9-inning rule established

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - A convention of "Base Ball" organizations met in New York on this date in 1857 and established that the game would consist of nine innings. This clarified a rule set down in 1845 by the same club that the first team to score 21 "aces" (runs) was the winner, though each team was to have an equal number of at bats.

Other rules established at that convention were:
• A team would consist of nine players
• The distance between the bases would be 30 yards (90 feet)
• The pitching distance would be 45 feet from home base
• Five innings would determine a complete game

All the above changes remain in place to this day, except the pitching distance which was later codified at 60-feet, 6-inches. A number of rules appeared and evolved over the years, such as the infield fly rule, what consitituted a foul ball and whether it counted as a strike.

How many strikes for a "strike out" and how many "balls" for a walk varied from time to time before settling on 3 strikes and 4 balls in the late 1800s. At one time a batter wasn't awarded first base until 9 balls were called.

Contributing Sources:

Baseball in the Garden of Eden: The Secret History of the Early Game, by John Thorn, Simon & Schuster, 2011
1845 Knickerbocker Rules
Rule changes: Baseball-Almanac
19th Century Baseball
Baseball before we knew it, by David Block, 2005

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