Early MLB had very dumb rules and teams ready to take advantage of them | Weird Rules
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- čas přidán 24. 08. 2018
- MLB started in open BETA, allowing teams and players to break it by bending the rules, or take advantages of what had been omitted. As players manipulated the game, rules were added or expanded to slowly turn this fun pastime into an actual sport.
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Heyo, thanks for watching! Let us know what you would try to pull off in early baseball. For me, I'd wear my jersey and pants backwards like Kris Kross. I don't think it would benefit me on the field, but it would really help me build a brand and probably get some deals out of it. Sponsor like...a butter churn. Or whatever they liked back then.
Varvara Erdman 😍😍
I'm amazed that the positions are not mandated, and you can actually get a team to play with 5 infielders under some exceedingly rare circumstances for a batter.
You should do a video on the NFLs fair catch kick
For your next video, please tell the story of the match when the Barbados national football team and Grenada national football team played against each other as part of the qualification round for the 1994 Caribbean Cup. Due to an unusual scoring rule, as well as the two teams' respective positions in the tournament, it was alternately in Barbados's, then Grenada's, best interest to score an own goal. The result has been described as "one of the strangest football matches ever".
cringe
Two weird rules: 1) owners used to be able to own multiple teams, and 2) it wasn't a requirement to have equal home and road schedules. This is what allowed the 1899 Cleveland Spiders to lose 101 road games. Unlike many other baseball records that can theoretically be broken, this is the only one that mathematically can never be broken.
Well, it can't be broken under the current rules
The rule about calling your pitch actually comes from the philosophy surrounding baseball at the time. the job of the pitcher was simply to toss the ball underhand to the batter and then resume fielding duties. The pitcher was in no way as strategic a position as it is now.
With this in mind it would make more sense for the pitcher and batter to be on the same team. Wonder how baseball would evolve with this in mind.
I played for years in a softball league that was self pitched. You only got three pitches then you're out no matter where they pitches go. Eliminates the need for umps to call balls and strikes. Good consistent pitching is a huge asset for the offense in those leagues. With MLB players however it would just be a slug fest and the games would take forever.
By self pitched I mean you pitched to your own team, not literally to yourself.
I can add there was a lot of skill and craftsmanship to pitching that way. Knowing your players and their style well and getting them pitches they like was often the difference maker in a game.
This girl literally has like 20 completley different laughs, it's like a soundboard
The overwatch hoodie, never having seen airbud, make me think shes not much of a sports fan
I’ve never seen it and enjoyed over watch for a while.
She just seems a little eccentric to me lol, I like her
Ivan Rios Yeah, they’re both owned by Vox
Gerardo Aguilar simp
@@svenll7570 simp? Really? What are you a living meme?
Player: *doesn't swing at ball clearly in the strike zone*
Mets Fan: "Oh you are asking me if that was a strike or not? I am pretty sure that was a grand slam."
Umpire: "Alright 4 runs the Mets"
I like the comment because I like the Mets.
It’s runs not points
@ConservativeMiddleEastern Its funnier to imagine a 19th century umpire awarding points
We coold use dis rule....
ump: *does the finger thing*
Gliding in to take my position... Looking the pitcher deep into his eyes, and calmly telling him...
- I'm batsman...
"hey, Mama Simone, want to come do a sports video?"
"uh... Sure. Let me put on my sports paraphernalia."
*grabs overwatch hoodie*
memorabilia... but yeah lol that cracked me up too
@@LeeGHThomas no, paraphernalia is the correct word.
Overwatch is a sport
@@GalacticBacon that was the joke.
@@suppressed_viii the joke is that memorabilia is not the correct word? It didn't read like it was supposed to be a joke. For clarity, we're talking about the first response to OP, not OP
the pitch calling rule reminds me of how we played kickball as a kid. I say "Could I get a slow baby bouncy?"
Dylan De Mercurio
“too bouncy!!!”
“Do over!”
We all did that
@@witherblaze And then we all had arguments over whether the pitching was good enough
one hundred percent this was what I was thinking of. Also, how did we have the same pitch names?
Damn I miss kickball this just brought me back
Remember, there were no baseball gloves at this point either. So 10k Kelly probably had huge hands and felt he was the only one who could catch that ball. Kelly in to catch! Kelly in to catch!
3:20 she has a kawhi leonard laugh
There’s no rule that says I can’t play baseball...but I still can’t
Anyone notice he used the phrase "making it up on the fly" without breaking into ironic laughter? That's exactly what "10K Kelly" pulled off!
Woah that’s dead on haha, completely failed to notice
This feels a lot like I think how my first date would go.
Me just throwing out random info to a girl who doesnt know anything about the topic I'm talking about but still pretends to be super interested in it just so she wont hurt my feelings.
Quick bit of anecdotal evidence from an old head : i’ve been married to the same woman for my entire adult life, kids, pets, house all that good stuff... she has no idea what my job really involves (software engineer), pretends no interest in science or random interesting knowledge (which i love)... yet we’re solid... my buddy has had three wives in the last 10 years, all 3 shared his interests and hobbies etc, he is now 3 times divorced... find someone who you can happily share time together despite what the activity is and you’ll be on the right track.
I maybe way off the mark, but to keep life interesting you need some differences.
I’ll check back in 10 years from now to see how your getting on :) good luck.
That is pretty much how every date that I have been on has gone... I almost never get second dates btw.
Zerg ***you’re
NoBudjetFilms maybe u should change up ur game plan, bud! Lol
Yea sounds about right
In our local leagues, there's a rule that an umpire can ask a member of the public for help on a call. I've twice been asked while out walking my dog. There was a junior league game during a foggy morning, and the first base ump jogged up to ask if a homerun ball was fair (it was, but bounced before the fence--ground rules double). And during a women's league game, a centre fielder went over the fence along with a ball and came up with it in her glove (great jump, but in reality she picked it up off the ground: I signalled home run). Also, when an umpire loses count (it happens), anyone from the crowd who is keeping score can chime in.
As far as I know, this has never been a problem. The honour system works.
3:19 - "I looked away at a bird for 2 seconds" *actual bird noises*
Their impressions of 1880s accents sound like Nick Kroll doing a bad New Jersey accent
We don’t got a accent your thinking of new york
@@easilyconfuseddinosaur901 lies
@@easilyconfuseddinosaur901 the only people that think there isn’t a New Jersey accent are people from Jersey
@@BarginsGalore damn you got me
There are other weird ones too, the mound was only at 45 feet at one point, it took 9 balls to walk a batter at the most, foul balls weren't counted for years (and even after they were, foul tips weren't for awhile as well) and walks were even counted as hits at one point.
Have you ever done a video on the old rain delay rules and the different things teams would do to stall for time when the opposing team took the lead in the top of an inning and either rain was falling or they knew it was on its way (or before artificial lights, when darkness was descending)?
The old rain delay rule also may have contributed to Carl Erskine losing out on pitching a perfect game on 6/19/52 (Dodgers vs Cubs at Ebbets Field, Brooklyn). Part of the drama involved three former Dodger teammates: Erskine, Cubs pitcher Willie Ramsdell and Cubs infielder Eddie Miksis. Ramsdell rooted for Miksis to make the final out so Ramsdell could make $50 on a Dodger post game show as Cubs star of the game.
Also of possible interest is how a ruling by MLB wiped out a slew of games previously considered no-hitters (9 innings without a hit, gave up a hit in extra innings). Included in the expunging was what at one time was considered the only double no-hitter in MLB history, Reds (Fred Toney) vs Cubs (James "Hippo" Vaughn) on 5/2/17. Also wiped out was perhaps the greatest game ever pitched, Harvey Haddix perfect game for 12 innings only to lose the game to the Braves in the 13th because his own team (Pirates) could not score. (5/26/59) This game also involved the rule where one runner passes another on the bases.
In that same 1959 season, Jim Hearn was the losing pitcher on July 21 ... after he retired from baseball! He pitched for the Phillies in the second game of a double header against the Pirates on 5/10, but he didn't lose the game until more than two months later. Meanwhile, his last appearance in the majors came on 5/15 and he retired after being released by the Phillies on 5/22. May 10 was a Sunday and there was a curfew involved.
The girl went “hehehe” to “heeee heeeeee heeeee”
BTW, 10K in 1891 is equivalent to $270K today. Granted that is peanuts compared to modern day MLB players but that is still a good chunk of money.
You can tell there's a lot of socially incompetent ppl here bc they all read simone's behavior as flirting when these two are actually just friends who already knew each other before this video and she's just trying to be normal amounts of friendly and funny for a video
1:48
This is reminding me of a later video which dealt with the first curveball
It explained that the pitcher was less a player and more just someone who started the play
I studied sports journalism in Argentina (working mainly for rugby magazines and in motosports when I moved to Chile) and I find your videos really interesting. One comment tought: It would be great if you make a video about the difference between a game and a sport. There is a lot a discussion and different definitions about this. I had this idea when you said "this was not a sport". According to the basic definiton that I learnt in U and adopted as my preffered one, that would be a sport.
In baseball's early years, teams didn't really try to get strikeouts. The objective was to put the ball in play and get outs that way.
1:18
2:55
3:21
3:34
4:03
MANCHESTER UNITED chill out with the copy pasta
@MANCHESTER UNITED that's amazing considering there's about 196 countries (depending who's counting)
J C 😂 well don’t you know you aren’t counting Santa and the North Pole or the penguins in Antarctica 🇦🇶?
Marquis de Lafayette bruh one is not found yet and the other is a continent
J C Unlike the rest, I’m civilised, football is played and adored in almost every country ore than American Football, Baseball and Basketball. Sometimes people make brash comments which include stupidity and ignorance but have a correct message like the ones above.
the strike zone worked differently back then, it wasnt just your entire knees to chest area, it was a set size and because of different player heights it varied, so they just let people decide but it was the same size strike zone for the 3 different areas, really it made alot of sense but you just pulled that one entirely out of the context of how they played back then.
It’s just so great how we look back and how people tried to operate on honesty and pride and laugh
the pitching rule is not that weird because correct me if i'm wrong in the beginning they used to throw underhanded and just to begin play not to try and strike out or retire players
Kim Falleiro exactly, it was also way closer to home than it is now
Exactly. The action was on the basepaths.
Kim Falleiro it used to be much more similar to slow pitch softball today.
Pitching underhand though, does not mean softball lobs. For example, later on neither Walter Johnson nor Carl Mays arms ever rise above their waist and one is often consider greatest ever and the other killed a man with a pitch. So these guys could be great. Pitchers also threw an assortment of curves. When they took away the high low rule it led to the 1888-1892 period of lowest offense ever, when teams routinely carried 2 or more starters who hit below .200. The move to the current pitching distance in 1893 fixed that.
And remember- there’s no point in calling balls if the pitcher is not trying to fool the hitter.
Indy Neidell true, it evolved into more of a sidearm pitching style, but originally it was lobs, and it wasn’t really the pitcher job to get the batter out. That was what the fielders were supposed to do. Baseball has origins from rounders where the pitchers sole job it to put the ball in play.
The Minor Leaque actually has a rule that would prevent airbud from being a fielder. PBUC 7.21, and MLB rule 9.01(c)
People take these videos way too seriously. They're just a couple of regular nerds making a dorky video about sports. They're clearly having fun. I enjoyed it. You don't have to go into every sports video thinking the quality of commentary is going to be on par with something ESPN puts out. Not to mention that's not even close to what they're aiming for.
LOVE these videos - keep up the great work everyone!
Batsman comes from Baseball's older cousin, Cricket. They are still called that.
Roshan Raj Singh cricket is irrelevant. Look at the numbers
@@dominicmiller9985 Have you looked at the numbers? The last time I checked cricket had more fans than baseball
vik94 based of revenue, cricket isn’t even in the picture. Cricket used to be the most popular, it has since fallen. It can’t compete with the MLB revenue
MrNorthernSol India does have the second largest population. Outside of that part of the world you won’t see cricket much. Baseball has leagues all over. From China to the Dominican Republic.
MrNorthernSol 3rd world countries Love their cricket
Basketball is my favorite sport. I like the way they dribble up and down the court.
Just like I'm the King on the microphone
Congratulations. You get fake internet points with no effort.
Dr. J and Moses Malone.
Thanks Mark, very cool!
@@coldsnap5742 salt much
The subtitles say that 19th-century baseball players all had Hannibal mustaches. I'm pretty sure Ryan said "handlebar", but I'm really enjoying the concept that there was once something called a Hannibal mustache.
I disagree that any of them were dumb. For example, being able to call for a low or high pitch. This was very necessary to give the hitter any kind of chance. Until 1884, the pitchers box, that he could move freely in (5 ft by 5 ft) was only 45 ft from home- that’s 75% the distance now. Maybe no one could throw 100mph back then (or maybe they could), but I bet some could hit 90 and that shorter reaction time? Forgot it. In fact, when they took that rule away, the period 1888-1892 was the lowest offensive period in baseball history. They fixed that by moving the pitching distance to its current distance in 1893.
The umpire appealing to bystanders was also not stupid. Games usually only had a single umpire until the 1890s (teams couldn’t often afford another). If you’ve got a close play at the plate and one at second at the same time, you can’t focus on both of them, can you?
Fun video! Thanks for uploading!
Simone? What're you doing here? What a pleasant surprise
Anyone know when the "double hit" rule was instituted? Back in the day some clever batsmen could've pulled some nifty tricks without that being a rule.
Mike Kelly was notorious for trying to bend the rules. There was only one umpire back then and sometimes players would try to skip second running from first to third on purpose and Kelly was known to do that. Interestingly Kelly started the trend of autographs and was a fan favorite. Sadly Kelly died 1893 or 94 from pneumonia. He was inducted into the hall of fame in 1939.
Originally the batters could call for the ball at an approximate position, which the pitcher would have to deliver underhanded straight arm straight wrist. The theory was it was a duel between the batter and the fielders.
A great book on baseball is named A Game of Inches which covers almost every aspect of the rules and history of the game. Another book called Baseball and the garden of eden tells the story of how baseball developed and and evolved.
In the 1880's baseball games were between 1 to 2 hours on average not a low game. The 1850's and 1860's saw extremely high scores, but also saw extremely long games. One game lasted 3 innings took 3 hours to play andsaw both pitchers pitch 300 plus balls. The addition of called strikes (1857?) and called balls (1862) would speed up the game and cause scores to rise. In the original rules the game was played to 21 runs or aces with each team getting an equal number of innings or hands.
I was sitting directly behind the goal at a semi-pro hockey game, and on a weird play the question came up whether there was a goal or not. On a hard slapshot from the point, it looked like the puck passed straight through the net and hit the wall behind, but the refs couldn’t find any holes or gaps in the netting. The refs were at a loss, so they asked me if I saw it go in or not. I couldn‘t answer 100% because it happened so fast. But it was nice to be asked.
Jon Bois is dead and his Twitter has been fed an AI that mimics his behavior. “Welcome to College Football Saturday.”
If you're interested in seeing how these rules played out in actual play, look for a vintage baseball league. They exist in several states and play using various (depending on the league) 19th century rulebooks.
You won my heart when you said "I got distracted by a bird"
You're talking about a time when baseball was a casual hobby for a small group of people that almost nobody else even knew about. It was about as much an organized sport as larping is right now. Of course there were weird rules then.
Watching you guys geek out over baseball is way more interesting than baseball itself
honestly Air Bud is the only movie that has ever made me cry.
Section 6.06(b) of the Major League Rules actually prohibits a batter from moving from one batter box to the other while the pitcher is preparing to pitch. Section 7.08(i) of the MLB Rules prohibits a baserunner from running the bases in reverse order to confuse the defense or making a travesty of the game. These are examples of prohibitions that should be obvious but were probably added to the rules because a player actually performed those acts in a game.
omg never expected to see simone here!!
Ryan is or was pat's roommate so like they all exist under the same umbrella! Ryan plays werewords with them on overboard i think
okay that explains it
Hey Simon fancy seeing you here.
For those complaining that Simone is not funny.... neither is the dude.
I suspect this is what happens when two awkward nerds with crushes on each other get a bit tipsy and then decide to record a video about sports.
Nailed
it’s not that she is unfunny. It’s that she’s obnoxiously strange
Neither of them are funny and they should refrain from speaking, ever, about anything.
Everytime someone does/says something cringeworthy the video speeds up by 1.5x
I totally agree 100% on this one
The term high, low, or fair ball is used because this was a time when pitchers would underhand lob the ball
Awh that dog has glasses. What a good doggo. He’s a smart boy yes he is.
MAMA SIMONE?
When Polygon meets SB Nation 🙌
Also, the Polygon crew needs to make more Overboard videos!!!!
Funny. In cricket, the 'batter' is still called a 'batsman' :)
Shut up. You're obviously not an American, yet you're watching a video about an American sport. Stay in your crap country across the pond and watch cricket videos like you're supposed to do. Moron idiot.
HeH
Used to be able to ask a fan if they could make the call, but it took a decade to bring in instant replay when they blatantly botch a play!
-Shawn
I said PISS!
Hi, Simone!
Actual baseball name: Guy Heckerson
Actual baseball name: Chicken Wolf
Actual baseball name: Johnny Dickshot
William -- what an absolutely ridiculous turn of the century name.
Late to the party here, but a little-known baseball fact is that replay review was first instituted in 1894 by Boston Beaneaters player-manager Walter "Eyeball" Watson after a Beaneaters batsman claimed that, on a slow ground ball to the short-stop, he "fairly arrived at first base prior to the ball reaching the gallant first baseman" of the Cleveland Spiders.
Unfortunately, because of having to
- deliver the game film to the local apothecary's shop (which wasn't open 24 hours back then)
- develop the film
- make interfilms describing the action
- set a day and time for viewing
- rent a theatre for that time
- hire a piano player
- make popcorn, and
- actually watch the grainy, weirdly speeded up play on the screen,
replay reviews took upwards of two weeks.
Because of this inordinate-even-for-the-more-leisurely-pace-of-the-game-in-those-days delay, though, the practice was quickly dropped and Eyeball Watson was banned from the sport.
3:22 "I like your laugh huhhehhhuheuu"
Simone! It's like a wonderous crossover!
This is hilarious and reminds me of the George Carlin joke about baseball vs football. Baseball is such a laid back sport lol.
Three dumb rules you didn't mention: if a ball was caught on one bounce in those days, it was an OUT. Didn't matter that it wasn't caught on the fly, it was an OUT. Another was that if a ball was initially hit fair, it was fair NO MATTER WHAT, even if it rolled foul on the infield. The final rule I'm going to point out is that, until 1884, one HAD to pitch underhanded, no ifs, ands, or buts about it.
19th century baseball was weird.
alex seidner You could also get a runner out by throwing the ball at him; it didn’t have to be in a fielder’s possession. That one’s my favorite. Can you imagine that?! No close calls at first, just runners ducking balls on their way down the line. (There probably weren’t lines.)
@@dragonflash09 it gets better: the batter was not obligated to follow the basepaths. You could lead the fielders on a merry chase through the outfield, dodging baseballs all the while!
Alex Snitzer lol! Maybe they need to have “Throwback Oldies” games once a year, using 19th century rules. That’d be fun to watch!
@@dragonflash09 YES! Make it part of the All-Star week.
Why do people hate these videos
You told the King Kelly story and kept on saying “upmires”. Not to be too technical, but I’m pretty sure back in the day there was only one umpire. That is why when the umpire ran to the outfield to see a play , when his back was to the infield, runners would take a short cut across the diamond, and skip second base all together.
They should bring back the ask a crowd rule. Because it's really quite unfair that the umps have to pay attention to a baseball game. I mean we don't even make murderers do that
I am a fan. Therefore, I rule this video to be great!
A bit hard to watch if I'm being honest.
Its cause the girl
I agree. This chick is obnoxious
That’s annoying chick😂😂
OMG VAGINAS IN MY SPORTSBALL EWWW. Lmao go back to your basement and hug your waifu pillow you incel. XD
@@MP-oj9tk nah, this girl is just straight up obnoxious.
They probably called the batter a batsmen in the old days because baseball was a newer version of cricket in the 1800s so they stuck with the same terms. we still call the 'batter' a batsman in cricket.
10k is a lot of money now......when you're me :(
He wasn’t even paid the 10k.It was paid to the team that sold him 🤣
Maybe this is wat happened in the Packers Cowboys game.."Did Dez catch it?"
"Idk. Ask that guy"
"Hey you in the Brett Favre jersey. Wat did you see?"
"No catch!"
Please do one on the absurd comedy of the skunk in the outfield play.
Weird foreplay technique by the host but it worked!
2:40 back in the day baseball was a gentleman’s sport a runner could even call himself out if he thought the umpire was wrong
Interseting that Teddy Roosevelt would put that 1891 argument that 10k Kelly made about there being no rule that said he couldn't, into his defense for expanding the role of POTUS. I wonder if Teddy got the idea from 10k.
My favourite part about the batters calling balls rule has to be that a batter could technically call for a hit-by-pitch. Like a batter could go up to the ump and say “Tell em to give it to me right in the kissa!” And the pitcher had to be like “Welp, you asked for it”
Wasn't there also once a rule that a runner is OUT if a fielder hits him with the ball? That would give "Pick Off Play" a different meaning.
Going to be honest. As a kid I umpired for the little kids, I would have been a LOT more comfortable if I could turn to the spectators and ask if that was a swing (break in the wrist) or not than just bsically guessing...
The rule about high middle or low for the strike zone reminds me of cricket where the batsman (that's right, still batsman 150 years later) will nominate where the umpire stands to watch for things that are too boring and complicated to explain here!
I guess home field advantage had a whole different meaning back then, with fans substituting for blind umpires xD
Kelly's team would have had too players on the field- isn't that a breach of the rules. Even if one of the players thought to get off then it was still a breach and that alone would make ball mid-air substitutions too difficult. You have to direct one player to get off the field and then another enters.
Love the overwatch hoodie
This video leads to two questions:
1. When the batsman asked for a "fair ball," what exactly was that? Since the other options were high or low, one must guess that fair meant down the middle. So why didn't they just say that? High, low, or middle?
2. How many umpires worked a game back then? One? Quite possibly, which would explain why he needed help from the crowd on occasion. Deleting the ask-the-crowd rule may have been complemented with the following: "There shall be four umpires, six during the playoffs!"
Great video guys I think Simone is funny and great for these videos
1:28 WAT?!? That's MEME GOLD right here...
I would love to see off-season roleplay-competition of old sports - with old rules and clothes lol
There are plenty of amateur teams that play "vintage" baseball with teams portraying different eras. For example, in Decatur, IL the Rock Springs Ground Squirrels play 1859 rules base ball, with no gloves, etc.
You had me right until that last "most interesting is leaving" comment...
Yeah what a tool that guy is
I mean he’s not wrong. Baseball is extremely boring
This video is vaguely condescending to 19th century baseball.
Is there such a thing as a SB Nation video about baseball where they don’t just end up insulting baseball?
Is there such a thing as a game of baseball I can stay awake through?
I feel like the lighting is all over the place in this video. Like the side cameras were under lit.
I was playing middle School soccer and there was a guy on the other team that was being subbed in (you have to wait until the ball goes out of bounds) but as the ball was coming to me, that bastard just jumps in and intercepts the ball.... He immediately realizes his mistake and KICKS IT TO ONE OF HIS TEAMMATES AND THE REFS DO NOTHING!!!! This was semi-final of a tournament!
Ain't no rule that says the "guest" can't wear a piece of nerd merch on a jock show.
What, there's a dress code for sports bants shows now?
Ump: Hey, man - did the fielder catch the ball?
Steve Bartman: Yes
You forgot about the guy who stole first base from second! Please do a video on that!
Woah! Suprise Simone!
Baseball at that point was pretty much consider high satisfaction. It was called a gentleman's game and at one time was only played by the wealthy I believe.
So, the inflation calculator I found online only goes back to 1913, not 1891, so this is gonna be slightly too low, even, but 10k in 1913 is slightly over 261,000 in today's money.
1:18 WHAT IS THAT LAUGH?!
Are there no lights in that studio? All these videos are so dark.