1860.93

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Clipper Article Favors A Bare Alley Between Pitcher and Catcher

Salience Noteworthy
Tags Post-Knickerbocker Rule Changes
Location Downstate NY State
City/State/Country: Newburgh, NY, United States
Game Base Ball
Age of Players Adult
Text
Squinting at the new playing field laid out by the new Hudson River club in Newburgh, NY, the NY Clipper counseled:
 
"It is requisite that the turf be removed from the pitcher's base to the position occupied by the catcher, a space six feet wide or more being usually cleared for this purpose, in order to give the ball a fair opportunity to rebound behind the striker."
 
 
Sources

[A] NY Clipper, 7/21/1860.

[B] See also Peter Morris, "Pitcher's Paths, "A Game of Inches (Ivan R. Dee, 2010), pp. 392-393:  [Section 14.3.10.]

Comment

In December 2021, Tom Shieber asked:  "I assume that this means that a groomed clay surface gave the barehanded catcher a better shot at stopping a bounced fast pitch than grass (which might cause skidding, bad hops etc.), a paramount defensive consideration in baseball 1860-style."  But where did this habit come from?

Members of the 19CBB list-serve responded. John Thorn thought the bare alley came from cricket, which prefers a true bounce for balls hitting the ground before reaching the wicket. Steve Katz noted that no rule is to be found on the practice in the 1860 NABBP rules, and that 1850's base ball played on cricket fields may have suited its players too.  Matt Albertson pointed out that the alley was actually a base path for cricket, so that grass  may have been worn away for the whole span.  Steve Katz found a Rob Neyer comment from 2011, citing Peter Morris' 2010 edition of A Game of Inches (which -- now try not to get dizzy here -- credits Tom Shieber's find from the 1860 Clipper, evidently sent out by Tom earlier.)


Peter notes:  "Shieber's theory accounts for how how these dirt strips originated, but it doesn't explain why the alleys were retained long after catchers were stationed directly behind the plate.  I think the explanation is simple: since it is very difficult to maintain grass in well-trodden areas represented the groundskeepers' best effort to keep foot traffic off the grass." 

 

 

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Query

 

Do we know if and when baseball's rules mandated these "battery alleys?"  Do we know when they were rescinded? (It is said that only Detroit and Arizona parks use then today.) 

Are there other explanations for this practice in 1860?

Can we assume that the 1860 Clipper piece was written by Henry Chadwick?

 

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Submitted by Tom Shieber, 12/7/2021
Submission Note Query to 19CBB listserve



Comments

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