Odd, but not out: Baseball's most bizarre rule

[Ohiogal]

I found this interesting - how the rule came about that allows a batter who swings and misses for Strike Three to take first base if the catcher drops the ball.

(And, another piece of trivia: Justin Verlander became the only pitcher to ever join the 3000 Strikeout Club on a wild pitch that allowed the batter to go to first base)

https://www.mlb.com/news/dropped-third-strike-strangest-baseball-rule?partnerId=zh-20200501-156906-47943&query_id=1026&bt_ee=XAkrsYzcrIXj96sRyZS4d2qtu4b19RmsUvCZsmeeb0yCC1vNWNqJRAuFP7302a9l&bt_ts=1588332932051

⚾️⚾️⚾️⚾️⚾️

[Walleye]

1. That's very interesting. Thanks for posting

[CaptYossarian]

2. Two rules that didn't last as long from the 1800s are

the 8-ball walk and the "stolen base" rule.

The 8-ball walk was dropped to only 4 balls, obviously. But the stolen base rule once had taking an extra base count as a steal. To clarify, if a runner went from first to third on a single, his going beyond second safely was credited as a stolen base.

This is why when Lou Brock broke Ty Cobb's stolen base record of 892, Cobb was the official record holder instead of Billy Hamilton (1800s base thief), who had 912--but included taking those extra bases.

[demosincebirth]

3. He has to throw him out at first. The batter is not just given first base.

Last edited Fri May 1, 2020, 05:41 PM - Edit history (1)

That’s why I love baseball. Why certain rules?