Rules That Aren't Even Made, Let Alone, Broken

[DOUGHBOYS]

There are some rules in and about baseball that will never be enacted or followed...but maybe should be.
Here are a few rules that not only are unwritten, but never will be written....

Unless related, no fan should ever wear the jersey of another player unless that player is older than the wearer.

When finished with your schooling, that should be the time to quit bringing your glove to the ball park.

No food should ever be consumed while on camera.

If a home fan deflects a ball from a possible catch from the visiting team, without stepping on the field of play, that fan should be applauded, not removed from the game.
However, if the fan does the same to the home team, he shall be removed from the game.

If a rookie is better than his teammates at a position, he plays at the start of the season.
Not until his team weasels another year of free agency from him.

When a player is suspended, he immediately appeals.
If losing the appeal process, an extra game of suspension should be added.

Advancement on fielders indifference should not result in an earned run if the runner scores solely due to that advancement.

Intentional walks should be given to the batter with a four finger wave, not four pitches outside.

Most games scheduled Opening Week, should be in domes and cities west of the Mississippi.

Any fan waving on their phone behind home plate should be led to another seat off camera.

Any adult begging for a ball from the ball boy or a player, amidst a group of kids, shall be removed from the game.

Every stadium should have dirt leading from the catcher to pitchers mound.

The five innings needed for a starting pitcher to garner a Win, may be waved if his team is leading the game and he has given up two or fewer runs before departing.

As tv viewers, we should have the option of listening to announcers or listening to crowd sounds only.

A ball shall be awarded to the batter any time a player or coach stops play to confer with the pitcher.

[jdryan]

As tv viewers, we should have the option of listening to announcers or listening to crowd sounds only..............
I love it!!

[Edwards Kings]

The Rules of Baseball

A collection of mid-19th century documents that include handwritten notes setting down fundamental rules of baseball, were sold for over $3.2 million by a California auction house early Sunday.

SCP auctions told the Associated Press the 1857 papers called the "Laws of Base Ball" were sold to an anonymous buyer after more than two weeks of bidding.

The documents date from 1857, when representatives of 14 clubs met in New York to codify rules for the fledgling sport. As a result of the meeting, the distance between the bases was standardized at 90 feet, nine innings became the standard game length, and the minimum number of players on each team was set at nine.

The notes sold Sunday were written by Daniel Lucius "Doc" Adams, president of the New York Knickerbockers Base Ball Club. In addition to strengthening Adams' claim to be the father of the modern game, the documents also put baseball's birth date three years earlier than most historians had accepted.

According to Reuters, the documents had been in the family of William Grenelle, a Knickerbockers delegate to the rules meeting. They were sold for $12,000 to an anonymous bidder in 1999. That buyer didn't realize the significance of the documents until SCP appraised them in preparation for this month's sale.



The purchase almost fell through when the "anonymous buyer" also insisted on the recipe for Dorito Dust. When SCP informed the buyer that they did not have the recipe, the anonymous buyer went on a thirty-three minute tirade about how bad it was for a ballplayer to take a base-on-balls. After venting, the sale went through.

[DOUGHBOYS]

Awesome piece there, Wayne!
Man, would I have loved to comb through those documents.
Amazing that they got the footage and length of games correct on the first try.
Footage and length of game that has served many different generations and era's.
Incredible.

[KJ Duke]

A few more rules we need!

• A relief pitcher shall not be eligible for a win if blowing a win for the starter.
• If a pitcher exits a game with 2 outs and a runner on first base, the potential ER would be charged to the relief pitcher.
• Don Mattingly shall not make in-game decisions with respect to pitchers.

[DOUGHBOYS]

A few more rules we need!

• A relief pitcher shall not be eligible for a win if blowing a win for the starter.
• If a pitcher exits a game with 2 outs and a runner on first base, the potential ER would be charged to the relief pitcher.
• Don Mattingly shall not make in-game decisions with respect to pitchers.

Agreed on the first rule change. Underperformance should not be rewarded.

With the first two rule changes, the scorekeeper would be given more latitude. It would be tough in these days and times to allow that freedom. A scorekeeper is under a lot of pressure already from various places. Especially the home team and their players.
Scorekeepers are viewed as 'homers'. In a way, that is correct. Whether admitting it or not, most players and coaches are about the stats.
Giving the scorekeeper responsibilty outside of a set guideline may not be best in the long run.

Going back to the first change, in a scenario where Porcello throws a shutout for eight innings, then Kimbrel gives up two in the ninth, only to have the Red Sox win with two of their own in the bottom of the ninth...
I believe that an after-game decision to still award Porcello the Win would be the right thing to do.
But, it gets murky if Kimbrel allowed one unearned run and then Boston won the game.
In that case, I would probably fall back to giving Kimbrel the W.