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Dead-ball EraThe dead-ball era is a baseball term generally used to describe the period between 1900 (though some date it to the beginning of baseball) and the arrival of Babe Ruth as a power hitter in 1920. Origins of the Term The term dead-ball era is called that because home runs were almost rare. An analogy would be that home runs then were as uncommon as triples are now. So the ball was called "dead" because it was hard to hit it with such force to hit home runs. Baseball during the Dead Ball era During the dead-ball era, baseball was much more of a strategic, station-to-station game. It relied much more on stolen bases, hit-and-run plays and the like then home runs. It was basically a speed game. Such plays as the Baltimore Chop were popular, where a batter would intentionally hit down on the ball so that by the time the fielders were able to retrieve the ball, the batter had reached first base. And then often, he would steal second or be bunted over to 2nd and then move to third or score on a hit and run play. There are many statistical examples from this era that show how much more speed oriented the game was. Between 1900 and 1920, there were 13 occasions when the league leader in homeruns had fewer than 10 home runs for the season. Meanwhile, there were several instances where the league leader in triples had 20 or more, which is almost unheard of nowadays. Also, batting averages were much higher during the dead-ball era. .400 was almost common. Why? Because hitters went for much more higher percentage hits than they did during the live ball era, because home runs were impossible. The reasons for the dead-ball era The reasons for the dead-ball era have been debated and debated for many years now. There have been many disagreements as to what caused the dead-ball era, but some themes definitely come through. The ball itself Before the death of Ray Chapman in 1920, it was very common for a baseball to be in play for over 100 pitches. They would literally use a ball until the ball was starting to unravel. The early baseball leagues were very cost conscious, so fans would have to throw balls back that had been hit in the stands and even if a ball was discolored, it was kept in the game. So because of this and because the baseball parks had no lights, it was very difficult to see the ball. And since the ball was hard to hit anyway, it was very difficult to hit it real far. As the ball was being used, it would get softer and hitting a softer object far is nearly impossible. There is also the argument that the ball itself was made softer to begin with so it was harder to hit. The spit ball Another reason that the ball was hard to hit far was because pitchers could basically do whatever they wanted to when it came to the ball. They could mark it or scuff it or spit on it or anything else they wanted. This made the ball dance and curve probably much more than it does now. And it added to the discoloration mentioned earlier, so it was literally harder to see the ball. The end of the dead-ball era Again, there is much debate as to why the dead-ball era ended. There are reasons which are agreed upon by most though. One was the end of the spitball as a legal pitch. This happened when Ray Chapman of the Cleveland Indians was killed by a pitched ball on August 6, 1920 when pitcher Carl Mays of the New York Yankees hit him in the head with a discolored ball. After that, balls were usually replaced up to 100 times in a game. Also, of course, there was the Black Sox scandal of 1919. It's never been proven, but it's always been rumored that after the scandal, the ball itself was reformulated so it would be easier to hit. And then, of course, there was the arrival of Babe Ruth. The combination of these factors led to the virtual end of station to station baseball. Instead, it became much more common for teams to wait for the home run.
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