Wild Cards
SOME OF THE EARLIEST AND WACKIEST BASEBALL INVENTIONS NEVER MADE IT TO FIRST BASE
DRAWING BOARD
Some ideas were especially forward-thinking. A 1913 patent proposed an “amusement apparatus,” which showed a baseball diamond on a board that used stick figures, bells and flashing lights to allow fans in one city to follow a game from afar, using the telegraph for updates. Though the apparatus wasn’t widely available, this display represented a forerunner to real-time game updates on sports websites.
BELLS AND WHISTLES
How to determine exactly when a runner reaches a base? An 1875 patent suggests an elegant solution: A base should have a bell inside of it—or perhaps “a sounding whistle, electrical connection or any other suitable enunciating device”—to help the umpire decide if a runner was safe or not. In a similar eort at eliminating human error, an 1888 patent sought to help umpires keep track of balls and strikes with a handheld device that allowed them to slide buttons along a wire with each pitch.
CURVE...BAT?
Bats have largely stayed the same since the late 19th century. But there have been several colorful attempts to modify the instrument: One 1890 patent proposed curving the barrels of bats, which the inventor thought would ramp up the spin of a ball and make it harder to catch. A 1904 patent, meanwhile, suggested notching small grooves in the bat’s barrel, meant to lower the odds of hitting foul balls.
CATCHER’S BOX
Maybe the most innovative idea in the sport’s history was a 1904 patent intended to provide catchers with an additional layer of defense. The proposed invention would have trapped balls in a cushioned, chest-mounted wire cage and passed them gently to a catcher’s waiting hands.