Strike Four: The Evolution of Baseball

by Richard Hershberger

Baseball began as a schoolyard game, brought to America by the colonists. It evolved rapidly over the second half of the nineteenth century, with innovations and rule changes continuing throughout the twentieth century and into the modern era. But why and how did these changes take place?

In Strike Four: The Evolution of Baseball, Richard Hershberger examines the national pastime's development, from the reasoning behind new rules and innovations to the consequences of these changes--both intended and unintended--that often led to a new round of modifications. Topics examined include the dropped third strike, foul territory, nine innings, tagging up, balls and strikes, tie games, equipment, the infield fly rule, and many more.

Ultimately, this book provides the reader with a narrative history of how baseball evolved from an informal folk game to the sport played in ballparks around the world today. As such, Strike Four is a wonderful reference for sports fans and historians of all generations.--John Thorn, Official Historian of Major League Baseball

Genres: Baseball, Sports, History

320 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 8, 2019

Reviews

[Chip Rickard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb book about the rule changes that occurred in baseball during the 19th century. Ironic that the people that bemoan the pitch clock and other measures to speed up the game don't remember that most of the rules changes in the 19th century were put in place to speed up the game.

[Seth Moko · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have you ever wondered why the dropped-third strike rule exists with all of its exceptions? Then this is the book for you

[Hank Gillette · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book about the rules of baseball, and how they have changed in the over 150 years since the first rules of baseball were codified, might seem like a boring read. Nothing could be further from the truth. Richard Hershberger has written an authoritative and readable book that should appeal to any fan of baseball.

Some rules seem as though they were written in stone and handed down from Mount Sinai. Three strikes and you’re out; four balls and you get a free base. While these have been the rules for a long time, they were quite different in the early years of baseball (a batter could wait as long as wanted to get a pitch he wanted to hit with no penalty) and changed dramatically over a relatively short time. Mr. Hershberger explains the changes, and explains the reasons for the changes.

A few rules have never stabilized. Major League Baseball has tinkered with the balk rule for over 100 years, and still has not come up with a rule that is clear and understandable.

While some rules were made to shape the way the game was played, in other cases the players actually played the game shaped the rules. Initially, pitchers were supposed to pitch strictly underhand, but the rule was not strictly enforced, and pitchers kept raising the angle of their arms. The rules followed until full overhand pitches were legal.

If you have ever wondered why a batter can run to first base (in some cases) if the catcher does not catch a third strike, why a runner on base has to tag up before advancing after a fly out, or “what’s the deal with the infield fly rule, anyway?”, Mr. Hershberger satisfies your curiosity, and explains how the rule originated and changed over the years.

The book is necessarily concentrated on the early years of baseball, since most rules had stabilized by the time the American League was formed in 1901.

I do have some minor grumbles about the book. The index is mostly useless, except for finding people. Most subject are not indexed, or not fully indexed. For example, “strike” is not in the index, and there is only one entry for “foul ball”. I know that a comprehensive index is extremely difficult, and I won’t downgrade the book for the index. It is annoying, though.

There were a couple of rules that I am curious about that are not covered, but it would be impossible to cover everything.*

On the positive side, the book has copious footnotes referencing the author’s sources. The footnotes are in the end section of the book, which is fine and makes the narrative more readable.

The chapters each cover only one rule or related items (i.e., catcher’s protective equipment), so it is usually possible to find what you are looking for through the Table of Contents.

My initial thought when looking at the many sources used made me think that it must have been a daunting task to even begin this book. I am grateful that Mr. Hershberger took on the task anyway.

Overall, as someone who loves baseball, but knew little about its origins and early years, I found the book fascinating and highly recommend it.

Disclosure: I do not know Mr. Hershberger personally, but I have communicated with him online a few times, not necessarily about the subject of baseball. I bought my copy of the book directly from the publisher (at a discount, but one that was available to everyone at the time).

*For example: why is a batted foul ball a strike for only the first two strikes, but if the ball is bunted foul with two strikes it is strike three?

[Steve Kuzmiak · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always thought I was the most knowledgeable person in the room when it came to 19th Century Baseball but this book opened my eyes to just how much I didn’t know. The world would like you to believe that Abner Doubleday just plopped down on a field and started playing baseball by today’s rules. Richard Hershberger diligently explains how this was an evolutionary process. I learned so much and I also learned how to put the contributions of “pioneers” in their proper perspective. I would recommend this book highly to any baseball fan or history buff. It will be next to The Glory of Their Times on my must read baseball bookshelf.

[Joshua Evan · Rating 4 out of 5]

You have to be a baseball fan to read this bc otherwise you will find it a hopeless slog. For the fans, though it’s an intricate journey that goes beyond describing the history of rules changes and focuses more on WHY the changes happened. For instance, the pitcher’s mound was developed for drainage

Mr. Hershberger keeps the chapters tight and does an excellent job of pulling interesting sources.

[Eric Berg · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very important addition to the history of baseball scholarship, but it’s a very scholarly book, as it should be. Hershberger traces the history of the early game (and a bit of the modern game) by way of the development of rules. It will stand as a landmark in the scholarship of the game. I only give it 4/5 because a popular audience may find it tedious.

[Matt Ely · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good summary of the many incremental changes that created the modern baseball rule book. It relies heavily on archived newspaper reports, so you get the added flavor of seeing how reactions and expectations around the sport have and haven’t changed over the last 150 years.

[Michael C Dreimiller · Rating 5 out of 5]

A meticulous history of how the rules of baseball ended up as they are. An excellent resource for vintage base ball players and a fascinating read for baseball fans.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting stuff for history baseball nerds like myself. Everyone else probably not so much. Now finished I say bring the DH to the National League and start that pitch clock!