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History of the Live Ball Era

The name 'live-ball era' originates from a dramatic rise in offensive statistics, roughly during the years 1920 through
1941 (preceeding WW2 and the Integration Era). This rise in offense was a direct result of several rule changes directed
at pitching. After Ray Chapman was killed by a submarine pitch from Carl Mays, baseballs were replaced at the first sign
of wear. Pitchers were also no longer allowed to doctor the baseball in any way (i.e spitballs, filing the balls, foreign
substances, etc.). This was all done in an effort to make the balls more visible to the batter as witnesses said that
Chapman didn't make any effort to get out of the way of the ball, leading them to believe that he couldn't see it. After
these changes, scoring immediately increased dramatically, and hall-of-famer Babe Ruth set a new slugging percentage record
and hit 54 homeruns.