The History of Baseball (Source: http://www.baseball-almanac.com/rulechng.shtml )

By thestageismystage

  • Innings

    1857- The game was originally played until one team reached 21 aces, until they changed it to 9 innings. This changed baseball because the games would not be so long and the players would do better and not wear out as much.

  • Strikes

    1858- First, the batter could not swing at a pitch and not be penalized. That rule changed so that strikes could be called. This changed the game because it progressed the game and made the pitcher work less hard.

  • Touching the Bases

    1864- At first, the runners didn’t have to touch the bases in order to make the circuit. The rule changed so that the runners couldn’t get close enough, they had to touch the bag.

  • Batting Averages

    1865- This is the year that coaches came up with batting averages. This helps coaches come up with the batting order

  • Ball Regulation

    1872- The ball weight and size regulation stay the same. This changed the game because the players didn’t have to keep adapting to the new balls.

  • National League

    1876- The National League in baseball came to be. This changed the postseason games, where the best American League team plays the best National League. In the National League, the pitcher has to hit, but in the American League, there is a designated hitter.

  • Fouls

    1894- Fouls are considered strikes now. This change also helped progress the game. For the first two strikes, if one hits a foul ball, it counts as a strike. Before this, they didn’t count as strikes.

  • Nighttime Games

    1935- In the beginning, there wasn’t a lot of electricity, but now there is so there could be lights and, therefore nighttime games. This changed baseball because now they could play games in the night, where it wasn’t as hot and they could play better. They also could play more games.

  • The Strike Zone Changes

    1969- Before this, the strike zone was larger, then it changed to the armpit to the tops of the batters’ knees. This changed the game because this would force the pitchers to aim better and the hitters to not swing at the higher or lower ones.

  • Helmets

    1975- In this year, all players were ordered to wear helmets during batting. This changed the game because it reduced injury, but limited the view of the hitter. But the gain of not getting hurt far outweighs the fact that one couldn’t see as well.