Today in baseball: Sac fly rule implemented
Today, 111 years ago, MLB introduced the sacrifice fly rule. It would take some attempts before the rule was reinstated for good.
In 1908 MLB introduced the sac fly rule. But after 23 years the rule was abolished again only to be reintroduced in 1939. This stay was rather short as the rule was cut again in 1940. But eventually, in 1954 the rule returned to baseball for good.
The following players have hit the most sac flies during their career:
1. Eddie Murray (128)
2. Cal Ripken, Jr. (127)
3. Robin Yount (123)
4. Hank Aaron (121)
4. Frank Thomas (121)
6. George Brett (120)
6. Rubén Sierra (120)
8. Rafael Palmeiro (119)
8. Daniel “Rusty” Staub (119)
10. Andre Dawson (118)
11. Don Baylor (115)
Since the introduction in 1908, only one World Series was won on a sac fly. In 1912, Larry Gardner of the Boston Red Sox hit a fly ball off the New York Giants’ Christy Mathewson. Steve Yerkes tagged up and scored from third base to win game 8 (!) in the tenth inning and take the series for the Red Sox.
The rule itself had several shapes since its introduction. In 1908, the rule instituted in that year credited a batter with a sacrifice fly if a baserunner scored after the catch. A batter was not charged with a time at bat, but his sacrifice bunts and sacrifice flies were not separated in the official statistics. In 1926, when the rule was still in place, it was adapted to a more modest version. The basic provision was that any players who hit fly balls advancing runners to second and third were credited with sacrifices; no time at bat was charged for a sacrifice.
When the rule was cut in 1931, they used the following argument for it: A sacrifice
meant something more than swinging for a home run and knocking a fly long enough to permit a runner to score from third. The batter undoubtedly might mean to bat the long fly, but he would not decline a home run if he could get one, and batting home runs
hardly comes under the category of sacrifices.
The reason to reinstall the rule again in 1954 was the following: There is no adequate reason why a batter who drives in a run with a long fly that sends a fielder back to the wall should be charged with a time at bat, while another who dumps a dinky bunt into the infield to score a runner should have the time at bat eliminated.