[...]... consideration that is mostly based on the analysis, but is conditioned by the author’s knowledge that pure numbers sometimes obscure the truth Scope The deadball era is the essential area of interest of this survey Investigation of it was limited to the period 1901–1919, which captures the beginnings of the American League (1901) and the initial decades of competition between the two leagues that has continued... (e.g., first basemen) are listed in a single chart and the average (Avg) PAB is calculated • The standard deviation (SD) of the PAB column is calculated (using Excel stdevp) The result of the above is shown at the bottom of the schedule of the players who were active at the particular position being examined, for example, the first basemen, as shown on the following page: Introduction Avg SD AB 5072 940... twenty-year era is the player who earns the most DP for BELOW AVERAGE or better at bats The MTP is the man with the most STAR and SUPERSTAR DP • Those interested in a more detailed explanation of systems used should contact the author through the publisher The Reliability of the System Former players and informed newsmen and baseball men select Hall of Fame (HOF) candidates based upon observation and the best... particular (1902, 1906), he was among the best in the business, and for two others (1904, 1907), he was a class act Only one of his years (1910) was a bummer The great weakness of Davis’ record is the number of partial seasons he played which cost him at bats and kept him from production greatness He was a well-rounded producer 22 Baseball’s Offensive Greats of the Deadball Era PER AT BAT (PAB) 1901–19 Davis... up the revolutionary spirit of their homeland In August of the same year the Czar and his family moved to Siberia under the “protection” of government troops Lenin’s Bolsheviks took over the government in November and moved quickly to satisfy the peace demands of their followers In December 1917 they deserted the Allies and signed an armistice with Germany Fearing residual loyalty and sympathy for the. .. violent ones, the world of ordinary people moved along customary paths Ping-Pong, jigsaw puzzles and Raggedy Ann dolls appeared Paper clips were patented Men accepted the safety razor; women greeted lipstick Smart people invented paper cups, Brillo pads and pop-up toasters Merchandisers discovered the beauty of Mother’s Day and, later, Father’s Day 13 14 Baseball’s Offensive Greats of the Deadball Era Huge... guilty of “annoying” a woman in Central Park At about the same time, Joseph F Smith, president of the Mormon Church, announced the birth of his 43rd child (Mormons outlawed polygamy in 1896) And the world turned another notch The World Within the Ballpark, 1901–1919 In 1900, only the eight-team National League (NL) was considered to be of major league quality Then Ban Johnson, president of the Western... catchers was lowered because the one applied to other position players excluded too many of them To identify these players— the ones who made baseball great during the era — hundreds of records were reviewed Alert readers will realize that, everything else aside, this player sort is of enormous benefit to the fan and the researcher — it immediately presents to them only the records of those who were relatively... were on the field for a period of less than twenty but more than ten years In short, when twenty-year eras are established as analytical blocks of time, the full careers (or the best years) of players are eventually shown in full flower when succeeding eras are progressively scanned For example, the 1910–29 era would be the next most logical analysis, and in it the careers of those who started their careers... remarkably consistent with those of HOF electors When this is not the case, reasons given should, at least, be found rational — perhaps compelling Where the system gives a high rank to players ignored by the HOF, readers may be encountering either a HOF oversight or a system weakness Where it yields a low rank to players elected to the HOF, the reasons are most often the following: • The player died prematurely . x0 y0 w0 h0" alt="" Baseball’s Offensive Greats of the Deadball Era ALSO BY ROBERT E. KELLY AND FROM MCFARLAND The National Debt of the United States, 1941. for the Hot Stove League: Fifteen Essays (1989) Baseball’s Best: Hall of Fame Pretenders Active in the Eighties (1988) Baseball’s Offensive Greats of the