15 MLB Players Responsible for Rule Changes

#MLB #MLBRules #ChaseUtley
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We’ve seen the NFL and NHL make so many rule changes throughout the 21st century, but the same can’t be said for the NBA and MLB. America’s pastime, especially, has kept the bulk of its rulebook intact for decades. The main rules, of course, have been around for well over a century.
Interestingly, some of the major rule changes throughout the history of baseball were inspired by one player or manager. Sometimes they found a loophole in the system and exploited it time and time again, before the league said enough is enough...And other times these rules were implemented for player safety.
So let’s dive into the history of MLB rule changes that were inspired by a player or manager.
And a big shout out to Chance Johan 10 for suggesting this video!
and don't forget to leave your video ideas down in the comments below, we’re looking and we’ll give you a shout out in the video if we use it.
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Writer: Alex Hoegler

[@JosephPallares]

Should’ve included Umpires too. Jim Joyce blowing Armando Galarraga’s perfect game led to the ability to review plays

[@DeviltoGeorgia34]

At least Joyce owned up to it and admitted he blew it.

[@hillaryclinton3455]

If only you know how bad Joyce felt after that game.... :(

[@JohnDoe-qh3bs]

MLB should have gone back and fixed that official game's scoring and given Galarraga his perfect game.

[@towelman8589]

@@JohnDoe-qh3bs Yeah him and also the guy who intentionally leaned into a pitch to ruin a pitcher's perfect game in the 9th.

[@Drogon7102]

@@DeviltoGeorgia34 theres no way not to own up to it when it is that egregious

[@rossbunnell7992]

I think you may have missed the biggest one of all. John McGraw was pretty much personally responsible for the creation of the infield fly rule because he would intentionally drop easy infield pop flies with men on base in order to get a double play. Other players used this trick too, but it was McGraw's frequent use of this maneuver that prompted the rule change creating the infield fly rule.

[@Lord_Bibulous]

McGraw is indirectly responsible for the creation of the Yankees. Which ended up ending his Giants' dominance in NY. Then they had to leave to SF.

[@davidsenko1082]

Joe Dimaggio used to catch Infield Flys on the hop, in the outfield and then throw for a Double-Play. They then changed it so an outfield could catch an Infield Fly, or that an Infield Fly could be caught in the outfield. The rule is, something like, a fly ball that can be caugh, by an infielder, with normal effort.

[@scottstube07]

I was expecting one rule change that I learned as a youngster that I always thought changed the game for the better considering it only affected one player in the history of baseball. There was a player named William Hoy who was nicknamed Dummy Hoy because he was deaf. A cruel name for today but not unusual at turn of the 19th/20th century. At the time the umpire would simply speak the ball/strike calls verbally which was confusing to Mr. Hoy. So, the league went to a sign language addition to the call and the raised right arm meant ba strike and a raised left arm was a ball. To make the story even more interesting, Hoy was an excellent ball player who made the HOF with some impressive batting stats and was a stellar center fielder. In one game he threw out 3 players at home, at the time set quite standard. I hope people find this interesting enough to learn more about the old time baseball. As a side note, there really was a Moonlight Graham who played defense in one game but never got to bat just like in “The Field of Dreams.” The difference, historically, was that he played in 1905 and not later as the film portrayed. He also went on to become a small town doctor in Minnesota. I’m done and signing out.

[@teemusid]

There is no evidence he was responsible for umpires non-verbal calling of strikes, nor is he a member of the HOF. He should be reconsidered, but has not yet been elected.

[@elmutide]

@@teemusid I hope you feel better, kind sir. latimesblogs.latimes.com/sports_blog/2012/01/did-umpires-develop-hand-signals-because-of-deaf-player-dummy-hoy.html Go Red Sox!!!

[@unkledoda420]

I always assumed the rule was started to make calls immediately clear to radio broadcasters back in the day.

[@eauhomme]

Not the only deaf player at the time. Dummy Taylor also was one. More recently, there was outfielder Curtis Pride. The raising of the right arm for a strike was also possibly to make it so that outfielders, scorekeepers, and fans could keep track of the count.

[@spokanetomcat1]

@@eauhomme You are correct. I read a story many many MANY years ago, I don't remember the teams, year, or umpire who started it, scorekeepers were complaining they could not hear the balls and strikes at the plate. So, an umpire started using hand signals to call balls and strikes. Right hand for strikes, left hand for balls. The same with calling out a runner on the base using hand signals, foul balls, fair balls, hit by pitch batters, balks, home runs, and so on. I still have a trivia baseball card from the 70s about an umpire who had something stuck in his throat on a pitch the batter thought was ball 4. The batter went to first bases were loaded and the runner walked home. When the umpire cleared his throat he called strike 3 batter out and the third base runner ended up with a walk home steal.

[@Mango.Bandicoot]

"Running bases in reverse prohibited" Javier Baez: "hold my bat"

[@anthonycummings1652]

He didn't run in reverse he never touched a base till he slid head first into first base

[@Mango.Bandicoot]

@@anthonycummings1652 it was a joke

[@MIKELIN8]

That was an instance of the Pirates' 1B not knowing the rules of Baseball, in this case the force at 1st rule.

[@eauhomme]

Jean Segura had one of the few cases of a legal reverse run. He stole second, then on the next play during a hit got caught in a rundown between second and third. He slid into second as the batter ran into second, and the fielder tagged both players. By rule, the lead runner is entitled to the base, so the batter was out. But Segura thought he was out and started towards the dugout. Realizing the other guy was called out, he ran to the closest base--first, just beating the throw. On the next play, he was thrown out trying to steal second again.

[@metsfan1873]

Richie Ashburn. Look it up.

[@johnharris6655]

The Posey rule also banned catchers from blocking the plate. Catchers must give the runner a clear path to the plate and may only drift into the runner if taken there by the throw.

[@eauhomme]

A catcher blocking the plate without the ball has always been obstruction. The Posey rule basically mandated that with the ball, he still couldn't camp in the baseline because of takeout collisions.

[@FUGP72]

@@eauhomme Uhh...no. A catcher may block the plate all he wants with the ball. "By the rules of baseball, a runner has the right to an unobstructed path to a base. However, this right is not granted if the fielder guarding the base possesses the ball or is in the process of catching the ball." Or the actual wording "The second comment says that "unless the catcher is in possession of the ball, the catcher cannot block the pathway of the runner as he is attempting to score."

[@CExecDysfunctionOfficer]

I was pretty sure the Posey rule banned the runner from colliding with the catcher in an attempt to knock the ball loose. Basically it just instituted the little league slide or give up rule.

[@IamChevalier]

@@FUGP72 - that has always been my interpretation of the rule - having umpired for several years - HOWEVER, I would not tolerate raised feet or lowering the shoulder - cause for immediate ejection - but the runner colliding with the catcher was fair game. The Base-Runner has every right to the plate as the Catcher does in blocking - IF, as mentioned - he has the ball OR in he act of catching the ball. If the player blocked the plate or base path without the ball, etc. - it's obstruction. IF a base-runner slide with the intent to hurt a fielder - automatic ejection. Happened twice by the same team - I'd forfeit the game. When coaching BaseBall and Women's Fast Pitch softball - that is how I taught my players.

[@FUGP72]

@@IamChevalier And my point was that eauhomme's comment that the catcher can't block the plate even with the ball is wrong. I honestly don't know what eauhomme thinks a catcher with the ball is supposed to do to make a tag. stand behind the plate or off to the side and swipe at the runner as he comes home. With the ball, he pretty much HAS to block the plate to make the tag. But also...your interpretation or how you coach or umpire doesn't really mean much. Unless you are an umpire or coach in the Major Leagues.

[@kiefernaysmith1372]

You should do top 10 1 year Allstars. Players who had one really good season but we're never good again

[@money21xd40]

Kiefer Naysmith that’s been done by so many other channels

[@michaelbaucom4019]

You'd have to about 50 versions of that...consider the rule that each team must have one representative...all the crappy teams that had their closer/ best reliever go could be 20 versions alone

[@lukevattes]

if we are talking about hockey: jordan binnington

[@dxddypai2137]

Chris Davis in the orioles.

[@unkledoda420]

@@dxddypai2137 Davis had a few good years

[@orbyfan]

Phil Cavaretta of the Cubs had his arm broken when he put it up at the last second to prevent being beaned by a pitch he failed to pick up against the background of white shirts in the center field bleachers. This led to ballparks blocking off center field from fans in order to provide a safe background for hitters.

[@FUGP72]

I mean, it couldn't have led to that since stadiums still had fans in dead center over the wall well into AT LEAST the 80s.

[@KP-fr5iu]

"Sadly he passed away from injuries and a heart attack from a savage beating" Are we just going to pretend like a midget wasn't savagely beaten to death?????

[@solitaryman7485]

That needs to be a video of its own.

[@BuddWolf]

Cold blooded

[@dirtybirdy2182]

Ummmm...that's why he said exactly that. How else can it be misconstrued?

[@KP-fr5iu]

@@dirtybirdy2182 I'm emphasizing that there were no additional details about a savage beating that could easily be a whole story on its own. He just went to the next subject like there was nothing interesting to say about his death

[@mal2ksc]

It's not a pretty story. Apparently Goedel wasn't exactly what you'd call a nice guy. That doesn't justify him getting beaten to death, but it does mean it _wasn't random,_ and yes, that means a video of its own.

[@Nick1994H]

Top 10 TPS predictions that were wrong.

[@STPlsd]

Curt Flood. He changed the game forever from a players perspective

[@billgrandone3552]

Boy did he! I think every major league player owes 25% of thier salary to the family of Curt Flood or the charity of the family's choice for the fight Curt fought in the courts for their benefit as well as his own. Or at least retire his number and have a Curt Flood day like they do for Jackie.

[@thomaswolf723]

No he didn't. Although he took a courageous stand, he lost his case in the Supreme Court. Free agency came to MLB 5 to 6 years later because of grievances filed by Andy Messersmith and Dave McNally. Try

[@mjemigh3304]

@@thomaswolf723 True, but it had to start SOMEWHERE. Curt gave it a huge and visible head start, which is why we celebrate him more than the other two. Of course, your point is well taken.

[@neugey]

How low does the strike zone go again? Aaron Rodgers: my knee

[@AJ42K]

Lolool

[@TotalProSports]

Mike N 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@submarinepitch8]

Unfortunately you’re wrong. Eddie Gaedel never had an AB. Just a plate appearance

[@charliesarver]

Nice notice I shoulda thought of that

[@thereisnotryv1971]

Boom! Lawyered!

[@chihuahuaman7025]

Submarinepitch8 Aka BF_Snipes technicality

[@submarinepitch8]

Wtf wow thanks for the likes boys. I didn’t check KZbin for a week lmao

[@claymiller9707]

*Gaedel

[@jsivco3sivco785]

MLB has the "Connie Mack Rule" that states that no owner may manage his own team, named after Phila. Athletics owner Cornelius McGillicuddy ("Connie Mack") who managed his own team for 50 years. Ted Turned managed his Braves for one day in 1977, then the Connie Mack Rule was enforced against him doing it again.

[@johnandmarylouwilde7882]

Didn't Judge Fuchs try to manage the woeful 1928 Boston Braves?

[@samiam619]

Why would MLB care if the owner was also the Manager?

[@piercehubbard4086]

I thought they did that because of Ted Turner. He kept firing his managers and trying to make himself manager.

[@zkjblaster14]

Why couldn’t the little guy play “Height doesn’t measure heart” Joey Baseball

[@cpsclan2447]

Zak Jockel Joey Baseball can hit for crap so it is a little bit of a disadvantage for the pitcher because of the small batter box and most small people can’t hit as good as most bigger people

[@gooby8773]

PXD_Infultrxte hey it’s you again. And Joey baseball is amazing at hitting. That’s probably why he was on that video dingus

[@leslawrence3865]

The issue with the short guy stunt was the fact that it was a stunt. They made a rule that forced teams to have a contract and minimum time on the players roster to avoid stunts. I think they should revisit that rule. For instance, if a scout finds a pitcher that has a very effective wind-up or pitches against power hitters or lefty on lefty and they found the pitcher and no one knew of him... let them bring him in for a crucial at bat and as soon as the league knows about him and has enough tape to take away his effectiveness... he can be sent down or released. And today, that’d be less than 24 hours. And why didn’t they keep Eddie?!?! Pinch hitter and then they can pinch run for him and he can get walked 3/4 of the time even when the league knows about him.

[@zakjames1424]

dude why is your first name spelt so weird

[@topg3415]

Joey baseball is a$$🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑

[@rslitman]

The Trea Turner Rule superseded the Pete Incaviglia Rule. In 1985, Incaviglia was drafted in the first round by the Montreal Expos. He wanted to become a major leaguer right away without going to the minors first. The Expos refused. The Texas Rangers were willing to do this, so Montreal traded Incaviglia to the Rangers. In response, MLB instituted a rule saying that a team can't trade a drafted player until at least a year after he signed his first contract. For the next 25 or 30 years, teams could only trade a drafted player in his first yearlong period under contract by making him a player to be named later and not using him in games lest he got hurt until the year was up. One of the players for which this happened was Trea Turner. After this happened to Turner, MLB changed the time period from one year after the player's signing to after the completion of the World Series in the year in which the player signed. One beneficiary of this change was Dansby Swanson, who was traded from the Arizona Diamondbacks to the Atlanta Braves less than a year after Arizona drafted and signed him.

[@fje6902]

Denkinger's call in the 1985 World Series was worse than Joyce's call. It can be argued Denkinger's call cost the Cardinals a World Series victory.

[@ButtmunchCookie]

Thanks for doing an MLB video! I was starting to think they were all going to be NFL videos...Keep em coming!!

[@stevencrowder99]

Yes, you missed one... the "Tris Speaker" rule. The rule for a runner tagging up on a fly ball was that he could go once the ball was caught. Speaker (arguably the best center fielder ever) found a way around the rule. Instead of catching a fly ball, he would bat it back up in the air with his glove. He would continue doing this while moving forward until he finally caught the ball while standing behind second base. Of course by then the runner couldn't tag up. The rule was changed and now a runner may tag up as soon as a fielder makes contact with the ball.

[@peteosmussen2877]

Wow. Pure genius.

[@jpsned]

@@peteosmussen2877 I'll say! 👍

[@bartbegalka8650]

Love it. Add one more: Jackie Robinson on first base. Double-play ball hit to 2nd baseman. Jackie "fields" it. He is called out for interference. But only one out.

[@fair66115]

Hal McRae perfected the art of breaking up a double play probably before Chase Utley's parents turned ten years of age...

[@randallhahn6557]

Nice video. I'm impressed with the research. But 2 items. 1. Gibson's era was 1.12. 2. Keith Hernandez inspired a rule change also. He would setup in foul territory with a man on first to better receive a pickoff throw from the pitcher. Now the first baseman must be in fair territory to receive the throw. Yes, I am a Cardinals fan.

[@dougr1103]

Yes! I too remember this rule change that Keith forced -- Mets fan here.

[@Compucles]

Ambidextrous pitching is still allowed, just not during a single plate appearance. The foul strike rule was adopted by the NL in 1902, not 1901. Gibson's ERA in 1968 was 1.12, not 1.2.

[@jraymond1988]

Eddie Stanky was also responsible for the rule stating that you can't go behind the bag and get a head start when trying to advance/score on a sac fly. He used to go behind the bag and start running (timed with the catch) so that he'd already be accelerated by the time the catch was made. He also used to delay games (in which his team was winning a close one) by talking to the pitcher after every pitch so that the game would eventually be called due to darkness). This led to a one visit per inning rule.

[@cadenr06]

I’ve always thought of getting a running start on a sac fly. That sucks

[@vaibanez17]

Some of these old players were just geniuses

[@sheiladurk7299]

I had to look up what happened to Eddie Gaedel after you just sliding in the fact he was beat to death. “On June 18, 1961 Gaedel, unemployed, got drunk at a bowling alley. As usual, he became combative with either some fellow patrons or others he came across on his route home. He was followed home and beaten. His mother found him lying in bed, dead. He had bruises about his knees and on the left side of his face. An inquest discovered that he had a heart attack, which was obviously brought on by the beating. He had just turned 36 years old the week before.”

[@hightide9513]

Armpit to the knee? If only that was true...

[@kelmbeast2752]

High Tide more like stomach to knee

[@h2xxx160]

Depends on the umpire, as the rule is subjective. Much worse, is when umpires play favorites. I have heard announcers saying things like, 'wow, on that close a pitch, I am surprised that he called a strike when the pitcher is only a rookie. ' Really? How about a ball is a ball and a strike is a strike. It shouldn't matter if a batter or pitcher is a rookie or a 15 year veteran headed to the Hall of Fame. This could easily lead to a rule where balls and strikes are called by machines.

[@KickStarrs]

As soon as I saw the mike piazza jersey and other New York stuff I knew the chase utley slide would be in this

[@alvinwagner6745]

KickStarrs And he says”Utley’s dirty slide” Guess he didn’t watch much baseball in the 1970’s.

[@ryandonovan5895]

Not sure when it was added (e.g. OP or later), but Utley is hash-tagged in the description.

[@TheScaba100]

King Kelly: 1891, inactive players cannot deem themselves active mid at bat. This came into fruition when Kelly, seeing his catcher would not be able to make the play, jumped onto the field and caught a pop up foul ball for an out.

[@stevegallo8483]

Major League Baseball made wearing batting helmets mandatory in 1971 and the ear flaps mandatory on the helmets in 1983. Likely both were inspired by Red Sox outfielder Tony Conigliaro getting hit in the head with a pitch in 1967.

[@njva17420]

The Pirates wore helmets (no ear flaps) years before that, and some players on other teams used protective inserts in their caps when batting.

[@johngurlides9157]

I can think of two others: 1. Yankee 3rd baseman Bobby Cox had a habit of sawing off the top of his bat until it was declared illegal. 2. Yankee reliever Steve Hamilton invented the "folly floater", arching the ball high until it dropped fair in the strike zone. When he was traded to a NL club, the NL declared the folly floater illegal.

[@spokanetomcat1]

I guess you never saw the 1993 movie Rookie of the Year...LOL

[@hobonickel]

"Kelly now catching." which led to a change to the rules stating no substitutions while the ball is in play.

[@eauhomme]

King Kelly. Good 1800s reference. Another one that I cannot remember the player to credit was the rule requiring runners to go back to their base and tag it after foul balls. This was due to a player standing five feet short of second base when the ball was being put back in play and claiming he was taking an 85-foot lead.

[@johnfeathers1055]

YES! Thank you! Bringing the other sports content back!

[@thomasbecker6815]

The TV star Chuck Connors played minor league pro baseball, would tell this story. When he hit a home run, he would run the bases in reverse order. He said they then changed the rule that you had to run the bases in proper order Loved him in the rifleman>

[@richdouglas2311]

Gibson's ERA wasn't "1.2." It was 1.12. And it wasn't just Gibson. Tiant led the AL with a 1.61 ERA. McLain won 31 games. There was only 1 .300 hitter in the AL (Yaz at .301), and the NL had just five. The "Year of the Pitcher" had been coming for some time; the second half of the 1960s saw to that. After that amazingly boring season, MLB did shorten the strike zone (the top moved from the shoulders to the armpits and the bottom moved from the bottom of the knee to the top), and they did lower the mound. But what always gets forgotten is that the majors expanded the next year, adding four teams. That meant 45-or-so pitchers throwing that would not have been there before.

[@brianlewis4764]

The Posey rule still erks me to this day

[@TheMickeyShuffle]

Excellent video! I've been a fan and student of the game my whole life and several of these I wasn't aware of. I was hoping that you were going to have this one I heard when I was a kid but I don't know if it is true...I read that Rickey Henderson would stand a few steps behind the the base when tagging up and then start running before the ball was caught so he could be almost in full gear by the time he was allowed to leave the base. I think I read they made that illegal. That's pretty cool if it's true. Anyway, keep up the awesome videos...just subscribed!

[@ivanscottw]

IIRC, The Pat Venditte Rule was designed so as to prevent a game lockout that occurred during a pre-season.Minor/league game in 2008 - because he was facing a switch batter (Ralph Henriquez) - Basically : You're pitching right, I'm batting left.. Oh ok - So I'll pitch left ! All right so I'll bat right and so on and so forth which held the game for almost 10 minutes... The umpire had to pull a decision out of his hat because it wasn't covered by the rules - and the rule was quickly devised to prevent this from ever happening again

[@nicknewman5212]

1. you can still run the bases backwards if it's a mistake. It happened just a handful of years back and he was safe at 1st because of the error thinking he was out. 2. Utley's slide was 1000% a clean slide

[@kenh3757]

Dude that slide was dirtier than Matt Holiday tearing Starling Castro's pants off with his spikes,

[@matthicksxx]

Justin Miller (last played 2010) was the inspiration for the “Justin Miller Rule,” requiring pitchers with arm tattoos to wear long-sleeved shirts. Miller sadly passed away in 2013

[@deathclaw6763]

Jackie robinson

[@samiam619]

@@deathclaw6763 What about him?

[@deathclaw6763]

@@samiam619 he changed color rule

[@rebeccaquartieri5509]

😥

[@MegaForrestgump]

I remember Brandon League had to wear long sleeves because of his tattoos.

[@johndempsey5370]

What's great is after the MLB lowered the mound, Gibson was still dominant just not to the same numbers a season ago.

[@sludge4125]

Everything is relative.

[@unkledoda420]

Arguably the best pitcher ever. Definitely top 3.

[@sludge4125]

@@unkledoda420 Well, Marichal and Koufax were better.

[@unkledoda420]

@@sludge4125 It's all opinion and personal preference. Marichal and Gibson put up pretty similar numbers throughout the 60's. Marichal had a bit lower ERA and less walks but Gibson had the edge on strikeouts and WHIP. Koufax was better than both for those 5 years of greatness but he did have 6-7 seasons that were nothing special before he got good. And the fact that his arm fell off at like 31-32 years old so we never got to see how long he could maintain that greatness. I'd have all 3 of them somewhere in my top 5 for sure, just not sure on the order or who the other 2 would be.

[@sludge4125]

@@unkledoda420 👍👍👍👍

[@breesco]

Excellent presentation!

[@blueshky]

1.12 ERA...not 1.20. Give the man the credit!!

[@kdwaynec]

I remember that year well. Luis Tiant 1.60 and Yaz .301 led the AL

[@MultisportOfficial]

Okay, I'm being nit-picky, but the explanation that "a foul ball counts as strike three if the catcher catches it (11:54)" is technically incorrect, because what you're describing is not a foul ball, but a foul TIP. It seems a lot of people don't know the difference, and often confuse the two.

[@Wolfgang0112]

For the new slide rule that was actually implemented after Jung Ho Kang got his knee blown out after a runner went to break up a double play

[@eauhomme]

It was actually implemented in 1986 due to Ron Oester getting his knee taken out. They just forgot about it over the years.

[@rabbi120348]

For better or worse, calculators have replaced slide rules.

[@freethinkerrr2897]

You left off the Justin Miller rule, which was enacted around 15 years ago by MLB and declared that pitchers with sleeve tattoos must cover them up whenever pitching in a game so as to not distract the batter’s vision. Named after former journeyman reliever Justin Miller (who was also a good friend and former college baseball teammate of mine).

[@garryharris3777]

Dazzy Vance wore a loose shirt sleeve on his pitching arm that confused the batter. I think there's a rule to deter that now. Jim Kaat used a quick pitch to win 20 games for the ChiSox. Rules were changed about pitchers having to set up first, I believe. Amus Rusie threw extremely hard and was extremely wild. Some have given him partial credit for the pitching mound being moved back 1in 1893.

[@aslgrognerd2506]

Eddie Stanky used to lead off backward from 3rd into Shallow left. He would time the fly ball so that he had a running start tagging up. This made it difficult to impossible to throw him out on a Sacrifice Fly. The rule was changed so you couldn't lead off backwards from any base.

[@Lige]

That's genius!

[@thomaswolf723]

I have two MLB players responsible for rule changes. One was the knuckleball pitcher (and eventual Hall of Famer) Hoyt Wilhelm. In 1958 the Orioles acquired Wilhelm from the Indians when his career seemed to be in decline. One reason for this was that catchers had difficulty catching the knuckleball and committed a lot of passes balls. Paul Richards, the innovative manager of the Orioles, dealt with this problem by devising a pillow-size catchers mitt, 41 inches in circumferences, for his catchers (in particular, Gus Triandos) to use to reduce the number of passed balls. The next year, because of the excessive size of the mitt, MLB enacted a rule making the maximum size of a catchers mitt to be 38 inches in circumference. The second is George Brett of the Royals. In a 1983 game against the Yankees, plate umpire Tim McClelland voided a probable game winning home run by Brett because the bat had pine tar along the length of the bat in excess of the 18 inches allowed under Rule 1.10(c). The ruling was harsh, but technically legal, because a ball hit by such a bat with excessive pine tar was considered an "illegally batted ball" and the batter was out under rule 6.06. However, on protest by the Royals to American League President Lee McPhail, the home run was restored because the intent and spirit of the rule was to prevent baseballs from being discolored during the game and excessive pine tar had no effect on the distance a ball could be hit. The ruling was also based on the precedent set by a 1975 ruling in which McPhail, under the same reasoning, did not void a home run hit with excessive pine tar by Royals first baseman John Mayberry. A subsequent modification of Rule 1.10 made clear that the remedy for such violation was to order the batter to use a new bat and to remove the bat from the game at least until the excessive pine tar or other substance was removed. Such a violation could not be a basis for declaring a batter out or ejecting him the the game.

[@1975MGB]

McPhail had no balls. He should have enforced the rule as it was written & then changed it. Billy Martin knew the rule because Thurman Munson had been called out after hitting a single because of the same rule.

[@dylangotti7299]

Top 10 dual sport athletes who won championships

[@professionalamatuer8064]

The Posey Rule: basically the mlb only cares about player safety when a star player with an eight figure salary gets hurt.

[@atlrts]

Ruben Tejada was neither a star player or had an eight figure salary and MLB changed the rule when Chase Utley broke his leg and ended his season.

[@thereisnotryv1971]

The pro sports leagues today do not care for what makes sense, only for revenue

[@jdubhub68]

@@thereisnotryv1971 Something doesn't need to make sense to you personally or other randos with anonymous accounts on the Internet for it to make sense objectively.

[@matthewnavarro235]

Exactly

[@thereisnotryv1971]

@@jdubhub68 what does an anonymous account have to do with anything?

[@BroMark1611]

Great vid. Subbed.

[@ipodzrock1]

Good to see TPS is branching out a little bit from NFL content

[@ericm2676]

Ohtani rule. Where he is able to bat when he starts as a pitcher during an American league game. He may continue to bat as long as he becomes a defensive position player after being pulled from the game. Then he also had a rule when he was rehabbing from Tommy John that he can bat in the majors and rehab in the minors as a pitcher just as long as he had a rest period inbetween.

[@corbinselanne7990]

As of 2022, Ohtani can now start as a pitcher and become the DH when his pitching stint is done

[@psyko21o2]

Being so good that the league changes the filed of play is just on another level.

[@dcinpa1134]

I heard that Don Hoak of the Pittsburgh Pirates, after a foul ball, took an 87-foot lead off third base. When the home plate umpire asked him what he was doing there he replied, "this is my lead". When the pitcher started his wind-up he stepped on home plate for a stolen base. This caused the rule change that after a foul ball you had to go back to your base.

[@thomgage7083]

Eddie Gaedel did not walk in his first major league at-bat. He never had an at-bat in the major leagues.

[@CrookedEyeSniper]

The Eddie Gaedel appearance had a little more to the backstory to it. The uniform that Eddie wore, belonged to current St. Louis Cardinals managing partner and chairman William DeWitt, Jr. who was a 9-year-old batboy for the Browns at the time. They just added the ⅛ on it. Gaedel came out of a paper-mache cake between games of a doubleheader at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis to celebrate the American League's 50th anniversary. It was billed as a promotion for a brewery. The brewery owner was promised by team owner Bill Veeck, a big, attention grabbing publicity stunt, and everyone thought the cake was it. Before the second game got underway, the press agreed that the "midget-in-a-cake" appearance had not been up to Veeck's usual promotional standard. The brewery people were kinda pissed thinking that was the surprise, keeping the actual surprise he had in store for the second game to himself, Veeck just meekly apologized. Finally the history making stunt took place and the rest is history. Bill Veeck claims that the idea came from listening to a radio program where the Giants manager John McGraw discussed a hypothetical "what if?" situation, decades earlier when Veeck was a child. That uniform is even in Cooperstown.

[@adamcravets5408]

I don’t remember the specifics but some time in the 1920’s or there about when they used to have pails of water and a spoon that all the players shared on the team. During a game a foul pop up was heading towards the pail. A player was getting a drink and saw the ball coming his way. He could also see that none of his team could reach it. So yelled his own name, then “subbing for” another player’s name and caught the ball. It was because of this they instituted a rule that substitutions could only happen when the ball wasn’t in play.

[@northerndarklight5305]

Bob Gibson's 1968 ERA was not 1.2. It was 1.12, which is a big difference. He was tough, and too mean to give up a run. He once told battery mate, Tim McCarver, on a visit to the mound, to get back behind the plate. "The only thing you know about pitching is you can't hit it."

[@chemisecurity9518]

The Vendetti Rule was not to resolve the issue of pitching both arms in the plate appearance, it was to resolve the "Switch Pitcher vs. Switch Hitter" conundrum that arose in the game you referenced. It was never an issue that pat would pitch with both arms in the same plate appearance. The decision of which side to pitch from would have been set, as the purely left-handed batters he would exclusively pitch left-handed, and purely right-handed batters he would exclusively pitch right-handed. The rule just describes who decides first, pitcher or batter, in order to prevent literally 20 minutes worth of "Oh, you're batting left-handed, I'm pitching left-handed", "Oh, you're pitching from the left? I'm switching to the right!" "Oh, you switched to the right? I'm pitching from the right!" ad nauseum before the first pitch of the at bat. The umps in that game (of course, before the rule was introduced) decided that the batter had to decide which side to bat from first and Pat could decide which arm to pitch from afterwords. The rule was decided on afterwords that Pat had to decide first, then the batter.

[@davej3781]

you forgot the other half of the the buster posey rule, now 6.01(i): part (1) is the part about the runners not taking out the catcher, but part (2) says the catcher can't block the plate without the ball, thus hopefully avoiding the conditions that led to collisions in the first place

[@eauhomme]

Part 2 has always existed.

[@davej3781]

@@eauhomme I'm not sure what you mean... 6.01(i)(1) and (2) were both added to the rulebook at the same time. if you're referring to 6.01(h) obstruction, yes, it's always technically been obstruction for the catcher to block the plate without the ball, but it was never enforced that way at the pro level. at the youth level using OBR or OBR-derived rulesets (i.e. Little League), 6.01(h) generally was/is enforced better.

[@eauhomme]

@@davej3781 It has been enforced periodically over the years, just like the prohibition on takeout slides away from the base at second. They get enforced, people stop doing them so much, they get called less, people start doing them more and getting away with it, and the rule is now enforced, listed as a point of emphasis, or re-written. Given that the whole rulebook was rewritten, this was a good opportunity to put it in as 6.01(i)(1) and (2) and call it a new rule.

[@davej3781]

@@eauhomme the rule was new in the last year of the old book, 2014, as rule 7.13. it wasn't just "called" a new rule, it actually was a new rule (aka the Buster Posey rule). it became 6.01(i) when the book was re-organized in 2015.

[@eauhomme]

@@davej3781 Again, blocking the plate without the ball has ALWAYS been illegal. It is textbook obstruction. The Buster Posey incident just led to a rule emphasizing that specific play.

[@iJxlly]

The David Price rule would be another worthy addition to this video. Very interesting!

[@cjlello221]

wow finally an mlb video TPS!!

[@cormel6895]

Top 10 Athletes of the decade or Top 10 Athlete Seasons of the decade

[@kenziesumirat6923]

We all know that the rule that you could challenge the call on the field was because of angel hernandez lol

[@shadowbolt518]

No, it was more bc of Jim Joyce

[@kenziesumirat6923]

Jim Joyce, Angel Hernandez, and Joe West

[@MiriOhki]

IIRC, what inspired the Venditte rule was that he came up against a switch hitter, and they kept changing positions, stalling the game.

[@corbinselanne7990]

Yeah, switch hitters almost always hit on the side opposite the hand of the pitcher (meaning a guy facing someone like Max Scherzer would bat left-handed while that same guy would bat right-handed facing someone like Clayton Kershaw)

[@amylippert7631]

Curt Flood He allowed players to negotiate where they could be traded and opened the possibility for free agency before once a player was traded they had no say and where considered property of the team and could not choose their new team But because of him a player can now negotiate being released or ask to be traded to a certain team

[@sithlordjeffbledsoe651]

Rule #16: no crying in baseball

[@nicknunziata785]

Do best jerseys ranking in the mlb

[@rayfisher4185]

If you would like to read up on uniforms, there is a book, Baseball Uniforms of the 20th Century by Marc Okkonen. The book has details, history and images of each teams uniforms from 1901 - 1991. It was written in 1991. Good book

[@rayfisher4185]

BTW - Best uniforms of all time 1916 NY Giants. They were plaid. I also read one of the teams back in the early times had color coded jerseys based on the position you played. i.e. first base had yellow trim, second base blue trim. Something to that effect.

[@patrickkanas3874]

Here's one. A pitcher must pitch to at least three batters before he can be removed from the game. This was done after the NLCS when the Brewers sent Wade Miley out as the starter so that the Dodgers would have a right handed heavy batting order and pulled him after the first batter to get a more favorable pitching matchup for the rest of the game

[@robertsymonds1238]

The Hal MacRae rule, which eliminated the rolling block on a double play.

[@adamm2787]

I'm watching this with the Astros-Giants game on in the background and as he's talking about the Buster Posey rule I look up a Posey is batting. Lol

[@LadyAnuB]

The Buster Posey rule should be the Ray Fosse rule after Pete Rose wiped him out in the 1907 All-Star Game. Buster wouldn't have been injured then.

[@vkws828]

That was my first thought as well. Pete Rose basically ended his career in the All Star game. The first sign of the evil side of Mr Rose.

[@theriotartist]

Next video : 15 Rules Changed to Please Tom Brady

[@LeglessWonder]

How to pick only 15 tho?

[@danielvassar3219]

G.O.A.T

[@Edward_Nebiolo]

Refs are just Brady’s bitches

[@Mike1614b]

or LeBaby

[@eauhomme]

Brady can choose when he wishes to serve a suspension, even if it is a couple years after the fact, so that his absence does not affect his chances of making it to the Super Bowl.

[@DiegoGonzalez-rd1bt]

Do teams that were bad 10 years ago and now they are the best please!

[@Jaketurer]

Astros, rams

[@liamyt5902]

Cubs?

[@donkraemer50]

Precursor to the Chase Utley rule, the Hal McRae rule. He basically tackled the 2nd baseman or SS to break up a double play

[@radaction5743]

Former San Diego Padre owner Ray Kroc got on the PA announcer mic and apologized the crowd for the Padres' poor play. MLB made a new rule afterwards stipulating only the PA announcer is allowed to speak on the PA microphone during a game.

[@JoeBrenn]

The Buster Posey, "Armor Isn't Enough" Rule. 🙄

[@evancrist458]

obviously you don’t know the “armor” is only a barley a couple inches of plastic and cushion except for the helmet. it was never gonna protect him from a 200-250 pound man running full speed with every intention to hit him

[@thomasjudge2623]

Great video

[@aslgrognerd2506]

A dead ball player manager King Kelly, once announced that he was now catching so he could catch a foul ball for an out. No substitutions are only allowed once time is called.

[@johnhunter2294]

Kelly also would, with a runner on third, juggle a fly ball while running towards the infield; under the rules at the time, the runner couldn't tag and score because Kelly hadn't actually CAUGHT the ball yet. The rule was changed to allow a runner to tag once the ball is FIRST touched by any fielder.

[@chipspangler736]

Hadn't known about the history of the foul-fair bunts and how that rule got put in place. Baseball was still figuring a lot of things out in the 19th century.

[@eauhomme]

I wish he would have explained it better. "Perfect bunt" doesn't really explain it. The old rule was that a ball was fair so long as it initially landed in fair territory, so he spun the ball so that it would drop fair, then roll into foul territory.

[@MultisportOfficial]

@@eauhomme I'm glad you explained that, because you're right; Utley's explanation was confusing. Now I get it.

[@MultisportOfficial]

It also didn't help that he claimed the rule change moved home plate into foul territory. Not true: The plate is still in fair territory. So is part of the batter's box.

[@poisonpotato1]

Batter: bats well Mlb: wait that's illegal Mlb: you must touch plate to be safe you can't deviate from path Also mlb: you must get out of the catchers way

[@patricklarsh7063]

I remember 20 years ago when Jeff Masse hit 16 fowl balls until the pitcher was burning out. He ended up with a triple on hit 17

[@esinger23]

Number five pisses me off so much! That slide was intentional and dirty! Utley didn’t even try to touch second base. He was out of the baseline. I’m also glad that the Posey rule is in play despite the circumstances that led to it

[@karlmilne6446]

Actually once he explained that part of the rule is the runner is not allowed to purposely go after catcher makes more sense. I always hear the part of the rule that the catcher must give the runner a path to the plate. Which is actually what posey did in the play that he got injured in.

[@esinger23]

@@karlmilne6446 agreed

[@1975MGB]

The umps totally blew that play. Utley didn't even hit the ground until he was way past the base. He never even came close to touching second base. He was called out on the play but not because of his slide, but because of Tejada touching second on a force out. Upon review it was seen that Tejada never touched second. Unlike today when players stay on the base until the review is over, Utley got up & went to the dugout because he was called out. So now you have a play where the fielder never touched the base but neither did the runner & he's sitting on the bench!

[@stevelavergne2852]

The mound was not lowered after 1968 primarily because of Bob Gibson. 1968 was known as the Year of the Pitcher. Pitchers across the board were dominating. Carl Yazstremski won the AL batting crown with a whopping .301 average and was the only player in the AL over .300. The NL (where Gibson pitched) fared better with Pete Rose leading at .335 with 5 players over .300. Gibson won the ERA title in the league with a total of 7 pitchers under 2.00 (5 in the AL, 2 in the NL). Also, Denny McClain was the last 30-game winner that year. Even in the absence of Gibson, those rules would have likely changed.

[@tomb4575]

While Sparky Anderson was known as Captain Hook due to his pitchers rather lightweights (they all seemed to weigh 155lbs). But it was Tony LaRusso who began the stadiums install revolving doors on their bullpens and games ending padt midnught EST.

[@nicolasdenz4292]

The story of Ross Barnes is incorrect. The "Fair-Foul" rule was that if a ball landed initially in fair territory, it was still fair, even if it rolled foul (hearkening back to the game's origins in Cricket). The man most responsible for the rule's change was Dickey Pearce, who perfected the fair-foul bunt in the 1860s -- he also used a cricket bat (flat on one side), which led to the rule change banning such bats. Ross Barnes also was also quite adept at the fair-foul hit, but did not bunt -- he learned to hit a pitch downward with some "English" on it, and make it spin foul. And unlike Pearce, he hit with some power for his day, all over the field. He was also one of the great baserunners and great-fielding second basemen of his day. He was considered the second-greatest player of his day, after George Wright. Changing the rule had been contemplated for some time in the 1870s; one of the suggested solutions was to add a 10th fielder, but it was decided instead to ban the fair-foul hit completely. Coincident to that change, Ross Barnes, one of the best hitters in baseball at that time, contracted what has been theorized to have been the ague, a malaria-type disease, which left him physically debilitated. It is a common misconception that started in the latter 20th century that Barnes' downfall was the loss of the fair-foul hit. It was not, and he was not the cause of the change in rules.

[@MIKELIN8]

IIRC, Gibson's ERA in 1968 was 1.12. 68 was also the year MLB had it's last 30-game winner as Denny McLain won 31 for the Tigers.

[@robertg5451]

That's the same thing I thought of when he said 1.82 was a MLB record. Bob Gibson, damn he was a great pitcher. Loved watching him.

[@jeffreyhueseman7061]

What about the Infield Fly Rule?

[@kdwaynec]

1895 and all the fielders were doing it

[@kildawg]

Forgot to mention that Ray Chapman's untimely demise more importantly led to the implementation of the batting helmet starting in 1921.

[@slaymyface1357]

I believe that actually was implemented this after jackie robinson got hit in the head

[@slaymyface1357]

It was actually not forced to be worn until 1979 and the dodgers were the first to wear them 1941 after jackie robinson was hit in the head causing a brawl

[@johngonzalez5194]

@@slaymyface1357 Uhh, he didn't play for the Dodgers until 1947

[@slaymyface1357]

@@johngonzalez5194 um... Yes he did a simple google search proves he did play in '47

[@slaymyface1357]

@@johngonzalez5194 april 15,1947 jackie robinson made his debut

[@PG13hockeyman]

Do hockey!!! (The Avery rule)

[@Kayveeaitch]

Casey Stengel - Too many trips to the mound without replacing the pitcher.

[@luishumbertovega3900]

Haven't read the 458 commentaries so I suppose somebody must have mentioned runner Don Hoak fielding a ball hit by teammate Wally Post to avoid a double play. The next day the 'runner hit by batted ball out/batter gets a hit" rule was amended to call out both, the hitter and the runner when the runner lets the ball hit him on puspose.

[@williambrown3458]

What about Jimmy Piersall's 100th career home runs where he ran around the bases backwards? I thought a rule was instituted stating that players can't run around the bases backwards.

[@coltino99]

if it wasnt in the rule book at the time, how could the umpire reverse his inital ruling that blowing a ball into foul territory is ok?

[@gr8daynegb]

I'd have had what I all the Wilson Contreras rule... And that is to limit the amount of times catcher visits to pitcher is made. I use Wilson Contreras as an example because it seemed like every inning at some point he had to go to the mound to speak with his pitcher.

[@gradyjones7017]

“ the spitball in involves a pitcher putting a foreign substance on the ball” Hey I think I’ve heard this one before

[@austinstiefel8578]

Who are the 10 most underrated teams of the 2019 NFL season to you guys 🤔

[@krissmonte6374]

Interesting thank you

[@13randydandy]

I've heard of an instance where the pitcher was ejected during a live ball. Some way or another, that pitcher ended up covering home plate, and tagged a runner out at the plate. Umpire ruled the runner safe, because the pitcher was no longer in the game. Rule changed to ejected player remains active until the ball becomes dead. Is that true, or a wives tale?

[@ice-iu3vv]

i cant confirm its a wives tale but i suspect it is. ive been a baseball fan since 1976, and umpired high school games in the 90s. never heard of this before. the part that sounds impossible is the logistics of ejecting anyone during a live ball. i doubt that any ump was ever silly enough to attempt what is plainly impossible. how can you get someone off the field when you are supposed to be watching the play?

[@13randydandy]

@@ice-iu3vv Sounds logical, I know. I heard this in a meeting, or conference in 1972. Purportedly, happened in a major league game. The scenario was, runner on 2nd, 2 outs, 2 and 2 on the batter. Next pitch was, (according to the pitcher) right down the middle, and called ball 3. Pitcher, not happy. Next pitch lined into left center field. Pitcher slams his glove to the ground, and says to the umpire, "THAT'S YOUR RUNNER" says it twice. Unknown if any words exchanged. Umpire, ejects him. Mean while, left fielder cuts the ball off, and throws a strike to the plate. For what ever reason, the pitcher took the throw, and the runner was clearly out. Umpire says, no, he's safe, you can't make a play, you're out of the game. I don't know the truth, but I think it's a great story.

[@1975MGB]

YOU CAN'T EJECT A PLAYER DURING A 'LIVE BALL"

[@mssnip69]

You forgot to mention that the catcher is also included the collision rule