History of baseball in the United States

Part of the History of baseball series.

Pitching dominance and rules changes

By the late 1960s, the balance between pitching and hitting had swung in favor of the pitchers. In 1968 Carl Yastrzemski won the American League batting title with an average of just .301, the lowest in history. That same year, Detroit Tigers pitcher Denny McLain won 31 games — making him the last pitcher to win 30 games in a season. St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Bob Gibson achieved an equally remarkable feat by allowing an ERA of just 1.12.

Related Topics:
1960s - 1968 - Carl Yastrzemski - Detroit Tigers - Denny McLain - St. Louis Cardinals - Bob Gibson

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In response to these events, major league baseball implemented certain rules changes in 1969 to benefit the batters. The pitcher's mound was lowered, and the strike zone was reduced.

Related Topics:
1969 - Strike zone

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1973 the American League, which had been suffering from much lower attendance than the National League, made a move to increase scoring even further by initiating the designated hitter rule.

Related Topics:
1973 - Designated hitter

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~