After Shoeless Joe Jackson, the best player involved in the Black Sox scandal was Eddie Cicotte, an ace pitcher who was as crooked as he was successful. His career 2.38 ERA is 24th best in history and it’s likely he would have ended up in the HoF if not for his role amongst the Black Sox.
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Bill Klem, generally regarded as the best umpire of all time, umpired 37 years in the big leagues, worked in 18 World Series, and is said to have gained the respect of even the famously feisty John McGraw. This is what he looked like:
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Today’s picture is of Babe Ruth after a collision with a concrete wall. Ouch!
This picture from 1924 can be found on the Library of Congress Flickr stream, and has no known copyright restrictions.
The general perception of the World Baseball Classic is that, almost universally, fans want their favorite team’s players- and especially pitchers- to avoid it like the plague. Which is why it’s interesting when I saw poll results on ESPN.com:
Huh. What do you know. It seems like a majority of people, at least on ESPN, would be fine with it. Now, it’s hardly a runaway majority, but it is a majority. Perhaps this suggests that there is a “silent majority” in favor of the WBC that is overlooked by the fact that those who are against having their team’s players playing in it make a lot more noise.
(Now, admittedly, this is hardly a scientific poll, and isn’t exactly specific- for example, it isn’t something like specifically asking Tigers fans if they’d be okay with Justin Verlander pitching, or Mariners fans if they are okay with how Felix Martinez is pitching, but the fact remains: in general, it seems like a majority of people have no problem with their team’s pitchers playing in the WBC.)
Many old baseball cards were done back before cameras were all that good, especially in outdoor conditions. So instead, the action was staged indoors, like this card of Billy Sunday, who would later become a noted evangelical preacher after his career ended.
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Chick Gandil was, in many ways, the mastermind of the players’ side of the Black Sox scandal. Earlier in his career, however, he played in Washington. Check out that old glove!
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And now, because nobody asked for it, an image of a young Casey Stengel wearing sunglasses, circa 1915.
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Outside of Busch Stadium, there is a simple statue of a left-handed Cardinal at the bat. There are only two things inscribed upon it: The man’s name on one side, and on one of the other sides, a quote:
“Here stands baseball’s perfect warrior. Here stands baseball’s perfect knight.”
The Baseball Continuum 