The Live Ball Era, also referred to as the Lively Ball Era, is the period in Major League Baseball beginning in 1920. During that year offensive statistics rose dramatically in what would be mistakenly attributed to the introduction of a new "lively" ball. The construction of the balls remained consistent, but rule changes gave more advantages to the batter. MLB logo Major League Baseball (MLB) is the highest level of play in professional baseball in the world. ... 1920 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar) // Events January January 7 - Forces of Russian White admiral Kolchak surrender in Krasnoyarsk. ... As with many sports, and perhaps even more so, statistics are very important to baseball. ... Barry Bonds batting Photo:Agência Brasil In baseball, batting is the act of facing the opposing pitcher and trying to produce offense for ones team. ...

In the year following the Black Sox scandal, the new Commissioner of Baseball, Kenesaw Mountain Landis, instituted several new rules. Previous to that time, the same ball would be used throughout the game and foul balls would be thrown back on the field and reused. This gave the fielders many opportunities to give their pitcher an advantage by scuffing the ball. Starting in 1920 new balls were replaced at the first sign of wear, resulting in a ball that was much brighter and easier for a hitter to see. The other major rule change was the elimination of the spitball. ... In 1920 the owners of Major League Baseball, in order to reestablish confidence of fans in the sport following the Black Sox Scandal, established the office of Commissioner of Baseball. ... Kenesaw Mountain Landis Kenesaw Mountain Landis (20 November 1866 – 25 November 1944) was an American jurist who served as a federal judge from 1905 to 1922, and subsequently as the first commissioner of Major League Baseball. ... In baseball, a foul ball is a batted ball that is not a foul tip, and that. ... A baseball pitcher delivers the ball to home plate In baseball, pitching is the act of throwing the baseball from the pitchers mound toward the catcher with the goal of retiring a batter who attempts to make contact with it, or draw a walk. ... A spitball is a baseball pitch in which the ball has been altered by the application of spit, petroleum jelly, or some other foreign substance. ...

In 1920 the game changed from typically low-scoring to high-scoring games, with a newfound reliance on the home run. During that year Babe Ruth hit 54 home runs, smashing his old record of 29. George Sisler would also set his long-standing record of 257, which would not be eclipsed until 2004 by the Seattle Mariners' Ichiro Suzuki base hits. For other uses of the phrase see Home run (disambiguation) In baseball, a home run is a base hit in which the batter is able to circle all the bases, ending at home plate and scoring a run himself (along with a run for each runner who was already on... Ruth batting for the Yankees George Herman Ruth, (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948), better known as Babe Ruth and also commonly known by the nicknames The Bambino and The Sultan of Swat, was an American baseball player and United States national icon. ... George Harold Sisler (March 24, 1893 - March 26, 1973), nicknamed Gorgeous George, was an American star in Major League Baseball, and one of the greatest fielding first basemen of all time. ... In baseball statistics, a hit (denoted by H), sometimes called a base hit, is credited to a batter when he safely reaches first base after batting the ball into fair territory, without the benefit of an error or a fielders choice. ...