On December 12 , 1930 – – The Rules Committee of baseball issues a greatly revised code, reducing the number of rules by combining many. Not only is the sacrifice rule abolished but also the rule awarding a home runs when the ball bounces into the stands. “Bounce homers” will now be doubles. This had already been in effect in the American League but not the National League.
Hitters will now be charged with official at-bats when they advance runners with sac flies.
Estimating that major leaguers who played in the era prior to the rule change hit about two homers a year that bounced over the wall, Babe Ruth’s career total would have been reduced by about 22 round-trippers.
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