Ground rule double considered a home run until 1930 season

[polosprt009]

While having a conversation about Baroid Bonds and Babe Ruth, a buddy of mine pointed out to me that the ground rule double used to be considered a home run until the 1930 season. This had me thinking, how many of Babe Ruth's home runs were from a ground rule double? This might have played a small factor in how Ruth got 714 home runs, but definitely doesn't take away from his overall greatness.

 

To read more on this, refer to question four in the latest Cubs mailbag

 

http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060515&content_id=1454876&vkey=news_chc&fext=.jsp&c_id=chc

 

Fair balls that bounced over or through the fence were considered home runs through the 1930 season. The Cubs benefited from 36 such home runs while surrendering 33 bounce home runs. The idea of a ball bouncing through the fence may seem strange today, but it wasn't that uncommon 75 years ago when many parks had wire fences.

[Diffusion]

Automatic double.

 

Grrrr..

[cubweiser03]

Why doesnt the Muskat say what time period these 36 bounce home runs for the Cubs occured. Is that one year , 5 years, 10, 20. That would help on how common they were.

 

She points out this too....

"Also, into the 1920s, a player may not have been credited with a home run if, when hitting a walk-off, the winning run was someone other than the batter who hit the ball. The batter would only be credited with the number of bases required for the winning run to score. So, if there was a runner on third in the bottom of the ninth in a tie game, a batter hitting the ball over the fence would have been credited with a single."

 

So Ruth could be robbed a couple homers. OR maybe all this is moot because the stat dudes have already figured this in the #s.

[Derwood]

Ruth also played in an ERA with sone HUGE ballparks. The polo grounds was 480 ft. to center. the original Yankee Stadium configuration was something like 470 to left center.

[Lefty]

"Also, into the 1920s, a player may not have been credited with a home run if, when hitting a walk-off, the winning run was someone other than the batter who hit the ball. The batter would only be credited with the number of bases required for the winning run to score. So, if there was a runner on third in the bottom of the ninth in a tie game, a batter hitting the ball over the fence would have been credited with a single."

 

So Ruth could be robbed a couple homers. OR maybe all this is moot because the stat dudes have already figured this in the #s.

 

It is commonly known that Ruth "lost" one HR because of the "walk-off" rule. It is not counted in his 714 because that was the rule at the time. I can't believe I used my one-thousandth post on this, no offense.

[rocket]

Ruth also played in an ERA with sone HUGE ballparks. The polo grounds was 480 ft. to center. the original Yankee Stadium configuration was something like 470 to left center.

 

What about down the lines? Wasn't it less than 300 feet?

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Ruth also played in an ERA with sone HUGE ballparks. The polo grounds was 480 ft. to center. the original Yankee Stadium configuration was something like 470 to left center.

 

What about down the lines? Wasn't it less than 300 feet?

 

Yes.

 

Link

 

Dimensions: 277-L, 455-C, 258-R (original); 279-L, 475-C, 257-R (final)

 

http://www.ballparksofbaseball.com/past/PoloGroundsInside.jpg

[BigbadB]

Wow. Ridiculous dimensions.

[rocket]

Wow. Ridiculous dimensions.

 

but a lot of fun to play in in mvp baseball.

[jjgman21]

Ruth also played in an ERA with sone HUGE ballparks. The polo grounds was 480 ft. to center. the original Yankee Stadium configuration was something like 470 to left center.

 

What about down the lines? Wasn't it less than 300 feet?

 

I got a coffee table book about all the old timey (and new timey) baseball parks a couple years ago. many parks back then were very spacious in the power alleys. most were about equal to center as modern parks, and nearly all of them allowed very cheap homeruns down the lines. my guess is the dimensions of the ball parks had very little effect on homerun totals when comparing eras, but that might change with Colorado, AZ, Houston, Cincy and Philly coming along and all of them becoming the friendliest places to hit in baseball, with only SD's new park offsetting it.

 

 

but the 'house the Ruth built' was just as much the 'house built for Ruth.'

[BigbadB]

but the 'house the Ruth built' was just as much the 'house built for Ruth.'

 

At least as long as your a dead pull hitter.

 

No pun intended.

[Chocolate Milk]

On the Dan Patrick Show, Kieth Olberman mentioned that in the old timey days, a homer was judged foul based on where it landed. He said that if the ball flew inside the foul pole but was hooking foul, it would be considered a foul ball or something to that effect. I was only half listening as I was doing some paperwork, but he claimed that this cost Ruth many homeruns. Anyone have info on this? Edited May 18, 2006 by Chocolate Milk

[Ding Dong Johnson]

http://www.BabeRuthActuallyHit914.com

 

Somebody buy it, it's worth billions someday.

[hardcorecubfan]

where does that leave conseco's off the head shot then?

Still a homerun in 1928, I guess

[soccer10k]

Wow. Ridiculous dimensions.

 

but a lot of fun to play in in mvp baseball.

 

Agreed. I beat one of my friends 1-0 in the fifteenth inning by hitting a walk off inside the park home run in the Polo Grounds. It was awesome and he wasn't too pleased.

[soccer10k]

where does that leave conseco's off the head shot then?

Still a homerun in 1928, I guess

 

Wasn't that ruled a homerun anyway?

[bhogg]

4 base error?