Baseball rules you won't see at RAP next weekend

While sitting around waiting for tonight's game to be streamed enjoying an evening in a seat not made of wood or plastic, I thought you might enjoy a bit of baseball lore that seems hard to believe, given what we see on the field today. Reprinted here for your enjoyment from an article found on line - all credit to original author Mental Floss's Hanna Keyser...

11 Little Quirks in Baseball's Early Rules

Baseball has been around in various forms since the mid-1700s. Even though it's a classic game, it's still showing signs of evolution. For instance, some of the rules of yore seem particularly quirky compared to the modern game.

Underhand pitching? Balls can bounce before you catch them? Nine balls? Sign me up!

1. In the earliest version of base ball—two words back then—games were not nine innings long. Instead, teams played until one side scored 21 runs, which, at the time, were called “aces.”
2. Before 1872, pitchers had to throw underhand. This was largely because their purpose wasn’t to get outs but to serve up pitches to be put in play. Batters would even request where they wanted a ball to be pitched for a better chance of making contact. Eventually, pitchers realized they could give their teams a competitive advantage if they made things a little less easy on the batter, and the rules caved to accommodate overhand motions.
3. Originally, a hitter wasn't just out if the ball was caught in the air; he was also out if it was caught on the first bounce. If it sounds like this makes the game too easy for the outfielders, consider that using gloves didn't become the norm until the 1890s. This practice was so entrenched that after the Knickerboxers suggested changing it, it took several years of heated debate to get the rule changed. And even after it was changed for balls in play, it persisted for several decades when dealing with pop ups in foul territory.
4. Before there was a whole crew of umpires monitoring games, the home plate umpire was allowed to confer with spectators, who may have had a better view, before issuing a ruling.
5. At first, there was no such thing as a called strike. There were only swinging strikes. When the called strike idea was introduced, it came with some caveats—the first pitch couldn't be a called strike and the umpire had to warn a batter that a certain pitch is liable to be called a strike before beginning to do so.
6. Similarly, only every third “unfair” pitch was called a ball. So while the rules dictated the batter take a base after three balls, in practice the pitcher got nine pitches out of the strike zone before surrendering a walk.
7. In the early days, outfielders could put out base runners not just by tagging but also by throwing the ball at them before they reached the base. The practice, known as “soaking,” “patching,” or “plugging,” was thought to be necessary to the manliness of the game.
8. What we now think of as the “umpire” was originally called the referee, who proceeded over the game along with two “umpires,” one from each team who made appeals on their players’ behalves.
9. In the mid-1800s, home plate was a circular base, 12 inches in diameter. At first it was made of iron painted white and later marble or stone.
10. For a time in the late 1800s, hitters were allowed to use bats that were flat on one side, like a paddle. This made swatting at balls easier but they had a tendency to splinter dangerously.
11. In the early 20th century, you couldn't get credit for a walk-off home run if the go-ahead run was already on base. That is to say, the game ended as soon as the lead run scored for the home team in the ninth. So if your home team was down by one with men on second and third and you hit the ball over the fence, the game ended as soon as the runner on second scored and you would be credited with a double. Babe Ruth hit plenty of homers in his day, but the Sultan of Swat would tell you, he would have credit for even more if not for this rule.

HarbourCatNip

• An update on the playoff plight of the Bellingham Bells... As reported on the weekend, the Bells home park had been taken away from them to start renovations, meaning they would play all remaining games on the road - including any playoff games. The city of Bellingham has since done what they can to give them a home date for their first round series. The field will remain open with limited concessions available so they can get at least one game in. It looks like that will be it for them however, renovations will continue after that regardless of if they progress.
• The renovations are intended to support the WCL All-Star game next year! Now that's intriguing, only a ferry ride and short drive away. I smell a mid season blogger-style road-trip!