In The World of Baseball, 60' 6" Makes It a New Game by1890

A few more rules, Pitcher to home, that is, and 60'6", changes the game. Massive growth continues in spectators, cities and schools.  Japan is No. 1 internationally while Cuba and Mexico are not far behind.

Transcript

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And good day everyone. Welcome again to Boomer Nation. This is TK once again coming to you from our international headquarters in Northeast Ohio. I've been asked a few times about the purpose of the podcast, and all I had to say was it's not just the history. Our idea was to show not just the origin of baseball, but how it developed and how it grew amazingly from one year to the next, both here in the States and internationally as well. Or as we say here, how in the world did that happen? This episode, which is 1875 to 1890, is notable for the number of rule changes and additions that took place. While the Knickerbocker Club and the National Association of Baseball Players created the foundation of today's game, the National Association of Baseball Players then became the National Association of Professional Baseball Players and then the National League, which basically took charge of baseball during that time. As we'll see, there are quite a few changes, but most of them, by taken by themselves, they don't mean too much. But taken all together in this time frame is an incredible development in finishing off the sport. And indeed, one rule change could lead to another one. Take for example called balls and strikes. When the called ball was introduced, a batter now could walk after nine pitches. That was in 1879. In 1880, the requirement went from 9 to 8. In 1881 to 7, 84 to 6, 85 to 5 balls, and in 1889 it stopped at four balls, which is where it is today. Also in 1880, the rule was added that a runner was out if hit by a batted ball. And he formed this thing to be a family run uh organization. That means no Sunday, no alcohol, 50 cents a ticket, no gambling, year-to-year contracts, and cities only of a population of 75,000 or more. And that was followed in 1882 by the American Association, which allowed and promoted beer sales. They played on Sundays, they had cheaper tickets than the National League, 25 cents versus 50 cents. They played on Sunday and welcomed working class. It became the Beer and Whiskey League. And later, quickly after that, in the National League, many teams quietly made their own rules. In 1882, I mentioned already the American Association started play. Uniforms were required to have specific colors based on their positions. How's that for an idea, huh? And in 1885, coaches were allowed near the baselines at first and third. Well, there were a few more, I would call them minor changes, such as uh a batter which is hit by a pitch was awarded first base. But one new rule at that particular period changed the game forever, and that is in 1984, overhand pitching was allowed in the National League, and the American Association quickly followed. Pitching velocity, strikeouts, advantage to the pitchers, everything changed at that point. Also, there's a great deal of attention given to the pitchers of the day. Pitchers who would pitch complete games, complete game doubleheaders, and complete game doubleheaders maybe two days apart. Some of these, like a fellow named Will White, playing for the Cincinnati Reds, he started 75 games. He also completed 75 games, pitching 680 innings, and that which is still a major league record. Frequently pitched both ends of a doubleheader. Oh, there was Old Hoss Rayborn, the famous Iron Man season of 1884, 73 complete games, 678 innings, and 59 wins. Down the stretch, he pitched nearly every game, including doubleheaders. Maybe the most famous oddball in baseball history. In 1897, he would leave games in mid-inning to chase fire trucks or go fishing. He was easily distracted. Gee, do you think? His teammates sometimes used puppies or shiny objects to pull him off the field. And lastly, in this category, we have Tony Malane. Tony Malane was born in Ireland in 1859. He had 284 wins and normally threw complete games. His career record was 284 and 220, so he had 504 games. ERA was 3.05. The interesting thing about him is that he is ambidextrous. He could throw or pitch with either hand, and sometimes indeed, he would switch hands during the same at bat. So how'd you like to be the batter and have the pitcher change hands on you just like that? And so I was discussing this with our friend KD, who's actually actually our technical director based in Austin, Texas. And I was talking to him about this pitcher, Tony Malone. And I was explaining how unusual it was. I said, This fella is an ambidextrous pitcher. And KD turned around quickly and said, Oh my gosh, I've heard of him, but I always thought he was a Baptist. And so with that, I thought I'm just going to stick to the podcast with KD. Also, in looking at the development of some of the equipment, of course, this time isn't known for its consistency in manufacturing. And up until uh the 1865-1870 time, uh, the balls were made basically by their own team. And so you get inconsistencies along the way. And it was a problem. Uh, the home teams usually had the advantage. And it kept that on that way until the National League stepped in in around 1880 to 1885 and standardized manufacturing of the ball, calling the weight to be 5.75 ounces and the circumference between 9 and 9. Now that was a big step forward, but further, there's a fella came, Mr. Spaulding, who was an ace baseball player back in the 60s and 70s. He left baseball and began a company called Spaulding, which is here today, even, and he started manufacturing baseballs, bats, and gloves. And when it came to baseball gloves, they they evolved slowly and reluctantly because prior to 1900, fielders were expected to catch bare-handed. And early gloves were unnecessary protection. Even uh it was even looked at as a sign of weakness. You know, only a sissy wears a glove. And the gloves that did come out looked like fingerless golf clubs. There was no padding to them whatsoever. Hand injuries were common, often chronic. Newspaper accounts from the 1860s mentioned split fingers, broken nails, broken fingers, and lamed hands. And if you've ever had a lame hand, you got real problems, my friend. Things gradually caught on, and a fellow named Albert Spaulding, which I mentioned earlier, uh, he was marketing gloves commercially. There's growing acceptance around the leagues. By the 1890s, webbing appeared between the thumb and forefinger. First baseman mitts widened, and catcher's mitts became large and round and heavily padded. And by 1900, every professional player used a glove. And if you wanted to buy a glove like a fielder's glove, it's going to cost you$2. If you want one for a catcher or a first baseman with a little extra padding, it's going to go as much as$3.50. And if you want one that's just for the kids hanging around the yard, it's going to cost you 50 cents. How about them apples? Now many people have asked me as we're getting to the end of the uh era when uh people go to ball games, they're looking for uh peanuts and beer, or peanuts and a hot dog. And what was the story like that back there? Well, I can tell you that beer was there uh as early as the late 70s, and by the 80s, 82, 83 in that area, ballparks was seeing it as a revenue opportunity. So clubs allowed beer vendors inside the grounds or in adjacent saloons. I don't really know about you folks out there, but I know if I go to a ball game, I'm gonna want to have a beer and a hot dog. And uh looking back at 1880, a beer was a quarter, a hot dog was five cents. So if you wanted to get up and go get a couple beers and hot dogs, you and your buddy anyway, you're gonna pay you're gonna spend 60 cents, 50 cents on the beer, and and ten cents on two hot dogs. How do you like them apples? And now, just for your your information, I went to a game a couple of weeks ago with my old buddy JP. And we were sitting there for a while, and I said, you know, I'm gonna get up and go get a couple hot dogs, a couple beers. And he said, that'd be great. So I went up a few minutes later, I came back. I'm a little pale. JP said, What's the problem? And I said, No, no problem. He said, How much was the beer? I said, the beer, two beers and two hot dogs was$43.$43. And here it was 60 cents. I told JP it was only 60 cents. And he said, Well, how long ago was that? I said, it was only 145 years ago. My goodness. And so, my friends, I think we'd be remiss if we didn't mention the way gambling took off in the late 1870s. And it was everywhere. Bars, saloons, stores, even at the ballparks. It came to a head though in 1877 with the with a team called the Louisville Grays, and it was found that four players there were guilty of accepting bribes to lose games in a pennant race. The National League saw that it reached a peak and expelled these players indefinitely. The phrase banned for life didn't exist until the 1920s, but the impact was the same. Newspapers went nuclear. It was treated not as a sports story, but as a moral scandal. Headlines said games were staged, they were dishonest, and controlled by gamblers. Other teams, like the Brooklyn Mutuals and the New York Mutuals, followed suit with their own disciplinary actions. The problem existed in other teams as well. It was a clear indication that gambling corruption would not be tolerated. Teams had to clean their house immediately. The Louisville Grays franchise folded after that season. And actually, uh, this was my original plan to wind up this episode right about now. Uh, but I would love to say that this gambling thing and this corruption thing is in the past. But sadly, very sadly, it showed itself at a playoff game in Cleveland in 2024. And I was with my old buddy JP, and we watched the Cleveland Indians, I mean Guardians, play in the playoffs. Emotions were very high, expectations were very high. Looked like we might have a chance of winning our first World Series since 1946. And as it turned out, we had the best closer in the game, Emmanuel Closset. When he came in, we felt the game was in the bag. But strangely that day, he couldn't find the plate. Very strange indeed. And as it turns out, Mr. Closet was brought up on charges, and his trial is a number of months down the road. And I know he's got a fiance and a daughter back in the Dominican Republic. And I'm thinking maybe he needed the money. After all, he was only making almost three million dollars that year. Maybe he needed a little extra cash for his daughter. Now I would say that might be it. Maybe he's just misunderstood. But then again, if he actually is guilty, come to think of it, we feel robbed. How could someone intentionally scuttle his own team at any time, much less during the playoffs? The gamblers won. I wonder if it's true, how much did he get paid, and was it worth it? I mean, maybe he's thinking, uh, you know,$3 million a year doesn't go as far as it used to. Again, my old buddy JP says, look, if he's guilty, he's damaged the organization severely and he's given baseball a black eye. And I'm beginning to think he's right, especially if he actually is guilty. He thinks they ought to take him out, rip his toenails out with the pliers, take his pitching arm and break it in three places. But that's just him. Well, folks, the next episode wraps things up for us. And regarding baseball, how in the world did that happen? My goodness. So the next one will be a really good wrap-up. We've got a few things up our sleeve I think you'll find very interesting. Okay, so that's it for now. And as always, I will leave you with some very fine words by somebody famous. This time it's Albert Einstein, and it seems to me the timing is just right for this. Here's what he said the world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything. And so, my friends, be safe and God bless America.