Editing Baseball rules (section)

===Early era (pre-1901)===
{{See also|Origins of baseball}}
Many of the modern rules of baseball originated with the so-called [[Knickerbocker Rules|"New York game"]] played by amateur urban clubs of the 1840s and 1850s. These rules were first published in 1848 by [[Alexander Cartwright]], often credited as "the father of baseball", though they were actually written by [[William R. Wheaton]] and [[William H. Tucker (baseball)|William H. Tucker]], of the [[Knickerbocker Base Ball Club of New York|New York Knickerbockers]] club.<ref>{{cite news |first=John |last=Thorn |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/13/sports/baseball/13thorn.html |title=Debate Over Baseball's Origins Spills Into Another Century |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=March 13, 2011}}</ref>

In 1857, under the [[National Association of Base Ball Players]] (NABBP) Rules which governed until 1870, the 9-[[inning]] format was adopted, replacing the previous rule that the first team to score 21 runs won. The next year, called strikes were recognized, and a batter was out if a ball, fair or foul, was caught on the fly or after one bounce. Called balls and the walk were introduced in 1863. In 1867, the batter had the right to call for a high or low pitch, to be determined by the umpire.

The [[National League (baseball)|National League]] formed in 1876. Its rules changed almost yearly for the next quarter century. In 1880, a batter was out if the catcher caught the third strike; otherwise, the batter got four strikes. Before 1883, pitchers were required to deliver pitches with their hand below their hips; in that year, the rule was changed to allow shoulder-high deliveries. Until 1887, batters could call for either a high or low pitch, and the strike zone was either above or below the waist. In 1885, the rules changed, to allow bats to be flat on one side; beginning in 1893, they had to be round. In 1887, the rules changed so that batters could no longer call for a pitch; and the strike zone was defined as from the shoulders to the knees. During this period, the pitcher's mound was much closer to home plate, foul balls were not counted as strikes, batters got four strikes, and the number of "called balls" resulting in a walk—which initially included strikes and foul balls- went from 9 to 8 to 7 to 6 to 5 and, in 1889, to 4. In that same year, the number of strikes went from 4 to 3. In 1887, a rule was adopted for that year counting only walks as hits, which played havoc with statistics. In 1892, the 154 game schedule was adopted. In 1893, the pitching position was changed from behind a line 50 feet from home plate to contact with a rubber slab 60.5 feet away. In 1894, foul bunts were made strikes, and the [[infield fly rule]] was adopted with one out. In 1895, foul tips were made strikes, but not foul balls. In 1898, the first modern balk rule was adopted, as well as the rule for recognizing stolen bases. In 1901, the infield fly rule was extended to apply when there were no outs.