ground rule double=home run?

Bill Hogan

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Feb 20, 1991, 7:05:45 PM2/20/91

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Was there ever a time when what is now a ground rule double
(ball bounces into outfield stands) was considered a home
run? If so, when did the rule change take place?

Steve

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Feb 20, 1991, 9:11:05 PM2/20/91

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I read a story about a ball bouncing over the fence for a homerun in Brooklyn
in the early part of the century, so the answer to your first question is yes.
I don't know about the second question. Is that even a league rule, or have
all the teams adopted it as a house rule?

SfH

Ken Winkler

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Feb 21, 1991, 2:11:02 PM2/21/91

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Jon Miller pointed out that "ground rule double" is a misnomer. According to
him, it has nothing to do with the "grounds" the game is played on, but is
an actual rule in the book, and should therefore be called an automatic double.
Anyone out there have a rulebook to check and see if this announcer knows
what he's talking about?

----Ken

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* "It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood!" ---FR * Television *
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Scott Barman

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Feb 21, 1991, 2:37:40 PM2/21/91

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In article <1991Feb21....@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu> w...@uihepa.hep.uiuc.edu writes:

Ahh... the Babe Ruth rule! Any ball going over the wall, on a fly or a
bounce, was considered a home run. I remember the "legend" but I don't
remember the year. I think it was changed in 1926. The story goes like
this:

Babe Ruth, who never bounced on over the wall for a home run, bounced
one in an exhibition game. When he did that he stop at second and
refused to go any further saying that if the ball bounces, it should
only be half a home run (or a double). It apparently caught on and the
rule was changed before the season.

The book I read this gave some indication that it was stretching the
truth a bit but the story was fun!

--
scott barman | There comes a time in everyone's existance
sc...@nbc1.ge.com | when actions speak louder than words.
(This does not represent any | Just make sure your actions are louder
opinions of NBC or affiliates) | than the next guy's! - Anonymous

David Henry Willis

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Feb 22, 1991, 4:18:28 PM2/22/91

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>
> Was there ever a time when what is now a ground rule double
> (ball bounces into outfield stands) was considered a home
> run? If so, when did the rule change take place?

There definitely was. In fact, I think it was park dependent (as ground
rules usually are) and I know the rule was in effect at Yankee Stadium
in 1927. None of Ruth's 60 bounced in though, just in case somebody
gets carried away.

Dave Willis
Carnegie Mellon University

Barry Mednick

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Feb 25, 1991, 2:05:24 PM2/25/91

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A ball that bounced over the fence was a home run until 1931, when the
current rule was passed.
One exception: In 1926, the rule was modified to state that a ball that
goes out of play in fair territory is a home run if it travels 250 feet,
and a double if it travels less than 250 feet. The only major league
park that could have been affected by this rule between 1926 and 1931
was in Cleveland (the old park, now demolished, not the current Indians
park), where overflow crowds standing in the outfield could reduce the
right field line to 240 feet.
Accommodating excess spectators by allowing them to stand on the field
was a common practice back then.

Tom White

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Feb 28, 1991, 9:35:57 AM2/28/91

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Back in the Olde Days, a game-ending homer was only counted as however
long a hit it took to drive across the winning run. Thus, a tie game with
a man on second would officially end with a double, even if it landed
575 feet away. Ruth was robbed of at least one home run this way, but I
don't know which years, exactly, this rule stood.
>

--
Tom White Fab 10 Engineering
Advanced Micro Devices Austin, TX
"On Earth, As It Is In Austin."

Michael Zimmers

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Mar 1, 1991, 2:30:14 PM3/1/91

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In article <1991Feb28....@dvorak.amd.com> twh...@mozart.amd.com (Tom White) writes:

>>>There definitely was. In fact, I think it was park dependent (as ground
>>>rules usually are) and I know the rule was in effect at Yankee Stadium
>>>in 1927. None of Ruth's 60 bounced in though, just in case somebody
>>>gets carried away.

Some time back, a couple of radio announcers were talking about the
old rule. I thought they said that *any* form of what is now a ground
rule double went for a HR back then. So, if the ball got stuck in the
fence, or ricocheted into a gutter, or whatever, the batter kept on
running...