Off-Topic Forum

Baseball has been around for over 150 years, and it’s history has been anything but steady. Baseball’s past has been riddled with scandals and strikes. Here’s a quick overview of some of Baseball’s worst moments and the players and coaches that caused them.

 

1877 Louisville Grays

 

 

The 1877 Louisville Grays were the leading team in the NL in the 1877 team about midway through the season, with a respectable record of 27-13. They were 4.5 games up on second place Boston at the time. They then proceeded to go on a 9 game winless streak (With one tie). They then went on to win 6 out of their last 7 games. These wins came AFTER Boston clinched the pennant (winning 20 of their final 21 games). This made their season record of 35-25 look somewhat respectable, but club president Charles E. Chase received a telegram, which is a message sent in morse code through a telegraph machine, that informed him of suspicious team gambling activity. Chase then proceeded to make every team member hand over their telegrams. Everyone except a player named Bill Craver handed them over. Two players, Jim Devlin and George Hall, had already admitted to rigging several late season exhibition games. In total, four players: Craver, Hall, Devlin, and a utility outfielder named Al Nichols (Who was signed near the midseason mark by suggestion of Hall) were deemed guilty of throwing games. They were then banned from baseball.

 

Now, except for Nichols, these were great ballplayers. Craver was the team captain and had led the NL in triples in 1875, Hall was a career .322 hitter and had led the league the year prior with 5 home runs. Then there was Jim Devlin*. Jim Devlin was the team’s pitcher. He started and finished ALL of the teams’ games. That year, with him admitting to throwing games, he went 35-25 with a 2.25 ERA. He did not allow a home run for the first year of his career, and for his career, he allowed only 7 home runs in 1400 innings of work. That’s an all-time MLB record. For his career, he went 71-76 with a 1.90 ERA, with a 150 career ERA+ and a 2.32 FIP. This means that he was at least 50% better than the average pitcher in the league at the time, and he was pitching 60 complete games a season. He was one of the top 3 best pitchers, if not the best pitcher in the league at the time. He may have gone on to have a Hall of Fame career. Now, the irony is that two of these crooked baseball players went on to become police officers. Tell me how that makes sense.

 

Now, this isn’t baseball’s first instance of players rigging games. In 1865, the New York Mutuals lost three players because of a player called William Wansley conspiring to throw a game against the Brooklyn Excelsiors. Also, an umpire named Dick Higham in 1870 was proven to be in cahoots with a gambler and was fixing games for the then Detroit Wolverines. He remains the only umpire to be banned from baseball.

 

*There was a Jim Devlin that played from 1886-1889 that was more or less a good player. He died at the same age (34) as Devlin when he died. Do not confuse the two. 

 

If you want to know more about this scandal, go here:https://www.azsnakepit.com/2011/5/24/2131205/baseballs-greatest-scandals-9-the-louisville-greys

 

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1908 Bribery Scandal

 

 

In the 1908 season, with the NL pennant on the line, the New York Giants and the Chicago Cubs were about to play a make up game for one of the season’s many rainouts. It is alleged that the Giants team physician went up to an umpire (Bill Klem) and attempted to bribe him. He was subsequently banned from baseball. But, rumors from the time show that the physician may have been a scapegoat and John McGraw may have been the real culprit. Imagine the implications if that were proven to be true. If the rumors were true, John McGraw may have had something to do with the 1924 attempted bribery of outfielder Heinie Sand by Cozy Dolan and Jimmie O’Connell. 

 

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Black Sox Scandal of 1919

 

 

This is probably the most well known instance of game fixing in the history of sports. The Chicago White Sox were the best team in the AL, going 88-52. They had numerous stars like Eddie Cicotte (29-7 on the year), Lefty Williams (23-11), Joe Jackson (.351 BA), Eddie Collins (.319), and one of the worst Hall of Fame players ever Ray Schalk (.282). They were loaded with talent and the favorites going into the World Series by a wide margin.

 

Now, to set the scene in the clubhouse, players were not happy with the owner Charlie Comiskey and their payroll. This is what many consider to be the cause of the infamous 8 to throw the World Series. The reality was that the White Sox had the largest payroll in the MLB. They paid even more money out to their players than the Yankees. Really, what the players who threw the series did was make a few extra bucks. Their hate towards Comiskey and the drive of the extra money was what drove the players to throw the series.

 

Anyway, to the World Series we go. Eddie Cicotte sends the signal, a Hit by Pitch to the Cincinnati Reds’ first batter, showing that the fix was on (the player was Morrie Rath, one of the most unique major league players ever.). The White Sox lost the series in 8 games (It was a first-to-five wins format).

 

The 8 players banned from baseball were: Joe Jackson, Buck Weaver, Chick Gandill, Happy Felsch, Fred McMullin, Swede Risberg, Eddie Cicotte, and Lefty Williams. 

 

Now, Buck Weaver wasn’t involved in the fix, but he was banned because of guilty knowledge of the fix and not reporting it. 

 

You could tell from the stats that Chick Gandill (.233 BA, 1 error), Happy Felsch (.192 BA, 2 errors), Swede Risberg (.080 BA, 4 errors), Eddie Cicotte (The hit-by-pitch signal), and Lefty Williams (6.61 ERA, 0-3 Record) threw. 

 

Really, Fred McMullin was indicted by teammates and only had 2 ABs in the series.

 

Joe Jackson was the World Series’ best hitter. He hit .375 with 12 hits and a home run. He was the only player that gave a positive impact offensively on an average team (WPA). He also committed 0 errors. He always claimed that he was innocent of the charges, and I’m inclined to believe him. Even the other 6 conspirators admitted that he wasn’t present at the fixing meetings. Williams just brought him up in front of the gamblers to gain the fixers credibility. 

 

A very compelling argument can be made that, had this fixing had not taken place, Cicotte and Jackson would both be in the Hall of Fame.

 

These players were banned by Commissioner Kenesaw Landis in 1920, despite an innocent verdict from the circuit courts. This is the worst case of fixing games in MLB history.

 

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The 1985 Coke Scandal

 

 

This was the first real drug scandal that spread across the MLB. 

 

In 1985, many players, mostly Pirates, were alleged to have dealt and taken coke. 

 

They were brought to court over it and many were indicted.

 

• Joaquín Andújar: Was proven to have taken coke during and after games. He was a four time All Star and was a very good playoff pitcher. He had to donate 10% of his salary to drug abuse programs, submit to random drug tests, and 100 hours of drug related community service.

 

• Dale Berra: Was proven to have taken coke during and after games. He is the son of Yogi Berra. He really never was a good MLB player. He had to donate 10% of his salary to drug abuse programs, submit to random drug tests, and 100 hours of drug related community service.

 

• Enos Cabell: Was proven to have taken coke during and after games. He was an average MLB player. He had to donate 10% of his salary to drug abuse programs, submit to random drug tests, and 100 hours of drug related community service.

 

• Keith Hernandez: Was proven and admitted to taking coke during and after games. This is what is mostly what is keeping him out of the Hall of Fame. He had to donate 10% of his salary to drug abuse programs, submit to random drug tests, and 100 hours of drug related community service.

 

• Jeffrey Leonard: Was proven to have taken coke during and after games. He was an average MLB player and 2 time All Star. He had to donate 10% of his salary to drug abuse programs, submit to random drug tests, and 100 hours of drug related community service.

 

• Dave Parker: Was proven to have taken coke during and after games. He is almost a Hall of Fame quality player, and if his off the field issues were cleared up, he may have gotten better numbers to make it. He had to donate 10% of his salary to drug abuse programs, submit to random drug tests, and 100 hours of drug related community service.

 

• Lonnie Smith: Was proven to have taken coke during and after games. He was a very good player in his career. He only got one All Star selection, though. He had to donate 10% of his salary to drug abuse programs, submit to random drug tests, and 100 hours of drug related community service.

 

• Rod Scurry: The whistleblower to this affair. He himself died a coke related death at age 36 after an altercation with police.

 

• Al Holland: An average MLB pitcher. He received a 60 day suspension, donated 5% of his salary to drug abuse programs, submitted to random drug tests, and 50 hours of drug related community service.

 

• Lee Lacy: Another average MLB player. He received a 60 day suspension, donated 5% of his salary to drug abuse programs, submitted to random drug tests, and 50 hours of drug related community service.

 

• Lary Sorenson: A below average MLB pitcher. He received a 60 day suspension, donated 5% of his salary to drug abuse programs, submitted to random drug tests, and 50 hours of drug related community service.

 

• Claudell Washington: An above average player. He received a 60 day suspension, donated 5% of his salary to drug abuse programs, submitted to random drug tests, and 50 hours of drug related community service.

 

• Dusty Baker: He now is the manager of the Astros that made this year’s World Series. His name was brought up, but never was punished. He had to submit to random drug testing throughout his career, though.

 

• Vida Blue: A great player. One of the key cogs of the A’s 1970s dynasty. This might be keeping him from the Hall of Fame, as when I type Vida Blue into the Google search bar, coke comes up. That relation may be damaging enough to his reputation to make his Hall of Fame case damaged. His name was brought up, but never was punished. He had to submit to random drug testing throughout his career, though.

 

• Tim Raines: He is now in the Hall. He admitted to keeping a gram in his pocket during games and snorting in the locker room. 

 

• Manny Sarmiento/Dickie Noles/Daryl Sconiers/Derrel Thomas/Alan Wiggins: They were all in the same boat. Average to below average players named but not punished.

 

• Kevin Koch: He was the Pirates Mascot. He introduced many of the Pirates players to drug dealers in Pittsburgh.

 

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PEDS and HGH Scandals

 

 

Players are still being caught and punished for using PEDS and HGH. Here are some of the players that are known to have done so that were caught during the MLB’s investigation: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Major_League_Baseball_players_named_in_the_Mitchell_Report

 

Notable names that have been caught or at least alleged to have used these drugs are (That were caught in the Mitchell and subsequent reports in 2007-2009): Troy Glaus, Roger Clemens (Denies taking the drugs), Barry Bonds, José Canseco, Jason and Jeremy Giambi, Gary Sheffield, Mike Bell, Kevin Brown, Éric Gagné, David Justice, Andy Petttitte, Mo Vaughn, Miguel Tejada, Wally Joyner, and Juan Gonzalez.

 

Here’s an up to date list of everyone that’s been suspended because of PED use: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Major_League_Baseball_players_suspended_for_performance-enhancing_drugs

 

Notable names that were caught after the initial investigation include: Alex Rodriguez, Nelson Cruz, Ryan Braun, Manny Ramirez (Twice), Adalberto Mondesi, Starling Marte, Robinson Canó (Twice), and Michael Pineda.

 

Just this season Paul Campbell, Gregory Santos, Hector Santiago, and Ramón Laureano were suspended for 80 games because of PED use.

 

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Sign Stealing

 

 

Well, this is a rather new one.  It has been proven that the Astros were stealing signs from at least 2017 to 2019. The Astros were fined $5 million and lost their first and second round draft picks for the 2020 and 2021 MLB drafts.

 

The lesser known sign stealing scandal is that Boston also stole signs at the same time. “On April 22, 2020, MLB suspended Red Sox video replay system operator J.T. Watkins without pay through the 2020 postseason and stripped the team of its second-round draft pick this year (2020) after completing an investigation into allegations that Boston stole signs during the 2018 season,” one article announced. The Red Sox fired then-manager Alex Cora, once the Athletic alleged that they stole signs. The Mets also parted ways with Carlos Beltrán who was also part of the staff for the 2018 Boston team. 

 

Just know if you’re rooting against the Astros for this reason, you really should root against the Red Sox for the same reason.

 

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SpiderTack/Foreign Substances

 

 

This is the most recent scandal. Just as the batters could cork their bats and double dip them in lacquer, the pitchers used SpiderTack and other sticky substances to gain RPMs. More than 70 percent of the pitchers, according to Trevor Bauer (Who probably used it himself), used substances not sanctioned by the MLB.

 

The league spin rate is now a lot lower because of the banning and searching for pitchers using these substances to gain more advantage over the hitters. The league ERA has also gone up because of this change. ‘

 

Adam Wainwright straight up admitted to using SpiderTack (a substance used to gain a better grip when pushing and lifting Atlas Stones). He received no punishment because he did not do it after the cutoff date.

 

Héctor Sántiago was caught using a foreign substance as was Caleb Smith, a Diamondbacks pitcher. They were suspended 10 games. 

 

Since then, the league has basically gone into a more normal state, although there is a great power surge going on. 

You have done it again. I think the whole cocaine one is the most interesting because it is literally blocking people from the hof. My article is up to 19 out of 1 117 paragraphs LOL.

You know the pracitce of putting an asterix next to events that Frankie Frisch started randomly when a player got a new record in more games played or abnormal cirumstances took place (Tie in the All Star Game for example because of rainout)? There is no asterix next to the 1919 World Series. If there was any circumstance to use an asterix because of strange circumstances, that is the circumstance.

Another good article.  Keep them coming.