The Massachusetts Game - Rules

Rules

The form of the Massachusetts Game best known today comes from a set of rules drawn up in 1858 by the Massachusetts Association of Base Ball Players at Dedham. . Although it was recognizably a type of baseball, some features of the Massachusetts Game are very different from modern baseball:

  • The playing field had four bases, 60 feet apart. The fourth base was still called Home, but the "striker" stood mid-way between fourth and first base.
  • Fielders were allowed to put a runner out by hitting him with a thrown ball - a practice called "soaking" or "plugging".
  • There was no foul territory, and baserunners were not required to stay within the baselines.

Two "modern" features of the Massachusetts Game were not present in New York-style rules drawn up the same year by National Association of Base Ball Players .

  • "The Ball must be thrown - not pitched or tossed..." In the jargon of the times, throwing meant delivering the ball overhand. The NABBP rules state "The ball must be pitched, not jerked nor thrown", meaning delivered underhand. Major League baseball did not allow overhand pitching for another 25 years.
  • "The ball must be caught flying in all cases." Under New York rules, a catch on one bounce was still allowed.

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