The end of the Dead Ball Era wasn’t that simple
Wintertime for me includes drifting in and out of episodes of Ken Burns’ 1994 “Baseball”. I’ve seen all of them more than once but still find things that I’ve missed. The ‘First Inning’, ‘Second Inning’ and ‘Third Inning’ episodes cover the period from baseball’s origins through the end of the Dead Ball Era in 1920.
My son calls 19th century baseball ‘funny baseball’
On our podcast he often says it because he feels the rules were funky and ever-changing, the players were not much different since they were also funky and ever-changing!
Yet as someone who writes about baseball, I am sorely lacking knowledge when it comes to 19th century baseball. So, whenever I’ve thought of the ‘Dead Ball’ era in MLB (roughly 1901–1919), I was relieved that it didn’t require me to think about what happened before 1901. It also happens that 1901, with the birth of the American League, is now referred to as beginning the ‘Modern Era’ in MLB. The ‘Dead Ball’ Era and ‘Moddern baseball Era’ both began at the same time. Does that seem strange to you?
It isn’t that I am completely unaware of what went on in professional baseball before 1901. The origin stories have changed over the years, and I know Abner Doubleday really didn’t invent baseball in 1839, which was the narrative that was around when I was young.
I am also somewhat aware that originally, baseball pitching was done underhanded and there was no pitching rubber until 1893, when the rubber was moved to 60.5 feet from home plate. Prior to 1881, a pitching ‘box’ denoted where the thrower/pitcher could stand — a mere 45.5 feet from home plate! The batter would ask for the pitch to be thrown high or low and it took as many as nine balls for a walk! Individual at-bats could take a while! The pitcher was there to facilitate the batter hitting the ball and then the fun was watching the ungloved fielders try to make a play on the baseball. That’s entertainment!
Pitchers evolved to try to get the batter to hit the ball a certain way, or not at all, to make it easier for the fielders. Eventually pitchers began to try to deceive the batter with spin and speed changes. In 1881 the pitching box was moved back to 50.5 feet, and in 1883 overhand throwing began to be allowed. Generally, the overall proficiency of the hitters drove decisions on moving the pitching box further back. When players had difficulties hitting the more determined hurlers and batting averages plummeted, changes had to be made!
I have an image of 19th century baseball and its players in my mind. It’s in black and white for whatever reason and the players have mustaches of all sizes and shapes. Yet I’ve not thought much about 19th century baseballs and their own evolution.
What about the baseball made it dead?
It figures that the baseball itself before 1900 was wildly inconsistent. You might be aware that HOF A.G. Spalding (yes Spalding ball founder) was a primary manufacturer of baseballs beginning in 1876 (the first year of the National League). Spalding developed the first Major League Baseball to become the official baseball of the National League (1876–1976) and American League (1889–1973).
Despite having a hallowed manufacturer (Spalding was a well-known player before he became a sporting goods guy), baseballs in the period got scuffed, were soft, and often, were very, very, dirty. They also varied since production processes were far from standardized given that baseballs were made by hand.
From Wikipedia on the period from 1900–1920 (the dead ball period is uncertain in its actual length)
On 13 occasions between 1900 and 1920, 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.
Run scoring was low and home runs were rare in comparison to the years that followed. In 1908, the major league batting average dropped to .239, and teams averaged just 3.4 runs per game, the lowest ever. Spacious ballparks limited hitting for power, and the ball itself was “dead” both by design and from overuse. Ball scuffing and adulteration by pitchers, particularly the spitball, were allowed, putting hitters at a disadvantage.
Banning the spitball made it easier to hit
Defacing the baseball was the pitcher’s pastime. Starting in 1920, it wasn’t only the new rule against doctoring the ball with a foreign substance, cutting, marring, and altering the baseball were also ruled illegal. There were 17 pitchers who were “Grandfathered” to continue to throw what was known as the “Wet One” for the balance of their careers. Dramatically fewer spitballs resulted in higher batting averages and more home runs. Did the baseball change? Not really. MLB’s historian and writer John Thorn has a great article on the evolution of pitching.
In John’s article, the dearth of hitting which began before 1900 with pitchers employing a variety of pitches such as the spitball, shine ball, mud ball, emery ball, and cut ball, as well as the legal knuckleball and forkball, compelled MLB to change to a cork center baseball for the 1910 season, from a previously rubber core center.
Super-interesting from John’s article:
So, in midseason of 1910, the National League introduced the new cork-centered ball (developed for cricket in 1863, rejected by baseball in 1882). Both leagues agreed to its use in the World Series that year and during the regular 1911 season. The result was a mild boost in batting averages but a marked increase in extra-base hits — notably home runs — and run scoring. But was the cork-centered ball truly that much more lively than the rubber-centered ball of old? Did it have a higher coefficient of resiliency? In 1911, one old-timer noted astutely:
It isn’t the cork center that makes the ball lively and causes so much hitting; it’s the fact that the pitchers find the ball too hard to curve with their former skill. You see, the cork center is so large that twine has to be wound more tightly than formerly and when the cover is sewed on the ball is like the one used in cricket. It is like wood and the pitchers in gripping it between the thumb and fingers find that the surface does not give. You can make a soft ball curve almost at will. Anybody who knows will admit that. But the hard ball, such as the big leagues are using now, is far different. The pitchers can’t get the old breaks and shoots, and as the ball necessarily cuts the plate straight and fast the good batsmen kill it. You’ll find that all the best pitchers are having trouble this year and most of them will tell you that the old curves are impossible. The ball used two years ago was just soft enough near the surface to permit a tight grip, and that meant plenty of effectiveness.
Still with me? Was there really a dead-ball during the dead-ball era? The answer appears to be, it depends! During the Dead Ball era baseball was played differently than it is today in part due to the ballparks being cavernous, the advancing capability of pitchers, and the equipment like bats and gloves. During the Dead Ball era, HOFer Edd Roush of the Cincinnati Reds used a 48-ounce bat (about 50% heavier than bats today) to fashion an 18-year career with a career .323 batting average but he had only 68 career home runs. You can rest assured he wasn’t doing that hitting 94 mph sliders! The purpose of hitting is to ‘hit it where they ain’t’, and Roush’s tree trunk bat proved to be very effective, dead-ball or not.
One last thing about the dead-ball era
You might be able to tell that I am becoming more interested in the evolution of baseball from its origins. Even with the advent of the first World Series of the modern era in 1903 between the Boston Americans (Red Sox) and Pittsburgh Pirates, the future of baseball as a professional sport was far from assured. The powers that were in power mostly attempted to keep their livelihoods viable. They had no idea about nor cared much for the future of baseball as an American institution. The 1920’s and 1930’s would be critical to making baseball America’s Pastime.
About the Author: Mark Kolier along with his son Gordon co-hosts a baseball podcast called ‘Almost Cooperstown’. He also has written baseball-related articles that can be accessed on Medium.com and Substack.com.
