The Pittsburgh Pirates will play their first doubleheader of the year today against the Chicago Cubs, their third in as many years.
Doubleheaders used to be as synonymous with baseball as hot dog cannons, bobbleheads and the seventh-inning stretch, but have long since faded from the game. The death of the doubleheader is nothing new to baseball, as they have mostly been used to make up a game that was postponed or suspended for generations. Many games get stacked on the same day as opposed to being played on the next day the two teams both have off to prevent unnecessary travel, particularly for coast-to-coast and interleague games.
But where did the idea of playing a twin bill come from? The doubleheader is actually older than the National League itself, with the first being played three years before the league’s founding.
The first known double header was played on July 4, 1873 in the National Association between the Elizabeth Resolutes and the Boston Red Stockings. There was no box score or game summary, however according to Baseball-Reference Boston won 32-3 in their second game.
Coincidentally, the doubleheader was originally used in the NL likely for the same reason as present day: to make up postponed games. The first one in league history was September 9, 1876 between the Cincinnati Reds and Hartford Dark Blues, and was likely caused by weather since there was a lack of scheduled doubleheaders during the early history of the league.
Teams occasionally played doubleheaders on Memorial or Independence Day in the 1880s to get fans out on the holidays, but when the American Association, a predecessor of the American League, was founded in 1883, they used the twin bill to attract fans away from the NL when they offered two games for the price of one. The NL then prompted to use the doubleheader to help keep fans from going to the AA. Fans came to expect the doubleheader to be part of the game, and they became a more central part of baseball, even after the AA folded in 1895. The worst teams generally played more to keep fans around, such as the 1890 Pittsburgh Alleghenys.
The 23-113 club led by players like Phenomenal Smith, Ducky Hemp and Peak-a-Boo Veach played in 15 doubleheaders, as well as a one of only three recorded tripleheaders in baseball history, where they were swept by the Brooklynn Bridegrooms. The 1920 Pirates played in one of the other tripleheaders.
When the AL was founded in 1901, the doubleheader was once again used to draw fans. It became a staple of the game for decades, with a peak during World War II because of less travel resources available. But as attendance increased, doubleheaders began losing their usefulness, particularly in the NL. According to Retrosheet, the last time every team played a doubleheader on the same day was September 1, 1958. The doubleheader was still very much part of the game during the last few decades of the 20th century, but the number of scheduled ones steadily declined. The last scheduled doubleheader was July 16, 2011, between the Los Angeles Angels and Oakland Athletics.
Given the current economic landscape of baseball, it is unlikely the doubleheader will ever be a regular part of the game again.
With most games now being played around 7 p.m. local time, games usually don’t typically end until around 10 p.m., and players may not get home for another hour after that. Having them come back and play two games starting in the early afternoon on a regular basis is an burden, especially if it follows a day of travel for one or both teams.
This is especially true for pitchers with the advent of the five-man rotation and heavy emphasis on pitch count. Regular doubleheaders could throw these rotations out of whack, and bullpens could become exhausted more easily. But of course the flip side to this argument is there would be more days off, plus teams can add an extra player to their 25-man roster during doubleheaders.
Teams also could stand to lose money if doubleheaders were to make a return. There could be a decrease in ticket gate prices and television viewers, as fans aren’t as likely to watch two games back-to-back in one day, causing a ratings hit. That could affect how much companies pay to advertise during baseball games if they know there may not be as many fans watching.
This is especially true now with the increasing number of complaints about the games taking too long. If some fans think one game is too long, imagine them trying to sit through two.
So enjoy Tuesday’s doubleheader Pirate fans, because who knows when they will play their next.
