Expert: Tom Schott - 5/7/2009

Question
According to Jonathan Fraser Light in his book, The Cultural Encyclopedia of Baseball, pitching mounds were in use well before the start of the 20th century. Groundskeepers had begun to start building infields with crowns on them for drainage purposes, and pitchers recognized the advantage of pitching from atop the crown. The height of these crowns, or mounds, varied greatly. Estimates suggest some mounds were 4 inches high and others as much as 20 Inches high.

Is there any factual evidence that pitching mounds were 20 inches high?  I know a lot of this is speculation, but there are known teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers who emphasized pitching and reputed to have mounds as high as 20 inches.  Is there any evidence to back these claims up?  

Answer
Hi Anthony,

 I cannot pinpoint a precise instance where a mound was 20 inches high, but given the propensities of teams to get every advantage they could, it is not unlikely. Until 1950, the rules specified that the pitchers mound could be no more than 15 inches high. In 1950, 15 inches was specified as the standard height for MLB.

 But both before and after this time, groundskeepers for teams would tailor the height of the mound to assist the home team pitchers. And there is evidence for this. For example, the Senators would lower the mound for Walter Johnson's sidearm heater. The Indians would build a "mountain top" for Bob Feller, according to Bill Veeck. The Yankees would flatten the mound out for Bob Turley.

 In 1969, after a great year for pitchers, the mound was lowered to its now standard height of 10 inches. And shenanigans with the height are just about gone because MLB measures mounds regularly to ensure compliance.

Peter Morris, =A Game of Inches: The Stories Behind the Innovations that Shaped Baseball: The Game on the Field=, 2006, pp. 482-83.