Strike Four: The Evolution of Baseball by Richard Hershberger

Abstract

Reviewed by: Strike Four: The Evolution of Baseball by Richard Hershberger Lindsay John Bell Richard Hershberger. Strike Four: The Evolution of Baseball. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2019. 320 pp. Cloth, $38.00. Why are players allowed to overrun first base and no other bases? Why are teams allotted three outs per their half inning? Why did the National League once have the power to fire umpires? In Strike Four: The Evolution of Baseball, Richard Hershberger addresses the answers to these questions—and many more—as he explores the transformation of baseball rules from the early years of amateur play to today's professional game. His work attempts to recreate the possible questions and conversations that led to the modifications to America's Pastime. Hershberger offers a comprehensive examination of rule changes over the years, but the extent of his analysis is limited by his insular approach to the topic. Strike Four posits that any change to how people played baseball can be traced to one—or a combination—of three reasons: a desire to shorten the length of the game; increasing or decreasing the number of runs scored in a game; and aiding the umpires in performing their duties. The book's implicit argument is the contention that baseball's only constant has been change. Hershberger asserts that the evolution of the rules were small and effective tweaks that did not radically alter the play of the game at the time of the change, producing a perception by many today that baseball has never really changed at all. He arranges the chapters chronologically to reveal how slow and steady adjustments to one particular part of the game over several decades completely transformed it without creating a massive disruption to playing the sport at any point along the way. His chapters dealing with pitching illustrate this point. The sport always used a pitcher to put the ball in play, but the act of throwing the ball to a batter underwent multiple modifications that make the modern delivery nearly unrecognizable in comparison to the game's early years. The most fascinating parts of Strike Four are the anecdotes and random facts related to particular phases in the sport's history, which offer compelling stories about the rules. Hershberger discusses the meaning of "knocking a pitcher out of the box." He mentions that people's desire to play baseball on the ice in the winter contributed to a rule that allowed a baserunner to overrun first base. He also adds an intriguing point about the expansion of the umpires' jurisdiction of the strike zone by noting that the first recorded instance of a player arguing balls and strikes occurred in 1866. Accounts like these are what make Strike Four an entertaining read. Hershberger states that his work is important in-part because, "Surprisingly [End Page 127] little attention has been devoted to the evolution of the rules" (285). His assertion is correct because there is not an abundance of books devoted exclusively to baseball rules. However, his statement also reveals the main weakness of Strike Four. Baseball—and the various changes to the game's rules—did not occur in a vacuum. They are the product of economic, political, and/or cultural forces from which sports cannot be separated. He states, "Rules are changed to counter perceived problems" (269), yet perceived problems extend beyond the play on the field. The closest Hershberger comes to accounting for cultural influences on the sport comes in chapter 19 with his look at blue laws. He details that in 1931 Pennsylvania was the last state to abolish a law that prohibited Sunday baseball. At times, Hershberger appears preoccupied with the ball diamond to the point he neglects certain influential events in American history that could offer a more persuasive conclusion for certain rule changes. Divorcing his analysis of the developments in the game from the broader history of the United States removes eras like the Gilded Age. His work does not consider the effect of unbridled capitalism on all types of businesses, including baseball. Owners had interest in growing profits, which affected the game's rules at times. There are also pages with lengthy block quotes...