Why did the New York version of baseball become more popular after the Civil War?

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Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants swings his bat after hitting his record-breaking 756th home run, with the catcher, umpire, and a cheering crowd behind him at AT&T Park. — History of baseball Giants legend Barry Bonds hitting his record-setting 756th career home run, August 7, 2007.

The New York version of baseball became the predominant style of the game following the American Civil War primarily because soldiers from New York and New Jersey taught this version to others during the conflict.21

Prior to the war, two distinct versions of the game existed: the Massachusetts game, which utilized a soft ball, and the New York game, which used a harder ball. The New York rules, formulated by the New York Knickerbocker Base Ball Club in 1845, featured a significant change where runners were put out by being tagged with the ball rather than being hit by it. This modification allowed for the use of a harder ball, which facilitated a larger-scale game that ultimately gained widespread popularity as it spread across the country after the war.21