Baseball Rules & Regulations

Did you know that the official rules of the game have changed almost every single year since 1845 and that you can review the historical timeline for many of the major rules right here on Baseball Almanac?

The balk rule, baseball's least understood, has been in the rule book since the nineteenth century and Major League umpire Ron Luciano once said of it, "I never called a balk in my life. I didn't understand the rule."

The Special Records Committee of 1968 overturned many earlier rules and applied modern standards. An example was the 1887 rule where walks were counted as hits (which has since been restored). Do you agree with their decision to use twentieth century standards or should we leave the historic rules in place as they were? Share your thoughts on such matters on Baseball Fever.