Fridge Brilliance
- In 1888, the rules for strikes and balls were still relatively fresh. As outlined in this article
, in the oldest rule sets, batters could "choose" their pitches — no swing, no penalty, but a swing without making contact was a strike. Called strikes didn't really become a thing until 1858, when a rule was implemented saying that an umpire could "warn" the batter if they let too many good pitches go past them, then call three strikes after that. This was done away with in 1887, the year before the poem, when the "warning strike" was done away with and batters could no longer choose their pitches. So Casey's prideful refusal to swing on the first two strikes, while still making sense from a modern perspective on baseball gameplay, could serve as almost as a prideful rebuke of the then-recent rule changes.
