The pitcher’s mound was changes to 10 inches in 1969, not 1963 as the article states. And this was of course due to the amazing 1968 numbers put up by Bob Gibson, Hall of Fame pitcher for the best NL team on earth - the St. Louis Cardinals. Despite popular beleif, the pitcher’s mound is not 60’ 6" from home either. The pitcher’s mound is 18’ in diameter with it’s center situated 59’ from the back of home plate. This may work out to be 60’ 6" though.
Not just Gibson, more like every pitcher in both leagues. In 1968 runs per team per game had dipped to 3.43 in the NL, and 3.41 in the AL. Not to say that Gibson’s numbers weren’t eye-popping, but he didn’t cause the change single-handed.
Amen: hitting was way down in 1968 – that was the year Denny McClain won 31 games season, and Carl Yastrzemski won the AL batting title by hitting .301.
So, why was pitching so good (or hitting so crappy) in 1968 in general? Were the umpires calling a really wide strike zone, or did the ball have a “deader” core, or something?
The pitcher’s mound had been set at a maximum of 15" from 1950. However, enforcement of the rule was rather lax. It was believed that some teams actually built their mounds higher than 15", especially the Los Angeles Dodgers.