Bisbee daily review., 1920-02-20

meetings III CnlcaSO or the rules com mittee of the National and American leagues. Chief among the rules was those relating to the home run, the intentional pass, the balk the dead ball" and legislation regarding the freak deliveries of' pitchers.
 In all 19 rules were amended and one added.
 The addition to the rules deals with the intentional pass, which declares it to be illegal for the catcher to step from his box to aid the pitcher in pitching wide to the batsman. This rule as amended and adopted by the rules committee says:
 ''It shall be illegal for the catcher to leave his natural position imme diately and directly back of the plate for the purpose of aiding the pitcher to Intentionally give base on balls to the batsman. If the catcher shall move out of position prior to the time the ball leavoE the pitchers hand all runners who may be on bases shall be entitled to advance one base"
 The rule covering the home run says that when a player knocks the ball into the stands or the crowds Ou ldlI SIOuuu Ie SHdll De gwen credit for home run if he completes the circuit and all runners shall score ahead of him. In passing this rule, the committee argued it would increase the number of home runs a season and also work to the bat ter's advantage. The rule as amend ed says:
 Provided that if batsman in the h01 of Af game. hits a home run over the fence or into the stand, all runners on the bases at the time. as we'll as the batSman, shall be entitled to score and, in such event the final score of the game, shall be the total number of runs made"
 Tn explaining this rule, President Heydler, of the National league, said:
 ''If the score should be nothing to nothing in the final half of the ninth inning and the bases were all occu- pied. and the batsman knocked a ball into the stand. all runners would score and the final score would be four to nothing"
 The amendment with the "balk" reads:
 Any motion to pitch while stand. ing in his position without having the ball in his possession; or regard less of whether he makes any motion to pitch or not, if the pitcher takes a legal position on the rubber with out the ball in his possession, or if he takes a pitching position off the rub Der and feints to deliver the ball to the bat. it shall be called a 'balk.'
 Several additions are also added to this rule. one of which declared that the ball shall be declared a dead" ball and no play can be made until the runner or runners reach the base or bases they are entitled to.
 In dealing with the dead ball, the code was amended to read:
 '1. A dead ball is a ball delivered to the bat by the pitcher not struck at by the batsman, that touches any part of the batsman's person or cloth ing while he is standing in his posi- tion, or (2) wildly pitched ball which the batsman plainly makes an at tempt to dodge to avoid being hit but which ball accidently hits his bat"
 The fight on the freak deliveries oc- cupied the greater part of the meet ing. The board of directors of thcl American league adopted rule which limits such deliveries from the league after the season of 1920
 When the rules committee took up this rule, the National league mem bers declared they thought some clubs would have more than two spit-ball pitchers, the number passed upon by the American league Final. ly. it was agreed to amend the rule as follows:
 At no time during the progress of the game shall the pitcher be allowed to (n apply a foreign substance of any kind to the ball; (2) expectorate either on the ball or his glove; (3) to rub the ball on his glove, person or clothing, or (4) to deface the ball in any manner or to deliver what is called the shine ball, spit ball. mud ball or emery ball. For violation of this rule the pitcher shall be or dered from the game, and be barred from participation in any champion ship contest for a period of 10 days"
 In adopting the foregoing rule against freak deliveries it was under stood and agreed that all bona-fide spit-ball pitchers listed by the club owners and presented to the heads of the two major leagues prior to the starting of the season, should have only the season of 1920 to use the so- called delivery, after which it will not be permitted in the leagues.
 Realizing the importance of recruit, ing ball players for the big leagues one of those present presented the argument of a smaller diamond for boys under Is years of age. His g AL. that boys today attempt to play the national game on the regulation dia- mond and as a result it is impossible to develop
 The committee adopted a rule estab.