The Evil Genius Posted May 3, 2006 Share Posted May 3, 2006 Found this in an article by Tom Verducci http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=Aqkfp0oXtQv32bYPiEyIV0g5nYcB?slug=cnnsi-pavanosplight&prov=cnnsi&type=lgns I will put the 1st one in bold because I find it to be the most startling. Balls that bounced over the fence were indeed home runs prior to 1931. Also Prior to 1931, if a ball went over the fence as a fair ball but then hooked into the seats in foul territory, it was a foul ball, not a home run. (Some parks used a string from the foul pole to the back of the bleachers to aid umpires.) Weird. In addition (prior to 1931) walkoff home runs were counted as home runs only if the batter's run was the deciding run. In other words, if you hit a home run with a man on first with the game tied in the bottom of the ninth, you were credited only with a triple and one RBI. Babe Ruth lost one home run to that rule. We like to think the game is timeless, but it always evolves and changes, making comparisons from one era to another a fun but tricky exercise. Guess the records don't mean as much as we think...especially when prior to 1930, anything that would today be considered a ground rule double was counted as a home run. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PleaseBlitz Posted May 4, 2006 Share Posted May 4, 2006 Found this in an article by Tom Verduccihttp://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=Aqkfp0oXtQv32bYPiEyIV0g5nYcB?slug=cnnsi-pavanosplight&prov=cnnsi&type=lgns I will put the 1st one in bold because I find it to be the most startling. Also Weird. Guess the records don't mean as much as we think...especially when prior to 1930, anything that would today be considered a ground rule double was counted as a home run. I think the 2nd one would be more common than the first one. I mean, how many ground rule doubles do you really see? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iheartskins Posted May 4, 2006 Share Posted May 4, 2006 Very interesting T.E.G. Thanks for posting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BURGUNDYBLEEDER Posted May 4, 2006 Share Posted May 4, 2006 Wow this came as a pretty big shock. I have played, followed, studied baseball since I could walk and I never knew about any of these old rules. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mufumonk Posted May 4, 2006 Share Posted May 4, 2006 They also played in ginormous stadiums back then too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spaceman Spiff Posted May 4, 2006 Share Posted May 4, 2006 WAY WAY back in the day there were actually 4 bases and then home. First base was also to the left. I had this cool slacker course at my old college called history of sports. Totally rocked an A in it...anyway, one time we went out and played baseball with the old rules. It was hard as hell to hit that ball and run the opposite way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EersSkins05 Posted May 4, 2006 Share Posted May 4, 2006 They were talking about this during the Sox/Blue Jays game last night, but I always think it's funny to see old clips of the players leaving their gloves on the field between innings. (For those unaware, up until around the 50's, after the fielding team recorded the third out, the players in the field would just take their gloves off and toss them into the grass and run into the dugout.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heidenreich Posted May 4, 2006 Share Posted May 4, 2006 I actually knew the foul pole rule. I wasn't aware of the others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Evil Genius Posted May 4, 2006 Author Share Posted May 4, 2006 They also played in ginormous stadiums back then too. You mean like Old Detroit Stadium, Wrigley Field, and Fenway Park? Oh wait, those were all bandboxes then too. The giant stadium thing wasn't the norm - sure there existed some prks with ridiculous dimensions. But those same parks also usually had an extremely short left or right field porch. Didn't the Polo grounds (which people point too as proof of a large stadium) have a right field of like 280' but a Center field fence of 440'? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gchwood Posted May 4, 2006 Share Posted May 4, 2006 Guess the records don't mean as much as we think...especially when prior to 1930, anything that would today be considered a ground rule double was counted as a home run. how about all the homeruns hit down the line and then go fail after passing the wall, there seems to be a whole lot more of them then ground rule doubles in the modern game Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gchwood Posted May 4, 2006 Share Posted May 4, 2006 You mean like Old Detroit Stadium, Wrigley Field, and Fenway Park? Oh wait, those were all bandboxes then too. The giant stadium thing wasn't the norm - sure there existed some prks with ridiculous dimensions. But those same parks also usually had an extremely short left or right field porch. Didn't the Polo grounds (which people point too as proof of a large stadium) have a right field of like 280' but a Center field fence of 440'? Yankees Stadium had some crazy deep dementions like 480 in left center in 1923 go to ballparks.com to see Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mass_SkinsFan Posted May 4, 2006 Share Posted May 4, 2006 How about this one: If any player or coach on the batting team makes contact with a batter/runner while they are running the bases, that runner is OUT. I'm not sure if it's still in the books, but imagine Barry Bonds hitting #715 one of these nights and then getting called OUT as the first base coach pats him on the back rounding first base. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonard Washington Posted May 4, 2006 Share Posted May 4, 2006 They were talking about this during the Sox/Blue Jays game last night, but I always think it's funny to see old clips of the players leaving their gloves on the field between innings. (For those unaware, up until around the 50's, after the fielding team recorded the third out, the players in the field would just take their gloves off and toss them into the grass and run into the dugout.) did the other team wear them? that's gross. i don't want my glove handled by someone else's filthy paws. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Evil Genius Posted May 4, 2006 Author Share Posted May 4, 2006 Yankees Stadium had some crazy deep dementions like 480 in left center in 1923 go to ballparks.com to see It was roughly 280 ft down both foul lines then, too. I guess it all equals out (with short porches and unreachable center field fences, although I wonder if that led to a lot of inside the park homers)...I do think it's really hard to compute the best home run hitters when they all played in home parks of such great differences. How many HR's would Willie Mays have hit if he played at Wrigley half of the year (instead of Candlestick)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rincewind Posted May 4, 2006 Share Posted May 4, 2006 You mean like Old Detroit Stadium, Wrigley Field, and Fenway Park? Oh wait, those were all bandboxes then too. Center field in Tiger Stadium was 420ft. And Fenway is more of a doubles park than a home-run park. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Predicto Posted May 4, 2006 Share Posted May 4, 2006 They also played in ginormous stadiums back then too. Not all. Some were tiny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skinz1972 Posted May 4, 2006 Share Posted May 4, 2006 MLB needs to stop their blackballing and blacklisting of barry bonds.i am tired of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rincewind Posted May 4, 2006 Share Posted May 4, 2006 MLB needs to stop their blackballing and blacklisting of barry bonds.i am tired of it. Blackballing? Last time i checked the guy was still allowed to play. (Though he needs to pay more attention during BP :laugh: ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoony Posted May 4, 2006 Share Posted May 4, 2006 I don't even know how baseball fans give ANY baseball statistic ANY credibility whatsoever... with no standardization on field size. Think about how bass-akwards that is. That would be similar to the 49ers deciding that their home field would be 30 yards... while the Giants would decide theirs will be 300. And I know a lot of you purists enjoy talking about the differences stadium to stadium... similar to the way golfers talk about different golf courses, etc. That's fine. Just don't look me in the eye when you rattle off stats, k? ..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rincewind Posted May 4, 2006 Share Posted May 4, 2006 I don't even know how baseball fans give ANY baseball statistic ANY credibility whatsoever... with no standardization on field size.Think about how bass-akwards that is. That would be similar to the 49ers deciding that their home field would be 30 yards... while the Giants would decide theirs will be 300. And I know a lot of you purists enjoy talking about the differences stadium to stadium... similar to the way golfers talk about different golf courses, etc. That's fine. Just don't look me in the eye when you rattle off stats, k? ..... So Gretzky's goal stats should be the gold standard in hockey just because there is no regulation size rink? Everybody plays road games... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Evil Genius Posted May 4, 2006 Author Share Posted May 4, 2006 Everybody plays road games... Case in point, Ernie Banks hit over 56% of his homers at Wrigley Field. A field that is notoriously homer friendly 75-80% of the year. Think he would have approached 500 homers if he played half his year at Candlestick (or the Astrodome)? Fenway may be a doubles field to left, but with the Pesky Pole in right, it only takes a drive of 302' with a very short fence to homer. Left handed power hitters rule in Fenway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rincewind Posted May 4, 2006 Share Posted May 4, 2006 Case in point, Ernie Banks hit over 56% of his homers at Wrigley Field. A field that is notoriously homer friendly 75-80% of the year. Think he would have approached 500 homers if he played half his year at Candlestick (or the Astrodome)? Fenway may be a doubles field to left, but with the Pesky Pole in right, it only takes a drive of 302' with a very short fence to homer. Left handed power hitters rule in Fenway. Luck of the draw. My point is, you can't fault a guy for where he plays - as you have to visit every field. And to say that stats shouldn't count because a lack of a regulation playing field is ridiculous - case in point, Wayne Gretzky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Evil Genius Posted May 4, 2006 Author Share Posted May 4, 2006 Rince, Hockey is a bad choice for a comparison. Net size is the same all rinks. And as far I know, the only way you can score goals is by putting the puck into the net. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
codeorama Posted May 4, 2006 Share Posted May 4, 2006 Barry Bonds is still a lowlife loser... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rincewind Posted May 4, 2006 Share Posted May 4, 2006 Rince,Hockey is a bad choice for a comparison. Net size is the same all rinks. And as far I know, the only way you can score goals is by putting the puck into the net. There is no regulation size rink - or give to boards. Boston always had a small rink to lend a hand to a defensive style of play. Why do you think European and Russian players all have better stick skills than N. American players? Their rinks are HUGE, but when they come over here they get hit WAY more than they are used to and they have to change their style of play. Granted the world is becoming smaller and now you see players like OV - skill and strength; he'll run you over or go around you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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