It's amazingly been over 90 years since it occurred, but the legendary'19 World Series scandal most definitely lives on with baseball historians and any enthusiasts of the game. With much controversy these days about Pete Rose and his possible place in Cooperstown, another figure with parallels to Rose is Shoeless Joe Jackson, who played for the'19 White Sox (also known as the "Black Sox") for their role in throwing the'19 World Series against the Reds.
Jackson had a career that spanned thirteen years, and played with four teams in all. Most notable was his tenure in Chicago, but he also played for the Indians, Athletics, and Naps. His numbers as a professional ballplayer were very impressive.
Some of these numbers include a .356 career batting average, 785 RBIs, and 168 career triples. The power was low, but this came in an era where lower home run totals were more commonplace.
Well maybe not H.O.F. worthy from looking at those right away, but he seemingly hit for average. Now I'll post his advanced numbers, which are pretty impressive.
If we take a further look at some of his stats, we'll see that Jackson had an extremely low strikeout ratio, going down on strikes only once every 24 at bats. Additionally, his on base percentage was .423 and his OPS was .540. All great statistics.
Aside from the numbers, his biggest roadblock is the'19 World Series incident. Jackson's team, opposing the Cincinnati Reds in the World Series, lost, and Jackson and all of his teammates were accused of intentionally throwing the World Series in what became known as the "Black Sox scandal". Despite these accusations, Jackson batted .375 with a World Series record 12 hits. Never made any errors either. One could easily argue that Jackson didn't throw the series.
Many have accused Jackson of allowing multiple Reds triples in left field, where he played for the White Sox. However, further research of mine has shown that no triples were hit to Jackson's part of the field in the'19 series. Jackson, however, did receive a $5,000 payment according to records.
So he made a mistake. His actions indicate little (if any) foul play in the way of performance. Should he make it in?
Jackson had a career that spanned thirteen years, and played with four teams in all. Most notable was his tenure in Chicago, but he also played for the Indians, Athletics, and Naps. His numbers as a professional ballplayer were very impressive.
Some of these numbers include a .356 career batting average, 785 RBIs, and 168 career triples. The power was low, but this came in an era where lower home run totals were more commonplace.
Well maybe not H.O.F. worthy from looking at those right away, but he seemingly hit for average. Now I'll post his advanced numbers, which are pretty impressive.
If we take a further look at some of his stats, we'll see that Jackson had an extremely low strikeout ratio, going down on strikes only once every 24 at bats. Additionally, his on base percentage was .423 and his OPS was .540. All great statistics.
Aside from the numbers, his biggest roadblock is the'19 World Series incident. Jackson's team, opposing the Cincinnati Reds in the World Series, lost, and Jackson and all of his teammates were accused of intentionally throwing the World Series in what became known as the "Black Sox scandal". Despite these accusations, Jackson batted .375 with a World Series record 12 hits. Never made any errors either. One could easily argue that Jackson didn't throw the series.
Many have accused Jackson of allowing multiple Reds triples in left field, where he played for the White Sox. However, further research of mine has shown that no triples were hit to Jackson's part of the field in the'19 series. Jackson, however, did receive a $5,000 payment according to records.
So he made a mistake. His actions indicate little (if any) foul play in the way of performance. Should he make it in?
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