Spalding's Baseball Guide And Official League Book For 1889 Part 19

SEC. 4. The number of home runs made by each player.

SEC. 5. The number of bases stolen by each player.

SEC. 6. The number of double and triple plays made by each side, with the names of the players a.s.sisting in the same.

SEC. 7. The number of men given bases on called b.a.l.l.s, by each Pitcher.

SEC. 8. The number of men given bases from being hit by pitched b.a.l.l.s.

SEC. 9. The number of men struck out.

SEC. 10. The number of pa.s.sed b.a.l.l.s by each Catcher.

SEC. 11. The number of wild pitches by each Pitcher.

SEC. 12. The time of game.

SEC. 13. The name of the Umpire.

AMENDMENTS.

RULE 70. No Amendment or change of any of these National Playing Rules shall be made, except by a joint committee on rules, consisting of three members from the National League and three members from the American a.s.sociation. Such committee to be appointed at the annual meetings of each of said bodies to serve one year from the twentieth day of December of each year. Such committee shall have full power to act, provided that such amendments shall be made only by an affirmative vote of the majority of each delegation.

[Ill.u.s.tration: HENRY CHADWICK--"Father of Base Ball."]

Henry Chadwick, the veteran journalist, upon whom the honored sobriquet of "Father of Base Ball" rests so happily and well, appears in portraiture, and so well preserved in his physical manhood that his sixty-three years rest lightly upon his well timed life. Since the age of thirteen he has resided in Brooklyn, New York, and is an honored member of the distinguished society of old Brooklynites. He entered upon the journalistic career in which he has attained eminent distinction in 1856, his first work finding a ready field on the New York _Times_. In 1857 he a.s.sociated himself with the New York _Clipper_, and was identified with that journal steadily for thirty-one years. After twenty-nine years of remarkable devotion to the interests of morning journalism in the metropolis Mr. Chadwick retired in 1886 to accept an editorial position on the _Outing Magazine_, which, together with his work on the Brooklyn _Eagle_, keeps his ready pen busy. He is one of the most valued contributors on _The Sporting Life_ staff, and his work in other journals has made his name a household word as the "Father of Base Ball." He comes from a famous family of English birth, his brother, Mr. Edwin Chadwick, being the noted sanitary philosopher of England. Mr. Chadwick has edited our League GUIDE since 1880.

A. G. SPALDING & BROS., Chicago and New York.

AN EXPLANATORY APPENDIX TO THE NEW CODE OF RULES FOR 1889.

The experience of each season in regard to the conflicting opinions of umpires and players in their interpretation of the code of playing rules, has made it a necessity on the part of the editor of the GUIDE, to devote a special chapter each year to the subject of properly interpreting every important rule of the game. This year we make up this special chapter in the form of an _Explanatory Appendix_ to the new code, which is officially indorsed by the President of the National League, and the Secretary of the Joint Committee on Rules of the League and the American a.s.sociation.

Taking up the rules of the new code in their regular order we proceed to give the official interpretation of the practical application of each newly amended rule, as also of every rule, of the correct definition of which there is likely to arise any question.

THE PLAYERS ON EACH SIDE.

"In no case shall less than nine men be allowed to play on each side." So says Rule 14. The practical application of the rule is that if a club has not nine men ready to take the field at the hour appointed for beginning a regularly scheduled championship-game, the club short handed must forfeit the game. Moreover, if they begin play with the required complement of men, and one of the number becomes injured and disabled from service in the field, and they have no legal subst.i.tute player to take the disabled man's place, the game cannot be continued with but eight men in the field, and therefore it must be similarly forfeited.

PLAYERS MUST BE IN UNIFORM.

Rule 17 requires that "every club shall be required to adopt uniforms for the players;" and Rule 28 renders it necessary that at least one subst.i.tute player shall be ready "in uniform" to take the place of a disabled player, or to become the tenth player of the team in accordance with section 2 of Rule 28.

A TENTH MAN AS SUBSt.i.tUTE.

Besides the regular subst.i.tute player required to be ready to take the place of a disabled player, Rule 28--a new amendment--admits of an _independent subst.i.tute player_ on each side, whose services in the field are held subject to the requirement of either of the two Captains whenever he shall deem it advisable to remove any player, who, though not disabled "by illness or injury," is not doing the work in the field to the Captain's satisfaction. But such subst.i.tute can only replace another player at the close of a regular innings play; and, moreover, the player whose place the extra subst.i.tute takes, cannot again take part in the game then being played.

It should be borne in mind that this special rule was adopted not only to enable the Captain of a team to strengthen a weak point discovered during the progress of the game, but also to enable him to utilize new talent when the game has been virtually won, as the experience in such instances is especially valuable to young players, notably so in the case of battery players. It also enables the Captain to save the work of a valuable battery player from a prolonged strain rendered unnecessary by the winning lead obtained.

PUTTING A NEW BALL IN PLAY.

Rule 12, Sec. 2, requires the Umpire to call for the putting in play of the subst.i.tute ball whenever the ball previously in play, is batted foul over the fence or the grand stands, "_out of the sight of the players_."

Also in case the ball in play becomes "_unfit for fair use_," as to which the Umpire is the sole judge.

A new ball can only be called for in case neither of the two b.a.l.l.s in use are legally available for service.

THE NEW RULE FOR PITCHERS.

The amended rule governing the delivery of the ball by the pitcher--Rule 18 of the new code--has had the words "his left foot in front of the right, and to the left of an imaginary line from his right foot to the center of the home base" eliminated from it, and in consequence the pitcher is not now required to abide by that portion of the rule, which governed his movements in 1888. The pitcher's position, when he prepares to deliver the ball to the bat, must be that in which he stands with both feet squarely on the ground, and with one foot--left or right--placed on the rear line of his position. While thus standing ready to deliver the ball, he must hold it before him in full sight of the Umpire. The words "in the act of delivering the ball" refer to the very last motion in delivery, and in making this motion the rear foot is of necessity placed on the ground, as it is from this standpoint that the power to give the last impetus to the ball in delivery is derived. Consequently the foot cannot be lifted from the ground entirely until the ball leaves his hand.

In making his regular motions to deliver while he is prohibited from lifting the entire foot in the rear line from the ground, he is not debarred from lifting the heel of the foot an inch or so. In making the preliminary movements, too, he cannot take but one forward step, though he can make this single step in any way he chooses, provided it be a regular and habitual motion of his delivery.

FEIGNING TO THROW TO A BASE.

When the pitcher feigns to throw to a base prior to delivering the ball to the bat, in every such instance after making the feint to throw, he must resume his original position, "facing the batsman," and "holding the ball fairly in front of his body," and "momentarily pause before delivering the ball to the bat." If he makes a feint to throw and then delivers the ball with one apparent motion, without pausing to stand, he commits a balk.

THE ORDER OF BATTING.

Rule 19 says that "Batsmen must take their position at the bat in the order in which they are named on _the score_." This _score_ is not sufficiently defined in the rule, but it means the printed or written order of batting, which each captain of the contesting team presents to the umpire prior to the commencement of the game; and such order, on approval of the umpire, should be copied verbatim in the score book of the official scorer of the home club, who alone is authorized to send a copy of the score of the game, as the official copy, to the secretary of the League or a.s.sociation the club belongs to.

After the order of batting has been submitted to the umpire, it becomes the official order, and after being thus indorsed it cannot be changed except in the case of a subst.i.tute player taking the place either of a disabled player, or that of a removed player--under the new rule--and in such case the incoming subst.i.tute player takes the place in the order of batting of the disabled or removed player.

THE CAPTAIN CAN PLACE HIS MEN AS HE LIKES.

The captain of a nine can place his nine men in any position of the field he chooses. There is in fact no arbitrary rule governing the placing of the men except in the case of the pitcher, and he of course must always occupy the pitcher's box. Under Rule 15, the captain can place his infielders, in close within the diamond, or all outside of it, also the outfielders, either in close to the infielders, or lying out deep or close to the foul line, etc. But the pitcher of the ball must always be in the "box" when delivering the ball.

THE DEFINITION OF THE BALK.

Rule 32, Section I, defines a balk as "Any motion made by the pitcher to deliver the ball to the bat without delivering it." This definition embraces every one of the motions the pitcher is accustomed to make preliminary to the actual delivery of the ball, whether of his hands, arms, or feet, or any motion of his body. He cannot therefore make any pretense of delivering the ball while not having the ball in his hand ready to deliver it as in the case of a base player hiding the ball while the pitcher acts as if he himself had possession of it--without his making a balk.

The words "any motion calculated to deceive a base runner," refer to pretended movements to deliver outside of those referred to in the first portion of the rule.

TAKING A BASE ON A BALK.

There is an important distinction between a "_balk_" and an "_illegal delivery_." A "_balk_" is made when the pitcher makes a motion to deliver the ball to the bat without following such motion with actual delivery, or if he holds the ball in his hand long enough to unnecessarily delay the game. An "_illegal delivery_" is made when the pitcher steps out of his "box" in delivery, or lifts his rear foot from the ground before the ball leaves his hand--his lifting his foot afterward is of no account--or if he fails to pause before delivery after making a feint to throw to a base. In the case of a "balk," every occupant of a base, as a base runner, becomes ent.i.tled to one base, whether forced by the batsman or not. But the batsman cannot take a base on a "balk." In the case of an "illegal delivery," however, while occupants of bases can only take a base on such delivery in case of being "forced off," the batsman is given a base on such illegal delivery. While an "illegal delivery" is in the nature of a balk, it is not an actual "balk" as technically termed in the rules.

DEAD b.a.l.l.s.

The ball cannot be used to put a player on the batting side out, either in the case of a batted ball to foul ground not caught on the fly; a called _foul strike_; a runner being hit by a batted ball; a pitched ball striking the batsman, or striking his bat without being intentionally struck at; or from the ball striking the umpire while he is on foul ground, before it pa.s.ses the catcher; or, in the case of a called block ball, until said ball is _first held by the pitcher while standing within his position_.

THE FOUL TIP CATCH.

The elimination of the sharp foul-tip catch from the rules will necessitate the placing of a white line, forming a half circle, within a radius of ten feet from the home base, and located on foul ground, as it is only foul tips caught within ten feet of the home base which do not put the batsman out.

THE BLOCKING OF b.a.l.l.s.

Any interference with the progress of a batted or thrown ball by any person not one of the contesting players in a game, is what is termed _blocking the ball_. Suppose a ball is batted to the short stop, and that fielder overthrows the ball to first base, and it goes toward the crowd and is there stopped or touched by an outsider, the moment this stoppage of the ball or interference with it occurs, the umpire must call "Block ball," and until the ball is returned to the field and held by the pitcher while in his "box," it is _dead_ for putting out any base runner; and such runners are permitted to run all the bases they can until the ball is thus put legally into play. But should such overthrown ball, in addition to its being stopped or diverted from its course by any outsider, be also kicked aside or picked up and thrown out of reach by a fielder, the umpire must in addition call "Time," in which case runners shall only be ent.i.tled to hold such bases as they had touched before the ball had been so kicked or thrown out of reach, the ball, as in the prior case, not being in play until held by the pitcher while in his box.

HITTING b.a.l.l.s FOUL INTENTIONALLY.