Flat bats, spitballs, and a ban on licorice: 10 of the weirdest rules in baseball history

A baseball game from 1929.

The New York Historical/Getty Images

• Dating back to the mid-19th century, baseball has seen a long history of rule changes.
• Odd conventions included games being played to 21 runs and batters choosing the height of pitches.
• Even in the modern MLB, there are still weird rules on the books that will likely never be enforced.

Although "Three strikes, you're out!" is perhaps the most basic rule in baseball, the fundamentals of the great...