Some of the notable 1880s rules in place this weekend during the Vintage Baseball World Series in Santa Clara. More information at

BASE ON BALLS. 7 balls = a walk.

FOULS. Not counted as strikes, but a foul tip caught by the catcher is treated as a pop fly and thus an instant out no matter what the count.

FOUL BOUNCES. A foul caught on one bounce is an out.

STRIKE ZONE. The "striker" (batter) selects his preference before each at-bat -- either low pitches (from the ankle to belt) or high pitches (from belt to shoulders). The choice is fixed until the next AB.

HIT BY PITCH. Strikers do not take their base when hit by a pitch. Such pitches are regarded as balls, so it would take seven HBPs for a batter to reach first.

"GINGER" RULE. If a pitcher receives the return of a foul and relays it to the starting base of a runner before he gets back, the runner is out.

"GINGER" RUN. If a runner crosses the plate before a third out force play is complete, the run counts.

NO INFIELD FLY. Batsmen are not automatically out on base-occupied pop-ups, and runners must advance if the ball is dropped.

BASES. Sawdust sacks are used and not secured in place.

DROPPED THIRD STRIKE. All forced runners must advance, just as if a ground ball had been hit.

BASE COACH. Only one is allowed, but the coach may move back and forth between first and third.

HOME TEAM. The home team is determined by a bat toss between captains. First to reach bat's end wins the choice of starting at the plate or in the field.