Hi everyone, welcome back!  This month’s topic has a lot of people involved, especially compared to last month’s topic.  Also, you may not be familiar with all the names.  Last month you probably knew some of the names like Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, and George Washington.  Well, even if you didn’t, you do now!  Don’t worry though, I will make sure that we let you know who everyone is.  First let’s go over the players involved.  Is that okay?  Great.

Fred McMullen played infield for the White Sox, but off the bench.  They called him a utility infielder.  In 1919 he batted .294 with 19 RBIs.  He went to bat twice during the World Series, singling once and grounding out the second time.  The other players had to let him in on the fix because he overheard two of them talking about it in the locker room.

Swede Risberg played shortstop for the White Sox.  He was a tough player with a big temper.  He even fought Ty Cobb and punched an umpire in the minor leagues.  In 1919 he .256 with 38 RBIs.  In the World Series he played every game, getting only 2 hits but making 4 errors.

Oscar Felsch, or “Happy”, played centerfield for the White Sox.  He was one of the best defensive players in the game.  In 1919 he batted .275 with 86 RBIs.  He says he didn’t want to be a part of the fix, but he knew they would throw the Series without him and he would miss out on the money.  He made a number of defensive mistakes during the Series.

Claude “Lefty” Williams was a star pitcher for the White Sox.  He pitched 27 complete games in 1919, winning a total of 23 games.  He lost a record 3 games in the Series, giving up 12 earned runs.

George “Buck” Weaver played third base for the Sox and is the only player Ty Cobb would not bunt against.  In 1919 he hit .296 with 75 RBIs.  In the Series he batted .324 and made no errors.  He disputes having any role in the fix, but he attended 2 meetings about the scheme.  He was paid no money for the fix, but was banned for knowing about it and not saying anything.  He fought for reinstatement for the rest of his life.  His family still fights for it.

Charles “Chick” Gandil was the leader of the players behind the scandal.  In 1919 he batted .290 with 60 RBIs.  He played first base for the White Sox.

Eddie Cicotte starred for the White Sox pitching staff in 1919.  He pitched 30 complete games winning a total of 29 games.  He was key to the whole fix and signalled its start by hitting the first batter he faced in the Series.

Joe Jackson, called “Shoeless”, is the most famous of the 8 White Sox players thrown out of baseball.  In 1919 he batted .351 with 96 RBIs.  He definitely knew about the fix, but it is disputed if he had anything to do with it.  He made no errors and hit .375 with a homerun during the Series.  He did admit to getting money for the fix, but not playing for the fix.  As with Buck Weaver, people continue to try and get Joe Jackson reinstated to baseball.

Okay, that was a lot of info.  Rhonda has been bugging me to give you a bit more.  She thinks I should have a little baseball glossary at the end of this post.  She is probably correct, so here it goes.

RBI stands for Runs Batted In.  It is when a batter is able to get a player on base to score.
Complete Game means that the pitcher pitched the entire game.
An Error is when a fielder makes a mistake with the ball on defense.
A Home Run is when the batter hits the ball out of the ballpark.  He then gets to round the bases and score.

If I left anything out, let me know… I’m sure Rhonda will.