Clipping:The high and low strike zones abolished; number of balls and strikes
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| Date | Wednesday, November 24, 1886 |
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| Text | [reporting on the joint rules committee meeting 11/17/1886] First of all, the low and high ball was absolutely wiped out, so that next year a fair ball will be any ball which passes over any part of the plate between the shoulder and the knee. To counteract the advantage this gives to the pitcher, the number of balls has been reduced from six to five entitling the batter to a base, and the number of strikes have been increased from three to four. The Sporting Life November 24, 1886 [reporting on the meeting of the joint rules committee 11/16/1886] The high and low ball system of delivery was eliminated, and in future any ball sent over the plate at any point between the batsman's knees and shoulder will be called a fair ball. The Sporting News November 25, 1886 [reporting on the meeting of the joint rules committee 11/16/1886] A good change was made in relieving the umpire from the difficult duty of judging of waist-high balls--”high or low”--by obliging the batsman to strike at every ball which comes in from the pitcher over the home-base above knee high and not higher than the shoulders. This rule, however, offsets to a certain extent the increase of strikes from three to four, as he cannot now call for a “high” or a “low” ball as he did before, and therefore has few specially delivered balls to select from. He will now, however, only have to watch the ball's direction as to its crossing the plate, and not, as before, as to its being high or low, the “waist” ball formerly being the great obstacle to the batsman's clear judgment of the ball as it was to the umpire. New York Clipper November 27, 1886 suppressing the balk, stepping outside the box; reducing the size of the box [reporting on the joint rules committee meeting 11/17/1886] ...Then the committee undertook the task of suppressing, or wiping out, the evil of pitchers balking every time a base-runner gets to base, or stepping out of the box in delivering the ball. It was admitted that even the stone slab does not keep the pitcher inside, but that half of the step over it, while some, by using rubber soles on their shoes, step onto the slab with impunity. The stone slab it, accordingly, dug up and shelved, while the pitcher's box is shortened from seven feet to five and a half feet. The pitcher is then corralled by this new rule: “The pitcher shall take his position facing the batter with both feet squarely upon the ground, the right foot on the real line of box, his left foot in advance of the right, and to the left of an imaginary line from his right foot to the centre of the home plate. He shall not raise his right foot until in the act of delivering the ball, nor make more than one step in the delivery. He shall hold the ball before delivering it fairly in front of his body and in sight of the umpire. In the case of left-handed pitchers the above words 'left' and 'right are to be reversed. When the pitcher feigns to throw the ball to a base he must resume the above position and pause momentarily before delivering the ball to the bat.” To further help the base-runner the American Association balk rules were adopted verbatim, with the addition of a sentence making a balk to be also “any motion whatever calculated to deceive the base-runner.” … ...It was urged that the new position rule would meet with disfavor because nearly eery pitcher in the land uses the double step, the running jump or hides the ball in delivering it. Three of the Chicagos' pitchers take the jump; Foutz hides the ball and Caruthers takes the jump; the Phillies pitchers all the take jump—yet everybody in the committee and the advisory board [i.e. the players] advocates the change. It is saving the pitchers from themselves, and is so general in its prohibitions that no one club can be affected more than another. It will increase batting as well as base-running. The Sporting Life November 24, 1886 [reporting on the meeting of the joint rules committee 11/16/1886] Five balls and four strikes will now be allowed the batsman; instead of six balls and three strikes, as the rule of last year declared. The Sporting News November 25, 1886 [reporting on the meeting of the joint rules committee 11/16/1886] As regards the new rules governing the work of the batteries, a decided step in advance has been made by the increase of chances for striking at fair balls from three to four, and the decrease in the number of unfair balls the pitcher is allowed to deliver before a base is given on balls to five instead of six. This is a point gained in equalizing the powers of attack and defense as between the pitching and batting. Hereafter the batsman will have four chances to strike at fair balls, and five unfair balls will give him his base. New York Clipper November 27, 1886 |
| Source | Sporting Life |
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| Submitted by | Richard Hershberger |
| Origin | Initial Hershberger Clippings |
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