>>157207564
Strike originally meant that the player tried to strike the ball and failed. All other outcomes were accounted for. There was no concept of a strike for a good pitch the player didn't attempt to hit. That was called a ball. Players could take dozens of pitches if they wanted and as long as they didn't try to strike the ball, no strike was called. It wasn't until decades later when teams had adopted a strategy of exhausting the pitcher with seemingly endless pitches that the strike zone was introduced for balls the player should have attempted to strike but did not.

It should have been a swing but English can be funny like that.

File: Ump Chad.mp4 (2.04 MB, 1276x720)

2.04 MB MP4

>>157207564
>>157207564
>So nobody ever noticed that not striking the ball is called a strike in baseball?
This is giving me a lot to think about