History of the rules

[brown1rjb]

G'day all,

I've been selected to present a topic at our local annual seminar.
I'm trying to find the history behind definition 2.34 Foul Tip.

I haven't been able to find/buy a copy of Jim Evans Annotated Baseball Rules so am wondering if anybody can help out.

Regards,
A brother from down under

[yawetag]

A FOUL TIP is a batted ball that goes sharp and direct from the bat to the catcher's hands and is legally caught. It is not a foul tip unless caught and any foul tip that is caught is a strike, and the ball is in play. It is not a catch if it is a rebound, unless the ball has first touched the catcher's glove or hand.

Cross References: 5.09(g), 6.05(b), 7.08(d)

The rules of 1896 defined a foul tip as a foul ball that does not rise above the batsman's head and is caught by the catcher within ten feet of home plate.

The basis of the rule as it is enforced today appeared in the 1897 revision and defined a foul tip as a batted ball that goes "...foul sharp from the bat to the catcher's hands."

In 1904, the rules described a foul tip as a batted ball that goes sharp and direct to the catcher's hands. It is interesting to note that the catcher's glove is not mentioned as many receivers of that era were not using them. The 1950 revision explained that it was not considered a foul tip if the ball rebounded off any of the catcher's equipment and was then secured. If it hit his glove or hand first, rebounded, and was subsequently secured, it was considered a legal catch and a foul tip rather than a foul ball.

[nwsquid]

I enjoyed reading:
Catcher: How the Man Behind the Plate Became an American Folk Hero

It has a lot of information about the good old days, mangled hands, etc.

I was cheap and got it from the local library.

[brown1rjb]

Thanks for your help. Much appreciated

[brown1rjb]

Thanks for your help much appreciated.

[finnerty]

The Official Rules of Baseball Illustrated is a truly great book. It is written by one of baseball's premier historians and experts, David Nemec, and is an authoritative and comprehensive look at the history of baseball's wonderful set of rules.

But the cool thing about this book is, it's available!

Amazon

ebay

[abevillarreal]

Originally Posted by finnerty

The Official Rules of Baseball Illustrated is a truly great book. It is written by one of baseball's premier historians and experts, David Nemec, and is an authoritative and comprehensive look at the history of baseball's wonderful set of rules.

But the cool thing about this book is, it's available!

Amazon

ebay

Fin, on your recommendation I bought that book and read it over this past weekend. watching 50 strangest moments in MLB on MLB network last night no less than 10 of the stories about rules history from the book made the list. great book, thanks for recommeding it. Abe

[Wags]

I found the Book on Ebay but the store was in the US and didn't post to Australia for their EBay site so they directed me to there non-ebay store where I got it $ 3.00 USD but postage to Aust was $12 USD.

Here's there website address. no doubt most will have postage cheaper than I did.

http://www.bookcloseouts.com/Store/Browse

[captk]

A fun question which a friend of mine always asks umpires.

What is the hardest foul tip you've been hit with this year?

Think about it!

[Wags]

If it hits me as the Umpire it's not a Foul Tip, it's just a foul.

Saying that I have been it with a couple of hard Foul balls

[captk]

Absolutely correct!

Once the umpire is hit with the ball it's a foul ball, but you'll be surprised how many umpires will start to tell a story about being hit with a foul tip!