If you change the range without changing the slider, click the slider to update the visualization.

0

← At bats in hundreds.

Search
Reset

History of the Dead Ball Era

The name 'dead-ball era' comes from the drastic offensive drop stemming from rule changes and the way the baseball
was made. An example showing how dead the ball was were the St. Louis Cardinals who had a major-league leading 39
home runs as a team. Yes, 39 home runs as a team. On top of this, the size of the plate was increased from 12 inches
wide to 17 inches wide, and foul balls began counting as strikes. These rule changes increased the strikout rate by
over 50%, putting the sport almost entirely in the hands of the pitchers. Three famous pitchers from the era were
Christy Mathewson, Walter Johnson, and Cy Young, the latter having a pitching award named after him. While they were
undeniably great pitchers, a portion of their success most definitely came from the rule changes during their time.