The changes made by the committee of 1894, in several instances did not improve the game at all. The amendment made to the bat rule, which removed the restrictions as to size, was absurd. The League did well to throw it out. The gain in the diameter of the bat, though small, will have its effect on the batting. A quarter of an inch is not much, but it will tell. The abolition of the "mitt," except for catchers and first basemen, was a good move, as was the introduction of a penalty for the failure of umpires to prevent "kicking." One change introduces a new experiment, and that is the call of a strike on every foul tip caught on the fly. The calls of strikes will be more numerous than ever, viz., the regular strikes, the strikes on foul bunts and on foul tips.
As to the change made in the pitcher's plate, nothing was gained by it. The pitcher will still violate the rule requiring him to have his foot in contact with the rubber plate, as he did last year. He cannot get a firm foothold by placing his foot on the rubber. What was wanted was a hollow, oblong square, 12x36 inches, in which the pitcher could have obtained a good, firm foothold within the box, and not as now, outside of it, as he now has to, to secure a good standpoint for his pivot foot outside of the box.
Not a single change was made in the badly-worded scoring rules, and in consequence the same old premium for record batting is offered to every "fungo" hitter in the ranks. Each member of the committee still walks in the same old rut in this respect.
One of the best changes was the following: Rule 59 reads now so that players using "vulgar, indecent, or other improper language" shall be fined $25 and $100, instead of $5 and $25. In Rule 59, Section 4 was stricken out and the following substituted: "Upon notification from an umpire that a fine has been imposed upon any manager, captain or player, the secretary shall forthwith notify the person so fined, and also the club of which he is a member, and in the event of the failure of the person so fined to pay the amount within five days, he shall be debarred from participating in any championship game until such fine is paid."
The committee still retained that problem in mathematics contained in the first rule, a description of how to lay out a field which would puzzle a Yale quarterback.
The change made in Rule 45, Section 1, is a good one. Only the batsman who has failed to bat in his proper turn can be declared out, not those who have batted out of turn in consequence of the former's error.
It will now cost a kicker $25 at least, for indulging in his "hustling" tactics.
That was a much-needed resolution adopted by the League forbidding any club from paying a single fine inflicted on a player.