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Posted By: Bob

Maybe they were clairvoyant. It was after Mays killed Chapman that all of a sudden the umps were instructed to throw a shiny new ball in and use it at all time instead of playing an entire game with 2-3 balls, all of which were cut, gouged, sliced, torn and stained with tobacco juice, licorice and God knows what else to point of becoming black.
In the aftermath of the 1919 WS, to help bring fans back, major league moguls decided that "chicks dig the long ball" and ordered the rubber centers replaced with cork and the balls were wrapped tighter also.