"Like players were putting the ball in play but not hitting it very well"
Yes, I'm pretty sure that's what was happening. But it doesn't really distinguish Ruth from anybody else in the deadball era (Rube Waddell aside).
IIRC, it used to be common for pitchers to throw a knuckleball every once in a while without being dedicated knuckleball pitchers. (Wikipedia confirms, FWIW.) So, it wouldn't be a surprise if Ruth threw the occasional knuckler, even if that wasn't his main pitch.
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