The 1878 major league baseball season was contested from May 1 through September 30, 1878, and saw the Boston Red Caps as the pennant winner of the third season of the National League. There was no postseason.
The 1878 schedule consisted of 60 games for all six teams of the National League. Each team was scheduled to play 12 games against the other five teams in the league. This format had been in place since the previous season, and would be the final season which saw this format, due to expansion to eight teams the following season.
Opening Day took place on May 1 featuring all six teams. The final day of the season was on September 30, featuring a game between the Boston Red Caps and Providence Grays.[2]
Rule changes
The 1878 season saw the following rule changes:
The National League banned Sunday games for their teams, their home parks, and all NL players.[1]
A space was made by extending straight lines of the basepaths to the backstop to form a triangle that only the catcher, umpire, and batter were permitted to occupy.[1]
The team captain now had authority to direct a batting order during the first time through the order; this order must be maintained later in the game.[1]
The rule giving the home team privilege of batting first was reversed, reverting to captains deciding by coin flip.[1]
There were to be no timeouts except due to injury to a player or umpire, or due to rain.[1]
A batter would be declared out if it took longer than a minute to reach the plate.[1]
No substitute could run for a batter unless the player for whom he was running had been injured in that particular game. Even so, the batter had to reach first base before the substitute/pinch runner could take the batter's place. The opposing captain selected the substitute runner.[1]
To tag out a runner, a fielder must now keep hold of the baseball.[1]
The point on the body of a pitcher in which a ball had to pass while pitching was changed from below the hip to below the waist.[1]
NL teams were no longer able to play outside clubs on their home grounds before or during the season.[1]
Home Base must be comprised only of white marble or stone.[3]
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