There was a time when baseball was largely a game of King of the Hill. Whoever stood tallest on the mound was all but certain to have the best team, and it was a lot easier to stand taller then, because the mound was 5 inches higher than it is today.
July 4, 1995
Now, with offensive production booming and tentative pitchers slowing the game to a crawl, Major League Baseball is close to adopting a rule change that would boost the mound closer to where it was when pitching was pre-eminent.
I think there would be an impact, said Baltimore Orioles Manager Phil Regan, who started his pitching career on a 15-inch-high mound and finished it soon after the mound was lowered to accommodate a more exciting offensive game. When they lowered it, it hurt a lot of pitchers. I remember Juan Marichal, with his high leg kick, said it made a tremendous difference. I felt it in my slider. It got flatter.
To me, it was a major change. If they change it back, it will be a major change the other way.
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It won’t be as drastic. The proposal made last month by former umpire Steve Palermo and endorsed by major-league owners June 8 calls for the mound to be raised to a height of about 12{ inches halfway between the current 10 inches and the pre-1969 level.
Still, proponents of a higher
see MOUND, page 11
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