strike rule. He challenges the belief that the dropped third strike was added to the game. He believes the automatic out on a caught third strike was added instead.


Posted by David Pinto at 10:10 AM | Rules | TrackBack (0)
Comments

This makes a lot of sense, especially that post about the origin of the around the horn throws. But, how did the other around the horn originate, the one where the first baseman throws it around the infield after a putout?

Posted by: Vic at June 2, 2006 12:13 PM

I'll comment off the top of my head, from what I have learned in my study of Town Ball, a pre cursor of the modern game, with elements of rounders, and of the modern game.

Rounders had no provision for a strikeout. Since the thrower (pitcher) only attempted to put the ball in play, making no effort to fool the batter, and any hit, even a tip, was considered a fair knock, or hit, there was little need.

However, as matches I have played have proved, a player can get into a rut, and miss dozens of pitches, slowing the game. A player could also simply not swing, in order to delay the game. If a player refused to offer at a number of good deliveries, the umpire could call a "strike". Three such called strikes and the batter was out.

Three swinging strikes could also retire the batter. However, since swinging strikes had to be caught on the fly, (all three!) it was rare for this rule to be invoked. Since, in Town Ball, there was no foul territory, every batted ball was fair, so the catcher played some distance from the batter, and fielded the deliveries on one or two hops, in order to field hits that today would be considered foul.

Later versions of Town Ball, including that codified by the so called "Massachusetts Rules", added a provision that after three swinging strikes, a "knock" or hit ball would be declared, and the batter required to run as though he had hit the ball.

Since the bases were arranged in a square, at a distance of 60 feet, with the batter positioned midway between home and first, he had only 30 feet to run, and stood a pretty good chance of making it.

Lee

Posted by: Leonidas Jones at June 2, 2006 06:33 PM
Post a comment









Remember personal info?