How Were The Baseball Rules Decided?

One of the most frequently repeated myths concerning baseball tells of the way in which Abner Doubleday purportedly devised the rules of the game in Cooperstown, New York during the summer of 1839. The well informed, however, know that this story is not true and does not reflect the actual manner in which the rules of baseball were put in place.

Early Evolution

Baseball traces its origins back to a pair of English games, cricket and rounders. Each of these resembles baseball in the use of a bat to strike a ball and the accumulation of "runs" to calculate the score. Variations of what would become baseball grew in popularity during the early years of the 19th century. Alternately called townball, base or baseball, the sport appealed to both children and adults. It found favor in urban and rural areas, establishing the basis for what would one day be regarded as the national pastime.

Rules

Not surprisingly, as baseball, base or townball emerged around the United States, so too did different sets of rules. Some interpretations of these games allowed for an almost unlimited number of players on the field at one time. Others made no distinction about the boundaries of the playing area, making any pitch that was struck with the bat a fair ball. Without a central organizing agency, these disparities might have gone on endlessly.

Creating a Standard

By the 1840s, baseball clubs in New York City took to crossing the Hudson River to New Jersey for a more spacious setting in which to practice and play. One of the most prominent of these, the New York Knickerbocker Baseball Club, had a member -- Alexander Cartwright -- who created a formal list of rules. Cartwright settled some of the points in baseball that most frequently varied from one town or group to another.

Knickerbocker Rules

The rules that Cartwright introduced in 1845, which survive to this day, included the idea that three swings and misses -- three strikes -- results in an out. Runners would also be tagged by fielders with the ball to make an out, rather than having the ball thrown at them, according to Cartwright's rules. Cartwright also determined that the infield would be diamond shaped with the outfield continuing outward along the first and third base lines, distinguishing between fair and foul territory. These rules, however, were only the beginning. Committees made subsequent decisions on rules -- including during meetings of clubs in 1854 and 1857.

Balls and Strikes

Cartwright's rule that any ball caught on the fly or after one bounce resulted in an out was amended shortly after its inception to be limited to balls caught on the fly. Beginning in 1860, umpires were used to determine "fair pitches" -- pitches regarded as "hittable." Three fair pitches not swung at were considered a strikeout. The introduction of the base on balls came in 1863. Four "unfair pitches" -- considered "unhittable" -- resulted in the batter being awarded first base. A specific, consistent strike zone -- that is, a range within which pitches are considered to be strikes whether swung at or not -- became part of the baseball rules in 1887. Bases on balls rules changed in 1889 to require four balls for a walk.

Home Runs

The home runs seen in baseball today are unlike those in earlier years. Early baseballs were too soft to hit beyond the boundaries of the playing area. The home run in baseball's early years resulted when a batter hit a ball far enough to allow him to dash around all the bases and back to home plate -- hence, the name, "home run." In early baseball days, home runs were uncommon when compared to their frequency once harder balls were introduced and outfield walls came into being.

Acceptance

The New York press began covering the Knickerbockers and the other baseball clubs in the area, which numbered 30 by the late 1850s. This coverage served to confer a level of legitimacy upon these clubs and the rules by which they played the game. So legitimate, in fact, did these rules become that when the National Association of Baseball Players was created in 1857, it incorporated the Knickerbocker rules. The association added the use of an umpire to call balls and strikes. When, in early 1876, the National League of Professional Baseball Clubs was established, replacing the National Association of Baseball Players, the existing rules remained and have gone largely unchanged since.