Late Bloomers: Cy Williams

The transition between what is now known as the Dead Ball Era to the Live Ball Era took place between the 1919 and 1920 seasons. Rule changes were implemented that called for the replacement of baseballs as soon as they showed any wear, and pitchers were prohibited from scuffing the balls or adding foreign substances to them. This resulted in brighter, easier to see baseballs being in play most of the time.

Offense exploded, as you can imagine it would with the hitters finally able to see the ball well. Within five years, offense was up 30% in the American League and 42% in the National League, aided by the new rules and the introduction of Babe Ruth as an everyday player.

Ruth was the primary catalyst in taking advantage of these new glowing baseballs. Already the single-season record holder in homers with 29 in 1919, he crushed 54 in 1920, hitting more homers by himself than every other full team in the American League hit. He already had two yearly home run titles to his name when the rules changed, and added ten more in the next dozen years, becoming the most famous person in America and probably still the most famous baseball player ever.

With the exception of Ruth, nearly every other so-called slugger of the Dead Ball Era stopped being much of a slugger under the new rules. In most cases, they owed their slugging prowess to odd ballpark dimensions, or to being able to hit several inside-the-park home runs, because there was little reward in trying to hit the mushy, dingy baseballs of that era over the fence on a regular basis. The skills necessary to do that were something that couldn’t be developed overnight, so Ruth and his unqiue abilities essentially stood alone.

With one exception.