Big Sticks: The Batting Revolution of the Twenties - Hardcover

Curran, William

3.77

35 ratings by Goodreads

9780688064693: Big Sticks: The Batting Revolution of the Twenties

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0688064698 ISBN 13: 9780688064693

Publisher: William Morrow & Co, 1990

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Discusses reasons for the huge increase in home runs during the 1920s, and looks at the accomplishments of Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, George Sisler, Lou Gehrig and Rogers Hornsby

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From Publishers Weekly:

When Babe Ruth hit 54 home runs in 1920, he changed the game of baseball, with the result that fans demanded the use of the "long ball" that powered homers, players started to swing for the fences and salaries for sluggers began to rise. Yet, as Curran ( Mitts ) points out, the decade saw not only the proliferation of home runs but also a tremendous spurt in batting averages: .400 hitters were no rarity (in the 1930 season 54 batters hit over .300), and even team averages of .300-plus were not uncommon. Many sports writers have wagered that a newly constructed "hopped-up" ball was responsible for the transformation, but Curran contends that the cause lay instead in such practices as the outlawing of certain pitches (e.g., the spitball). Regardless, this was baseball's most exciting era--and one in which there is abiding interest, which will be whetted by Curran's fine effort.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal:

Curran's title summarizes the dramatic hitting surge of the 1920s, as swelling batting averages and skyrocketing home run totals changed baseball forever. Curran, author of Mitts: A Celebration of the Art of Fielding ( LJ 6/1/85), describes the influence of the livelier baseball and the emergence of Babe Ruth as a slugger, as the game shifted from tight defensive play to wide open offensive play. Recording the hitting achievements of Ruth, Ty Cobb, Lou Gehrig, Rogers Hornsby, and others, Curran recaps the decade's pennant chases and World Series. Somewhat paralleling William B. Mead's Two Spectacular Seasons ( LJ 2/1/90), this is worthwhile for popular sports collections.
- Morey Berger, Monmouth Cty . Lib., Manalapan, N.J.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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