While Cree had an excellent year in 1911, it's worth noting that batting averages were unusually high that year. In 1910, AL batters hit just .243, which was typical of the Dead Ball Era. But in 1911, when a better cork was put inside the ball, the batting average for AL hitters shot up to .273, with Cobb and Shoeless Joe batting over .400. From 1912 to 1917, AL batting averages plummeted as pitchers developed new ways to tamper with the ball. A better ball was introduced in 1919 or 1920, and spitballs were banned for new pitchers, which led to extraordinarily high batting averages. The ball was dejuiced in 1931, which resulted in lower batting averages.
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