The Official Rules of Baseball Illustrated by David Nemec

(The Lyons Press, 2006) 288 pages.

Don’t be put off by the name off this publication. I nearly was, when I was scanning through the spines in the baseball section of a bookshop and thought it was merely a rule guide with some extra pictures for illustration of the topics. In fact, it it wasn’t for the spine also having on it the name David Nemec (whom I recognised as an author of books on baseball history), I probably would have skipped on to the next item on the shelf. (Incidentally, for all the great books that have been written on baseball, it’s hard to find a shop in this country with a selection big enough to necessitate scanning.)

So if it’s not what I thought it was, what is it then?

Well, to use a clichée that at least is sort of applicable here, Nemec has rewritten the rule book. He’s done this by using the official rules of baseball as the structure for his book and then weaving in fascinating anecdotes and other historical nuggets to convert what is a very dry bit of reading into page-turning prose. And since many of the game’s great characters were known to push the rules to their limits from time to time, there are plenty of famous names involved in the stories.

One of the many things that the book left me with (in addition to a better understanding of the rules) is an appreciation of why some seemingly bizarre rules might exist in the first place. As an example, let’s take 7.08(i): a runner is out when, after acquiring legal possession of a base, he/she runs the bases in reverse order (I’ve added in the “/she” here, as the rule book doesn’t seem to recognize that people without a Y-chromosome can also play the game).

Surely this bizarre-sounding rule only needs to exist because there must be some potential motive on the part of the runner for doing so. The rule book’s offering for a plausible motive is not particularly satisfying: “confusing the defense or making a travesty of the game”. Fortunately, Nemec has an example that makes a lot more sense.

In the late innings of a tie-game between Detroit and Cleveland in 1908, Germany Schaefer was on first base for the Tigers, who also had a man on third. Schaefer set off for second with the hope of drawing a throw from the catcher that would enable the runner on third to come home. But the catcher held onto the ball. So Schaefer decided to “unsteal” a base, to give himself a chance to tempt the catcher once more with a dash to second. According to the anecdote, the catcher couldn’t resist on the second go, and the runner scored. And this was not the only time Schaefer is supposed to have pulled this stunt around that time.

But here is the real strength of the book. As tempting as it is to accept this story as the basis for the rule’s existence, Nemec argues that since the rule was not created until 1920 it is unlikely that the two go together. He even questions whether the Schaefer story has much substance in fact. Other similar examples in the book receive the same logical treatment from Nemec, which, for me, makes this collection of anecdotes a very valuable one. 

Some of the subjects that are covered are better known than the previous example, including the “Pine Tar Game” between the Kansas City Royals and the New York Yankees. But Nemec goes into great detail with such examples to ensure that most readers will still learn something. For instance, I was aware that George Brett of the Royals had a two-run homer erased after his bat contained too much pine tar, and that the game had to be replayed from the incident when the umpire’s decision was overturned by the league president, but I did not know a great deal about what happened when the game resumed 25 days later.

As Nemec explains, Billy Martin, the Yankees manager, instructed his team to immediately make appeals at first, second, and third base, since none of the umpiring crew had been present at day 1 of the game, and therefore none of them could have known if Brett had touched all the bases after his home run. At this point, the crew chief revealed a letter, signed by all of the crew present at day 1, stating that Brett and the runner already on base had both touched all the bags – Martin’s ploy had been anticipated and foiled. Furthermore, the Yankees were unable to mount a rally.

To sum up the book in a sentence, it melds the keen historical eye of Nemec with a fresh structure around which to present baseball anecdotes. And to return to the bookshop where this review began, I will be alert in future to not judge a book by its spine.

Have you read “The Official Rules of Baseball Illustrated”? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below. Can you recommend any other similar books? If so, let us know.