44 years later...

[Rich]

I was watching MLB Network's showing of the 1965 WS Game 7, where Koufax threw a complete game shutout on 2 days' rest.

Most of the differences between then and now were mechanical, like the funny way umpires called outs and safes and how U2 was always outside the diamond. And of course, the plate guy was from the AL and wore a balloon and all the umpires wore coats and ties. And U1 always called plays on the run and was really, really close at first base.

The one difference in how the game was played/called that struck me was the handling of the check swing. It appears that back then the criteria for a swing was "if the plate umpire thought he swung" and the guy on the plate last night used "if he didn't go all the way around, it wasn't a swing."

One batter, on two consecutive pitches, offered (2009 interpretation) and the plate guy called the pitches balls. No complaining, no gestures, no nothing. Koufax simply got the ball back and prepared to throw his next pitch. Which, in that game, was 90% likely to be a fastball that he blew past everyone.

Oh, and Vin Scully was on the game, and he was just as good then as he is now, 44 years later.

[PeteBooth]

Rich did you notice anything different about the zone back then vs. today's zone? In watching games from years past it seems as though they called a higher strike and also below the knee as compared to today.

Pete Booth

[Kevin Finnerty]

That series permanently hooked me on the game and introduced me to two of my lifelong baseball heroes, Harmon Killebrew and Don Drysdale.

[greymule]

It is indeed interesting to see how the game differed years ago. It seems that back before the 1970s the umps considered a checked swing to be anything other than an obvious, all-the-way-around cut. From the 1965 series, also note that the top of the zone was several inches higher. What was rightly or wrongly called "the letters" was a strike, and a fastball there from Koufax was practically impossible to hit.

Some people claim the last strike to Mickey Owen in Larsen's perfect game (1956) was high, but stop motion clearly shows that he offered anyway (at least by today's standards). From the 1959 series, I captured a stop-frame of Jim Landis obviously offering on a 3-2 pitch and then bringing the bat back. But again, ball 4 without a peep from the defense.

The umps also called strikes as quickly as possible, as if the goal was to get the arm in the air before the pitch hit the mitt. Immediate out calls, too, with a lot of reversals on dropped balls.

From the "old" days you will also see runners 10 feet out of the baseline throwing body blocks on infielders to break up double plays. From the 1940s, you see infielders throwing their gloves onto the outfield grass after the third out, too. And sometimes the catchers are practically standing straight up as the pitch is delivered, moving down only after the pitch is on the way.

And well into the 1960s the first-base ump often squeezed in between the coach and the bag, as if the best spot from which to call plays at 1B was two feet from F3.

[Rich]

Originally Posted by PeteBooth

Rich did you notice anything different about the zone back then vs. today's zone? In watching games from years past it seems as though they called a higher strike and also below the knee as compared to today.

Pete Booth

The zone was higher, just as low, and certainly a nice big corner on the outside. What I noticed mainly, was that everyone swung at the high fastball. Otherwise they'd be taking a strike.

Pitching and umpiring are different. High pitches are considered mistakes (by everyone) and timing, angle, and distance seem to be things that only started to be taught with the advent of the modern umpire schools, although the Denkinger missed call looked a lot like how every call was made at first in this series.

The plate guy was Ed Hurley, working his final game in the big leagues. He came up in 1947 and appeared on What's My Line during the 1953 World Series. He was also the plate guy when the midget Eddie Goedel batter for Bill Veeck and the St. Louis Browns.

[SanDiegoSteve]

Originally Posted by greymule

And well into the 1960s the first-base ump often squeezed in between the coach and the bag, as if the best spot from which to call plays at 1B was two feet from F3.

Even today, coaches believe that the best angle to call the play at 1st base is from either coaching box.

[grunewar]

Are you guys telling me that in a previous era, a pitch that doesn't go belt high, right down the heart of the plate in an imaginary box that's maybe 3" x 3" is actually called a strike? Shocked I tell ya! Shocked I am!

[mbyron]

Originally Posted by Kevin Finnerty

That series permanently hooked me on the game and introduced me to two of my lifelong baseball heroes, Harmon Killebrew and Don Drysdale.

Trivia alert!

The MLB logo features the profile of Harmon Killebrew.

[mbyron]

Originally Posted by SanDiegoSteve

Even today, coaches believe that the best angle to call the play at 1st base is from either coaching box.

Given my experience last night, apparently that's true of 2nd base as well.

[Rich]

Originally Posted by mbyron

Trivia alert!

The MLB logo features the profile of Harmon Killebrew.

That's a myth. The logo was designed in the 60's by Jerry Dior and nobody has ever specifically been identified by MLB or Dior as a model.

Dior claims he had no model and the silhouette was of no one in particular. Look here:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122453063968851133.html

The NBA silhouette logo was created to look like this one and that one was modeled after a player -- Jerry West.

[mbyron]

Originally Posted by RichMSN

Dior claims he had no model and the silhouette was of no one in particular. Look here:

Sure he's going to say that. If he didn't, Killebrew's heirs would be suing for a cut.

[Rich]

Originally Posted by mbyron

Sure he's going to say that. If he didn't, Killebrew's heirs would be suing for a cut.

A cut of what? MLB hasn't even acknowledged he did the art work. (Maybe they have by now.)

[Ump Rube]

If you are looking for an interesting read on the subject of the MLB logo, one of the Page 2 writers for ESPN.com did a peice on it here: Uni Watch: Intelligent design - ESPN Page 2

It is part of column he writes called Uni-Watch. It is rather interesting, and fun to read. Here is also a column on Ump Unis: ESPN.com: Page 2 : Uni eye for the ump guy

[SanDiegoSteve]

Originally Posted by Ump Rube

Here is also a column on Ump Unis: ESPN.com: Page 2 : Uni eye for the ump guy

1970: The NL establishes the first umpire uniform numbers, which are worn on right jacket and shirt sleeves. The AL soon does the same. Thirty-five years later, not a single baseball fan can name a single ump by number.

Hmmm....I guess he never met the folks on this forum.

[Kevin Finnerty]

Originally Posted by RichMSN

That's a myth. The logo was designed in the 60's by Jerry Dior and nobody has ever specifically been identified by MLB or Dior as a model.

Dior claims he had no model and the silhouette was of no one in particular. Look here:

The Man Behind the MLB Logo - WSJ.com

The NBA silhouette logo was created to look like this one and that one was modeled after a player -- Jerry West.

It's funny how easily some are led to believe what they believe.