How Baseball has Changed and Influenced America in the past 100 Years Compared to Today.

            

             Baseball is continuous, like no other American tradition, an endless game of repeated summers, which brought together all generations of fathers and sons. Baseball has survived The Great Depression, World War I, and World War II. The game has stood tall and proud though the toughest trying times in history, and this is why baseball will always be an important place in American culture.

             Baseball used to be made up of one division until in 1901 when it dropped its twelve teams down to eight, and started the American League. Through the first decade of the twentieth century, baseball remained a game of strategy. The so-called dead ball provided few homeruns. The game relied on the contact hitters, bunting, and base stealing for its offense. Then in 1911 the cork center baseball changed the game dramatically. All kinds of records started to fall because the ball could be hit farther and harder than ever before and the popularity of the game started to grow. Then again in 1914 another rival league started to form. This League was called the Federal League, which only lasted two seasons due to the lack of presence on the field. They took the American and National League to court on assumptions of them both constituting a monopoly. The Federal League lost the allegations because the Supreme Court ruled that baseball was exempt from anti-trust legislation, which means they allowed their monopoly. .

             The twenties were a great time for Baseball because this is when George Ruth arose from being a pitcher for the Red Sox"s to become legendary hitter for the Yankees. Ruth revolutionized the game with his prowess as a homerun hitter, which all the fans would come from everywhere to watch him hit. Ruth also ushered in an era of economic prosperity for the game of Baseball and its owners.