MLB's forgotten campaign against the 'derelicts' who pocket foul balls

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3. According to BB historian Bill James

Foul balls hit into the bleachers during the dead ball era were retrieved by roving bands of kids who would trade the baseball for a soda. After a while, the retrieved balls would have been hit so many times by bats and whatever stands they hit coming down that they would become out of round. Hence, one of the reasons for the “bottle bat.”