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In 1901 the American League was established from the minor Western League, and their president (Ban Johnson) ensured that teams would play in rival National League cities as well as raid the other league for talented ball players, offering better pay. A key difference between the two was also established: the designated hitter rule, in which a player not on the field would be in the batting lineup to replace the pitcher. The popularity of the American League was serious enough for a truce to be called, culminating in a championship "World Series" between the two leagues since 1903.
In 1901 the American League was established from the minor Western League, and their president (Ban Johnson) ensured that teams would play in rival National League cities as well as raid the other league for talented ball players, offering better pay. A key difference between the two was also established: the designated hitter rule, in which a player not on the field would be in the batting lineup to replace the pitcher. The popularity of the American League was serious enough for a truce to be called, culminating in a championship "World Series" between the two leagues since 1903.
===First stars===
===Dead-ball era===
The simplicity of baseball caused the game to be spread far and wide. Four bags placed on an otherwise empty field allowed it to be played almost immediately; adults played it as readily as children, and even a period as horrendous as the [[American Civil War]] had the game played often on both sides when battles were not being waged. The creation of the professional leagues afterwards also led to statistical record keeping; fans wanted to know who was the best ball player on any given team, whether it was pitching, fielding, or batting. Newspapers kept up with the teams from their cities, familiarizing the players to the fans, and baseball cards were created, added to packs of cigarettes before they became a staple of bubble gum wraps.
The simplicity of baseball caused the game to be spread far and wide. Four bags placed on an otherwise empty field allowed it to be played almost immediately; adults played it as readily as children, and even a period as horrendous as the [[American Civil War]] had the game played often on both sides when battles were not being waged. The creation of the professional leagues afterwards also led to statistical record keeping; fans wanted to know who was the best ball player on any given team, whether it was pitching, fielding, or batting. Newspapers kept up with the teams from their cities, familiarizing the players to the fans, and baseball cards were created, added to packs of cigarettes before they became a staple of bubble gum wraps.
Paul Hines (1852-1935) was recognized for being the first player to win Major League's Triple Crown, as well as being a two-time batting champion. Charles “Old Hoss’ Radbourn (1854–1897) was among the first "endurance" men; as pitcher for four teams during his career he compiled a 309-195 career record, winning in 1884 the National League's pitching Triple Crown with a 1.38 ERA, 441 strikeouts, and a 60-win season which still has not been broken.
Among the first stars of baseball in the late 19th century were Paul Hines (1852-1935) was recognized for being the first player to win Major League's Triple Crown, as well as being a two-time batting champion. Charles “Old Hoss’ Radbourn (1854–1897) was among the first "endurance" men; as pitcher for four teams during his career he compiled a 309-195 career record, winning in 1884 the National League's pitching Triple Crown with a 1.38 ERA, 441 strikeouts, and a 60-win season which still has not been broken. Cy Young (1867-1955) would amass five hundred wins as a pitcher during his career as well as pitching the first perfect game in American League history<ref>http://sabr.org/gamesproj/game/may-5-1904-cy-young-pitches-perfect-game</ref>.
But this was also an era in which games were played with the intention of getting on base, advancing on base, and batting runs in; swinging for the fences in a home run was extremely rare. It was the pitcher who dominated the field, throwing emery balls (a baseball dented first by hitting it on concrete) and spitballs (a baseball coated with saliva or other liquid substance) as readily as curve and fast balls. The ball itself was the only one used throughout the entire game, becoming dark and misshapen before the game was over. The batter had to use strategy to get on base; records for triples (batter getting safely to third base) between 1900-1920 were high, while batting averages (.239 to .283 in both leagues) in the same time period were low. The exceptions were from those who took a more careful approach to hitting the ball; Ty Cobb (1886-1961) batted .420 with 248 hits in 1911, and he would have a lifetime average of .367. "Shoeless" Joe Jackson (1888-1951) hit .408 in the same year, never going below that number during the remainder of his shortened career.
This "dead-ball" era would end rather abruptly. The [[Black Sox Scandal]] - an episode in which players of the Chicago White Sox took money to alter the outcome of the 1919 World Series - threatened to end baseball itself, and owners realized changes had to be made; the replacement of the baseball during play as soon as it was so much as scuffed in 1920 is cited as the chief reason for the end of this era. The additional elimination of emery and spitballs caused the star of the game to be in the batter's box rather than on the mound, allowing the game to see an increase in the hitting of home runs.
==Modern Baseball==
==Modern Baseball==