In
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...
, the dead-ball era was the period from around 1900 to the emergence of
Babe Ruth
George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...
as a power hitter in 1919, when he hit a then-major league record 29
home run
In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...
s; only three players since 1890 had even hit 20. This era was characterized by low-scoring games and a lack of home runs; league
batting averages dropped as low as .239 in 1908, producing the lowest league
run average in history, with teams averaging only 3.4 runs per game. Teams played in spacious ballparks that limited hitting for power; as a further hindrance to scoring, the
ball used then, compared to modern baseballs, was "dead" both by design and from overuse. In addition,
ball scuffing
An emery ball is an illegal pitch in baseball, in which the ball has been altered by scuffing it with a rough surface, such as an emery board or sandpaper. This technique alters the spin of the ball, causing it to move in an atypical manner, as ...
and adulteration by
pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...
s, notably the
spitball
A spitball is an illegal baseball pitch in which the ball has been altered by the application of a foreign substance such as saliva or petroleum jelly. This technique alters the wind resistance and weight on one side of the ball, causing it to m ...
, was not against the rules during this period.
Baseball during the dead-ball era
![MLB slugging history](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0b/MLB_slugging_history.svg)
During the dead-ball era, baseball was much more of a strategy-driven game, using a style of play now known as
small ball or
inside baseball. It relied much more on plays such as
stolen bases and
hit-and-run
In traffic laws, a hit and run or a hit-and-run is the act of causing a traffic collision and not stopping afterwards. It is considered a supplemental crime in most jurisdictions.
Additional obligation
In many jurisdictions, there may be an ...
than on
home run
In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...
s. These strategies emphasized speed, perhaps by necessity.
Low-power hits like the
Baltimore Chop
B backdoor breaking ball
:A breaking pitch, usually a Slider (baseball), slider, curveball, or cut fastball that, due to its lateral motion, passes through a small part of the Glossary of baseball (S)#strike zone, strike zone on the outside edg ...
, developed in the 1890s by the
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...
, were used to get on base. Once on base, a
runner
Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. Running is a type of gait characterized by an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground (though there are exceptions). This is ...
would often steal or be
bunted over to second base, then move to third base or score on a hit-and-run play. In no other era have teams stolen as many bases as in the dead-ball era.
On 13 occasions between and , the league leader in home runs had fewer than 10 home runs for the season; on four occasions the league leaders had 20 or more home runs. Meanwhile, there were 20 instances where the league leader in
triples had 20 or more.
Owen "Chief" Wilson set a record of 36 triples in 1912, a record that is likely one of
baseball's unbreakable records, as is that of the 309 career triples of
Sam Crawford
Samuel Earl Crawford (April 18, 1880 – June 15, 1968), nicknamed "Wahoo Sam", was an American outfielder in Major League Baseball (MLB).
Crawford batted and threw left-handed, stood tall and weighed . Born in Wahoo, Nebraska, he had a s ...
set during this time.
Despite their speed, teams struggled to score during the dead-ball era. Major league cumulative batting averages ranged in the
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...
(NL) and in the
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...
(AL). The lack of power in the game also meant lower
slugging percentages and
on-base percentages, as pitchers could challenge
hitters more without the threat of the home run. The nadir of the dead-ball era was around and , with a league-wide batting average , slugging average , and an
earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...
(ERA) under 2.40. In the latter year, the
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...
hit three home runs for the entire season, yet they finished 88–64, just a couple of games from winning the pennant.
Some players and fans complained about the low-scoring games, and league officials sought to remedy the situation. In ,
Ben Shibe
Benjamin Franklin Shibe (January 23, 1838 – January 14, 1922) was an American sporting goods and baseball executive who was owner and president of the Philadelphia Athletics of the American League from 1901 until his death. He is credited with th ...
invented the
cork
Cork or CORK may refer to:
Materials
* Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product
** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container
***Wine cork
Places Ireland
* Cork (city)
** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...
-centered ball, which the Reach Company—official ball supplier to the American League—began marketing.
Spalding, Reach's parent company which separately supplied the National League, followed with its own cork-center ball.
The change in the ball dramatically affected play in both leagues.
In , the American League batting average ; in 1911, it rose . The National League saw a jump in the league batting average in 1910 in . The season happened to be the best of
Ty Cobb
Tyrus Raymond Cobb (December 18, 1886 – July 17, 1961), nicknamed "the Georgia Peach", was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) center fielder. He was born in rural Narrows, Georgia. Cobb spent 22 seasons with the Detroit Tigers, the ...
's career; he with 248 hits.
Joe Jackson in 1911, and the next year Cobb . These were the averages between and .
In , however, minor league pitcher
Russ Ford
Russell William Ford (April 25, 1883 – January 24, 1960) was a Canadian-American professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball for the New York Highlanders / Yankees of the American League from 1909 to 1913 and for the B ...
noticed that a ball scuffed against a concrete wall quickly dived as it reached the batter. This so-called
emery ball
An emery ball is an illegal pitch in baseball, in which the ball has been altered by scuffing it with a rough surface, such as an emery board or sandpaper. This technique alters the spin of the ball, causing it to move in an atypical manner, a ...
, together with the
spitball
A spitball is an illegal baseball pitch in which the ball has been altered by the application of a foreign substance such as saliva or petroleum jelly. This technique alters the wind resistance and weight on one side of the ball, causing it to m ...
, gave pitchers greatly increased control of the batter, especially since a single ball—rarely replaced during a game—would become increasingly scuffed as play progressed, as well as more difficult to see as it became dirtier. By run scoring was essentially back to the pre-1911 years and remained so until 1919.
In this era,
Frank Baker
John Franklin "Home Run" Baker (March 13, 1886 – June 28, 1963) was an American professional baseball player. A third baseman, Baker played in Major League Baseball from 1908 to 1922 for the Philadelphia Athletics and New York Yankees. Althoug ...
earned the nickname "Home Run" Baker merely for hitting two home runs in the
1911 World Series; although he led the American League in home runs four times (1911–1914), his highest home run season was 1913, when he hit 12, and he finished with 96 home runs for his career. The best home run hitter of the dead-ball era was
Philadelphia Phillies outfielder "Cactus"
Gavvy Cravath
Clifford Carlton "Gavvy" Cravath (March 23, 1881 – May 23, 1963), also nicknamed "Cactus", was an American right fielder and right-handed batter in Major League Baseball who played primarily for the Philadelphia Phillies. One of the sport's most ...
, who led the National League in home runs six times, with a high total of 24 for the pennant-winning Phillies in and seasons of 19 home runs each in 1913 and 1914. However, Cravath played in the
Baker Bowl, a notoriously hitter-friendly park with only a short distance from the plate to the right-field wall.
Contributing factors
The following factors contributed to the dramatic decline in runs scored during the dead-ball era:
Foul strike rule
The foul strike rule was a major rule change that, in just a few years, sent baseball from a high-scoring game to a game where scoring any runs was a struggle. Under the foul strike rule, a batter who
fouls off is charged with a
strike
Strike may refer to:
People
* Strike (surname)
Physical confrontation or removal
*Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm
*Airstrike, military strike by air forces on either a suspected ...
unless he already has two strikes against him. The National League adopted the foul strike rule in 1901, and the American League followed suit in 1903. Prior to this rule, foul balls did not count as strikes. Thus, a batter could foul off a countless number of pitches with no strikes counted against him—except for bunt attempts, which gave batters an enormous advantage until the foul strike rule was put in place.
Ball construction and use
Before 1921, it was common for a baseball to be in play for over 100 pitches. Players used the same ball until it started to unravel. Early baseball leagues were very cost-conscious, so fans had to throw back balls that had been hit into the stands, as is still the case in other sports leagues such as the
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...
and the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
. The longer the ball was in play, the softer it became—and hitting a heavily used, softer ball for distance is much more difficult than hitting a new, harder one. The ball was also softer to begin with, making home runs less likely.
Spitball
The ball was also hard to hit because pitchers could manipulate it before a pitch. For example, the
spitball
A spitball is an illegal baseball pitch in which the ball has been altered by the application of a foreign substance such as saliva or petroleum jelly. This technique alters the wind resistance and weight on one side of the ball, causing it to m ...
pitch was permitted in baseball until 1921. Pitchers often marked the ball, scuffed it, spat on it—anything they could to influence the ball's motion. This made the ball "dance" and curve much more than it does now, making it more difficult to hit. Tobacco juice was often added to the ball as well, which discolored it. This made the ball difficult to see, especially since baseball parks did not
have lights until the late 1930s. This made both hitting and fielding more difficult.
Ballpark size
Many ballparks were large by modern standards, such as the
West Side Grounds
West Side Park was the name used for two different ballparks that formerly stood in Chicago, Illinois. They were both home fields of the team now known as the Chicago Cubs of the National League. Both ballparks hosted baseball championships. The ...
of the
Chicago Cubs, which was to the center-field fence, and the
Huntington Avenue Grounds of the
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...
, which was to the center-field fence. The dimensions of
Braves Field prompted
Ty Cobb
Tyrus Raymond Cobb (December 18, 1886 – July 17, 1961), nicknamed "the Georgia Peach", was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) center fielder. He was born in rural Narrows, Georgia. Cobb spent 22 seasons with the Detroit Tigers, the ...
to say that no one would ever hit the ball out of it.
End of the era
The dead-ball era ended suddenly. By 1921, offenses were scoring 40% more runs and hitting four times as many home runs as they had in 1918. Baseball historians debate the abruptness of this change, with no consensus on its cause. Six popular theories have been advanced:
* ''Changes in the ball:'' This theory claims that owners replaced the ball with a newer, livelier ball (sometimes referred to as the "jackrabbit" ball), presumably with the intention of boosting offense and, by extension, ticket sales. The theory has been rebutted by Major League Baseball. The yarn used to wrap the core of the ball was changed prior to the 1920 season, although testing by the
United States Bureau of Standards found no difference in the physical properties of the two different types of balls. The so-called "livelier" ball was actually introduced in 1911, when the league began using a cork-centered ball, as opposed to rubber, and that year the number of total home runs was 514, having been 361 the previous season.
Frank Schulte became the first player of the 20th century to reach twenty home runs in a season.
* ''Outlawing certain pitches:'' Pitches now considered illegal, per MLB Rule 6.02(c), were outlawed. This included the shine ball,
emery ball
An emery ball is an illegal pitch in baseball, in which the ball has been altered by scuffing it with a rough surface, such as an emery board or sandpaper. This technique alters the spin of the ball, causing it to move in an atypical manner, a ...
, and
spitball
A spitball is an illegal baseball pitch in which the ball has been altered by the application of a foreign substance such as saliva or petroleum jelly. This technique alters the wind resistance and weight on one side of the ball, causing it to m ...
(a very effective pitch throughout the dead-ball era). This theory states that without such effective pitches in the pitcher's arsenal, batters gained an advantage. When the spitball was outlawed in 1920, MLB recognized seventeen pitchers who had nearly built their careers specializing in the spitball and permitted them to continue using it; the last pitcher allowed to do so,
Burleigh Grimes
Burleigh Arland Grimes (August 18, 1893 – December 6, 1985) was an American professional baseball player and manager, and the last pitcher officially permitted to throw the spitball. Grimes made the most of this advantage, as well as his unshav ...
, pitched until the end of 1934.
* ''More baseballs per game:'' The fatal
beaning of
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...
shortstop
Ray Chapman
Raymond Johnson Chapman (January 15, 1891 – August 17, 1920) was an American baseball player. He spent his entire career as a shortstop for the Cleveland Indians.
Chapman was hit in the head by a pitch thrown by pitcher Carl Mays and died ...
in August 1920 led to a rule that the baseball must be replaced every time that it got dirty. With a clean ball in play at all times, players no longer had to contend with a ball that "traveled through the air erratically, tended to soften in the later innings, and as it came over the plate, was very hard to see."
[''Baseball: An Illustrated History''. Geoffrey C. Ward and Ken Burns, 1994.]
* ''Stat keeping and rule changes:'' In 1920, the major leagues adopted writer
Fred Lieb's proposal that a game-winning home run with men on base count as a home run, even if its run is not needed to win the game. Owners tried unsuccessfully to eliminate the
intentional walk
In baseball, an intentional base on balls, usually referred to as an intentional walk and denoted in baseball scorekeeping by ''IBB'', is a walk issued to a batter by a pitcher with the intent of removing the batter's opportunity to swing at the ...
. They succeeded only in changing the rules to require that the
catcher
Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the ca ...
be within the
catcher's box
A baseball field, also called a ball field or baseball diamond, is the field upon which the game of baseball is played. The term can also be used as a metonym for a baseball park. The term sandlot is sometimes used, although this usually refer ...
when the pitcher throws‚ and that everything that happened in a protested game was added to the game record. (From 1910 to 1919‚ records in protested games were excluded.)
* ''
Babe Ruth
George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...
:'' One theory is that the prolific success of Babe Ruth at hitting home runs led players around the league to forsake their old methods of hitting (described above) and adopt a "free-swinging" style designed to hit the ball hard and with an uppercut stroke, with the intention of hitting more home runs. Critics of this theory claim that it does not account for the improvement in batting averages from 1918 to 1921, over which time the league average improved .
* ''Ballpark dimensions:'' This theory contends that offensive success came from changes in the dimensions of the ballparks. Accurate estimates of ballpark sizes of the era can be difficult to find, however, so there is disagreement over whether the dimensions changed at all, let alone whether the change led to improved offense. A 1920 season rule change stated that balls hit over the fence in fair territory but landing foul were fair, and hence home runs rather than foul balls.
See also
*
Live-ball era
The live-ball era, also referred to as the lively ball era, is the period in Major League Baseball beginning in (and continuing to the present day), contrasting with the pre-1920 period known as the "dead-ball era". The name "live-ball era" comes ...
*
Inside baseball
* ''
The Glory of Their Times
''The Glory of Their Times: The Story of the Early Days of Baseball Told by the Men Who Played It'' is a 1966 book, edited by Lawrence Ritter, telling the stories of early 20th century baseball. It is widely acclaimed as one of the greatest books ...
''
Notes
References
{{MLB
Baseball genres
History of Major League Baseball