47-year old former Reds’ shortstop Barry Larkin has been elected to Baseball’s Hall of Fame.  He got 86% of the vote from the Baseball Writers and he will be inducted along with Ron Santo who was elected by the Veteran’s Committee.  Larkin played all 19 of his seasons with the Cincinnati Reds.  He played in 2,180 games for the Reds in which he was 2,340 of 7,937 (.295 avg, .815 OPS) with 1,329 runs scored, 198 homers, 960 RBIs and 379 stolen bases.  Larkin was the MVP of the National League back in 1995.  He played in 131 games in 1995 for the Reds and he was 158 of 496 (.319 avg, .886 OPS) with 98 runs scored, 15 homers, 66 RBIs and 51 stolen bases.  Larkin was a 12-time N.L. All-Star.  He also won six Silver Slugger Awards and 3 Gold Gloves in his 19 years in the majors.  Larkin is deserving of his election to the Hall of Fame, but his overall numbers are not that much better than Tim Raines or Alan Trammell’s.

I watched the movie Eight Men Out last week (I think my 3rd viewing of it) and it made me decide to look back at the players involved and how there careers panned out.  To give you a little backstory, the 1919 Chicago White Sox threw the 1919 World Series.  They were paid off by gamblers and some of the players accepted the cash because owner Charles Comiskey was viewed as a cheapskate.  It’s too bad the players didn’t know that they essentially were throwing their careers away for such a small amount of cash.  The Reds beat the White Sox 5-3 in the 1919 World Series.  Seven of the eight White Sox players “involved” returned to play for the White Sox in 1920 (1B Chick Gandil was the only one that didn’t).  The White Sox finished the 1920 season with a 96-58 record which left them in second place in the A.L. East, 2 games behind the Cleveland Indians.  On August 1st, 1921 the eight players on the White Sox and the gamblers involved in the fixing of the 1919 World Series were acquitted of all charges.  But, on August 3rd, 1921, Baseball Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis banned the eight players for life from major league baseball for fixing games or knowing of the fixing of games and not coming forward.  Here is a look at the real Eight Men Out:

Righty swinging 1B Chick Gandil was known as one of the players who set up the fix.  Gandil was 31-years old in 1919 which turned out to be the last year of his major league career.  Gandil played in 115 games in 1919 during the regular season and he was 128 for 441 (.290 avg, .709 OPS) with 54 runs scored, 1 homer, 60 RBIs and 10 stolen bases.  Gandil played in all 8 games in the 1919 World Series and he was 7 for 30 (.233 avg, .558 OPS) with 1 run scored, 5 RBIs and 1 stolen base.  Gandil played in 1,147 games in his 9 years in the major leagues and he was 1,176 for 4,245 (.277 avg, .689 OPS) with 449 runs scored, 11 homers, 557 RBIs and 151 stolen bases.

Righty starting pitcher Eddie Cicotte was 35-years old when he took the money for the fix.  He was the only player to get the full $10,000 bucks for the fix as he demanded to be paid up front.  He was essentially stiffed out of that same amount in bonus money from the White Sox which he would have earned if he won 30 games in 1919….he won 29.  The White Sox held him out of a couple starts late in that season to “rest his arm”…..wink…..wink.  Cicotte pitched in 40 games (35 starts) for the White Sox in 1919 and he was 29-7 with 1 saves, a 1.82 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP.  He led the majors in innings pitched (306 2/3) and wins (29) in 1919.  Cicotte pitched in 3 games (all starts) in the 1919 World Series and he was 1-2 with a 2.91 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP.  Cicotte returned to the White Sox in 1920 and he pitched in 37 games (35 starts) in which he was 21-10 with a 3.26 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP.  Cicotte pitched in 14 seasons in the major leagues working in 502 games (361 starts) in which he was 209-148 with 24 saves, a 2.38 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP.

Lefty Williams was 26-years old in 1919.  The lefty starting pitcher worked in 41 games (40 starts) in 1919 for the White Sox and he was 23-11 with 1 save, a 2.64 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP.  He was really bad in the 1919 World Series.  Williams pitched in 3 games (all starts) in the 1919 World Series and he was 0-3 with a 6.61 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP.  Williams returned in 1920 for the White Sox and he pitched in 39 games (38 starts) in which he was 22-14 with a 3.91 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP.  Williams pitched 7 years in the majors working in 189 games (152 starts) in which he was 82-48 with a 3.13 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP.

Shoeless Joe Jackson was a 31-year old lefty swinging outfielder in 1919 for the White Sox.  Jackson played in 139 games for the White Sox in 1919 and he was 181 for 516 (.351 avg, .928 OPS) with 79 runs scored, 7 homers, 96 RBIs and 9 stolen bases.  Jackson played in all 8 games in the 1919 World Series and he was 12 for 32 (.375 avg, .956 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 1 homer and 6 RBIs.  Jackson came back in 1920 and he had a monster year for the Chicago White Sox.  Jackson played in 1,332 games in his 13 years in the majors and he was 1,772 for 4,981 (.356 avg, .940 OPS) with 873 runs scored, 54 homers, 785 RBIs and 202 stolen bases.  Jackson also had 168 triples in his major league career which is #26 all-time.  Jackson is the only one of these guys that is a legit Hall of Famer but he is banned from consideration due to his actions in 1919.

Happy Felsch was a 27-year old righty swinging outfielder in 1919.  He played in 135 games for the White Sox in 1919 and he was 138 for 502 (.275 avg, .764 OPS) with 68 runs scored, 7 homers, 86 RBIs and 19 stolen bases.  Felsch also played in 8 games in the 1919 World Series and he was 5 for 26 (.192 avg, .453 OPS) with 2 runs scored, 0 homers and 3 RBIs.  Felsch had the best season of his major league career in his last one, 1920 with the White Sox.  Felsch played in 142 games for the White Sox in 1920 and he was 188 for 556 (.338 avg, .923 OPS) with 88 runs scored, 14 homers, 115 RBIs and 8 stolen bases.  Felsch played in 749 games in his six years in the majors and he was 825 for 2,812 (.293 avg, .774 OPS) with 385 runs scored, 38 homers, 446 RBIs and 88 stolen bases.

Shortstop Swede Risberg was a 24-year old righty swinging shortstop in 1919.  He was one of the ringleaders in the fix according to the movie Eight Men Out.  Risberg played in 119 games in 1919 and he was 106 for 414 (.256 avg, .662 OPS) with 48 runs scored, 2 homers, 38 RBIs and 19 stolen bases.  Risberg played in all 8 games in the 1919 World Series and he was 2 for 25 (.080 avg, .393 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 0 homers, 0 RBIs and 1 stolen base.  He returned to the White Sox in 1920 and he played in 126 games in which he was 122 for 458 (.266 avg, .685 OPS) with 53 runs scored, 2 homers, 65 RBIs and 12 stolen bases.  Risberg played in 476 games in his four years in his major league career and he was 394 for 1,619 (.243 avg, .644 OPS) with 196 runs scored, 6 homers, 175 RBIs and 52 stolen bases.

27-year old righty swinging backup infielder Fred McMullin was also in on the fix, even though he had little if any impact on the outcome of the series.  McMullin played in 60 games in 1919 for the White Sox and he was 50 for 170 (.294 avg, .743 OPS) with 31 runs scored, 0 homers, 19 RBIs and 4 stolen bases.  He played in 2 games in the 1919 World Series and he was 1 for 2 (.500 avg, 1.000 OPS).  McMullin returned in 1920 for the White Sox and he played in 46 games in which he was 25 for 127 (.197 avg, .523 OPS) with 14 runs scored, 0 homers, 13 RBIs and 1 stolen base.  McMullin played in 304 games in his six years in the majors and he was 234 for 914 (.256 avg, .635 OPS) with 120 runs scored, 1 homer, 70 RBIs and 31 stolen bases.

Righty swinging 3B Buck Weaver was 28-years old in 1919.  He wasn’t in on the fix but he knew about it and failed to report it to the team which resulted in his banishment from baseball.  Weaver played in 140 games for the White Sox in 1919 and he was 169 for 571 (.296 avg, .716 OPS) with 89 runs scored, 3 homers, 75 RBIs and 22 stolen bases.  Weaver also played in all 8 games in the 1919 World Series and he was 11 for 34 (.324 avg, .824 OPS) with 4 runs scored.  Weaver returned to the White Sox in 1920 and he had a good year.  Weaver played in 151 games in 1920 for the White Sox and he was 208 for 629 (.331 avg, .785 OPS) with 102 runs scored, 2 homers, 74 RBIs and 19 stolen bases.  Weaver played in 1,254 games in his 9 years in the majors and he was 1,308 of 4,809 (.272 avg, .662 OPS) with 623 runs scored, 21 homers, 420 RBIs and 173 stolen bases.

The Chicago “Black Sox” are generally considered baseball’s most notorious teams of all-time due to the 1919 World Series.  Now you know a little more about the players that were involved in the darkest scandal in major league history.

In his 11th season with the Yankees (1925), Wally Pipp had to leave a game due to injury.  He never got his job back as Lou Gehrig took over at 1B and the rest is history.  Pipp played in only 62 games for the Yankees in 1925 and he was 41 for 178 (.230 avg, .635 OPS) with 19 runs scored, 3 homers, 24 RBIs and 3 stolen bases.  Gehrig snapped up Pipp’s starting job by playing in 126 games in 1925 in which he was 129 for 437 (.295 avg, .896 OPS) with 73 runs scored, 20 homers, 68 RBIs and 6 stolen bases.  Pipp played in 1,488 games in his 11 years with the New York Yankees and he was 1,577 for 5,594 (.282 avg, .757 OPS) with 820 runs scored, 80 homers, 826 RBIs and 114 stolen bases.  Pipp also had 121 triples with the Yankees which has him #4 in team history.  Pipp was sold to the Cincinnati Reds after the 1925 season for $7,500 bucks.  Pipp finished up his 15 year major league career with the Reds.  Pipp played in 1,872 games in his major league career and he was 1,941 of 6,914 (.281 avg, .749 OPS) with 974 runs scored, 90 homers, 997 RBIs and 125 stolen bases.  Pipp was living proof that you certainly can lose your job to injury.

QB Randall Cunningham was one of the best scrambling type players I have ever seen.  Cunningham was a lot style wise to Michael Vick, except that he was a better passer.  Cunningham played in 161 games (135 starts) in his NFL career and he completed 2,429 of 4,289 passes (56.6%) for 29,979 yards with 207 TD passes and 134 INTs (81.5 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 775 times for 4,928 yards (6.4 ypc) with 35 TD runs in his NFL career.  Cunningham played all out for the Eagles and he got banged up really bad.  So he was working as a backup QB for a while, but in 1998 with the Vikings……Cunningham not only started but he played really well getting the Vikings to the NFC Championship Game but falling just a tad short of getting his team to the Super Bowl.  In 1998, Cunningham played in 15 games (14 starts) and he completed 259 of 425 passes (60.9%) for 3,704 yards with 34 TD passes and 10 INTs (106.0 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 32 times for 141 yards (4.1 ypc) with 1 TD run in 1998.  Cunningham led the Vikings to a 13-1 record as the starting QB for the Vikings in 1998 and he made his 4th and final Pro Bowl that season.  Cunningham finished his career with a 82-52-1 (61.2%) record as a starting QB, so he was a winner.  He is also #34 in passing yards in NFL history with 29,979 and he’s also #28 in TD passes (207) in league history.  Cunningham deserves more respect for his solid NFL career.

Cy Young was a righty starting pitcher who worked from 1890-1911.  Over his 22 year major league career, Young set some records that will never be touched.  He is the majors’ all time leader in games started (815), wins (511), losses (316), complete games (749), innings pitched (7,356) and hits allowed (7,092).  Cy Young won at least 20 games in a season an amazing 15 times and he won more than 30 games in a year five times.  Cy Young pitched in 906 games (815 starts) in his 22 years in the majors and he was 511-316 with 17 saves, a 2.63 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP.  Young was elected into Baseball’s Hall of Fame in 1937.  He is the measure by whom all pitchers are judged as the award for the best pitcher in each league is named after him…..the Cy Young Award.  Forget about the 56-game hitting streak of Joe DiMaggio or Ted Williams’ .406 batting average……no one will EVER touch Young’s all-time record of 511 wins.  To put it into perspective, 44-year old Tim Wakefield is the current leader of active players in wins and he has 194 of them.  34-year old righty Roy Halladay is #2 on the active wins list with 175.