Editing Baseball field (section)

==History==
{{Original research section|date=May 2012}}

=== Knickerbocker Rules ===
The basic layout of the field has been little changed since the [[Knickerbocker Rules]] of the 1840s. Those rules specified the distance from home to second as 42 "paces". The dictionary definition of a "pace" at the time was 30 inches,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://webstersdictionary1828.com/Dictionary/Pace|title = Websters Dictionary 1828 - Webster's Dictionary 1828 - Pace}}</ref> yielding base paths of approximately 75 feet; however, if a "pace" of three feet was meant then the distance would have been 89 feet. It is not implausible that the early clubs simply stepped off the distance. 30 yards (90 feet) between the bases was first explicitly prescribed by the [[NABBP]] Convention of 1857. Through trial and error, 90 feet had been settled upon as the optimal distance. 100 feet would have given too much advantage to the defense, and 80 feet too much to the offense.

The original Knickerbocker Rules did not specify the pitching distance explicitly; the 1854 Unified Rules stated "from Home to pitcher not less than fifteen paces". By the time major league baseball began in the 1870s, the pitcher was compelled to pitch from within a "box" whose front edge was {{convert|45|ft|m}} from the "point" of home plate. Although they had to release the ball before crossing the line, as with [[bowler (cricket)|bowlers]] in [[cricket]], they also had to start their delivery from within the box, meaning that they could only run for a short distance before throwing;<ref>{{Cite book |last=James |first=Bill |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3uSbqUm8hSAC&pg=PA35 |title=The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract |date=2010-05-11 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=978-1-4391-0693-8 |language=en}}</ref> they could not run in from the field as bowlers do. Furthermore, the pitcher had to throw underhand. By the 1880s, pitchers had mastered the underhand delivery—in fact, in 1880, there were two [[Perfect game (baseball)|perfect games]] within a week of each other.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.baseball-almanac.com/boxscore/06121880.shtml|title=Lee Richmond Perfect Game Box Score by Baseball Almanac|work=baseball-almanac.com|access-date=14 October 2015}}</ref>

=== Modern history ===
In an attempt to "increase the batting", the front edge of the pitcher's box was moved back 5 feet in 1881, to {{convert|50|ft|m}} from home plate. The size of the box was altered over the following few years. Pitchers were allowed to throw overhand starting in 1884, and that tilted the balance of power again. In 1887, the box was set at {{convert|4|ft|m}} wide and {{convert|5.5|ft|m}} deep, with the front edge still 50 feet from the plate. However, the pitcher was compelled to deliver the ball with their back foot at the {{convert|55.5|ft|m|adj=on}} line of the box, thus somewhat restricting their ability to "power" the ball with their overhand delivery.<ref name=Lansch>{{cite book|title=Glory Fades Away|author=Lansch, Jerry}}</ref>{{rp|96}}

In 1893, the box was replaced by the pitcher's plate, although "the box" is still used today as a slang term for the pitcher's location on the field. Exactly 5 feet was added to the point the pitcher had to toe, again "to increase the batting" (and hopefully to increase attendance, as fan interest had flagged somewhat), resulting in the seemingly peculiar pitching distance of {{convert|60.5|ft|m|2}}.<ref name=Lansch/>{{rp|230}}

Some sources suggest that the pitching distance evolved from 45 to 50 to 60.5 feet. However, the first two were the "release point" and the third is the "pushoff point." The 1893 rule change added only 5 feet to the release point, not 10.5 feet.

Originally the pitcher threw from flat ground. Gradually, the raised mound was developed, somewhat returning the advantage to the pitchers. From 1893 to 1950, a stipulation was added that the mound be no more than 15 inches above the field.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2016/03/pitchers-mound-get-introduced-baseball/|title=When and Why the Pitcher's Mound was Introduced to Baseball|date=March 21, 2016}}</ref> Before the mid-20th century, it was common for baseball fields to include a dirt pathway between the pitcher's mound and home plate. This feature is sometimes known as the "keyhole" due to the shape that it makes together with the mound. The keyhole was once as wide as the pitcher's box and resembled a [[cricket pitch]]. Sometimes this path extended through the batting area and all the way to the backstop. Once the rounded pitcher's mound was developed, the path became more ornamental than practical, and was gradually thinned before being largely abandoned by the 1950s. In recent years some ballparks, such as [[Comerica Park]] and [[Chase Field]] in the major leagues, have revived the feature for nostalgic reasons.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Why Is There a Dirt Strip Between Home Plate & the Pitcher's Mound?|url=https://www.sportsrec.com/498707-why-is-there-a-dirt-strip-between-home-plate-the-pitchers-mound.html|access-date=2020-09-08|website=SportsRec|language=en}}</ref>

From 1857 to 1867 home plate was a circular iron plate, painted or enameled white, covering "a space equal to one square foot of surface", i.e. with a diameter of ~13-1/2 inches.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://protoball.org/1857_Convention_Rules|title = 1857 Convention Rules - Protoball}}</ref> In 1868 the plate was changed to a square, 12" on a side, originally set with the flat sides toward the pitcher and catcher; the new professional [[NAPBBP|National Association]] rotated it 45 degrees in 1871.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://protoball.org/1868_NABBP_Rules|title = 1868 NABBP Rules - Protoball}}</ref> In 1872 the rules required it to be made of white marble or stone set flush with the ground.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.19cbaseball.com/field-2.html|title=Baseball History: 19th Century Baseball: The Field: Evolution of the Batter's Area|website=www.19cbaseball.com|accessdate=11 March 2023}}</ref> For the rest of the century materials varied between stone, iron and wood, but at all times it was a white twelve-inch square.<ref>James, B. New Historical Baseball Abstract.</ref> The pentagonal shape and the mandatory use of rubber were developed by [[Bob Keating|Robert Keating]], who had pitched one game for the 1887 Baltimore Orioles; the new plate was adopted by the [[National League (baseball)|National League]] in 1900. From 1861 to 1874 the center, not the back, of the plate was situated on the intersection of the foul lines, and in 1875–76 was moved entirely into foul ground with the "pitcher's point" at the intersection. In 1877 it was moved forward to its modern location, wholly in fair territory.

There were no batters' boxes before 1874. Up until that time, the batter was required to hit with their front foot on a line passing through the center of the plate.<ref>Actually, in 1857 the batter was allowed to stand anywhere behind the line, and was free to start well back and take a running swing</ref> The 1874 batters' boxes were 6 feet by 3 feet, 12 inches from the plate; the modern dimensions (6' x 4') were instituted in 1885 by the National League and the following year by the [[American Association (19th century)|American Association]]