re: Examples of rule changes that totally changed sport

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if you look at the first 13 rules of basketball, there's a shitload of changes that obviously entirely changed basketball.

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Pretty much every sport's the same. The only one that might not be (don't exactly know) is baseball, but that also evolved from completely different games.

Moving the goalpost to the back of the endzone.

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And while it may have changed GM/manager strategy, it didn't fundamentaly change how the game was played.

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So, it changed the way GMs do their job, managers do their job, and they way the players do their job (half the pitchers never have to take BP, relief pitchers are handled differently in the two leagues), and changes the outcome of games in the postseason (positively or negatively.)

You could even make the argument that it affects the owners by bringing more offense into the game, selling more tickets.

So, other than the affecting the way players, managers, GMs and owners approach the games than they did before the DH, it hasn't really affected baseball.

I guess it's the same for the umpires?

i would say the changing of the material of the baseball and the height change in the mound

I mean, think of basketball without the 3-point line, football without the forward pass, soccer without the offside rule, etc.

And then think of baseball without the DH.

It's not on the same level as those.

free agency in baseball

The backstroke flipturn.

Doubles Allys in tennis

Football:
The forward pass - removed the risk of death
Illegal contact - Ushered in the modern passing game

Basketball:
The shot clock - The most dreaded words in the world: Four Corners Offense
Three point line - killed the middle range jumper

Hockey:
Elimination of the two line pass - opened up the game which had become nearly unwatchable
Icing - early rule change, prevents defens from just throwing the puck to the other end

Baseball:
The foul-strike - The biggest innovation in baseball rules. Not only do fouls count as strike, but one can't strike out on a tw-strike foul. Completely changed hitting
The foul/fair rule - In the early days, a ball that hit fair was fair regardless of whether it went foul or not. which lead to guys bunting to the corners, making baseball like cricket.