“Shoeless” Joe Jackson had a good week. The Court of Historical Review in San Francisco ruled Thursday Jackson, who was banned from baseball for his role in the infamous “Black Sox” scandal, should be reinstated to the game.
As important as that sounds, it probably won’t mean much. The Court of Historical Review is an ad hoc body that calls itself into session to rule on such pressing issues as who invented pasta-the Italians or the Chinese.
The court also ruled in 1985 that Alexander Cartwright, not Abner Doubleday, was the real founder of baseball, but failed to come up with a definite answer a year later on the question of whether Babe Ruth “called” his home run in Wrigley Field.
While the court may sound frivolous, the decision in Jackson’s case was handed down by a real municipal court judge and will be sent to major-league baseball officials.
Jackson was banned from baseball along with seven other White Sox players when Commissioner Kennesaw Mountain Landis concluded they plotted with gamblers to lose the 1919 World Series to the Cincinnati Reds.
Despite the allegations, Jackson played errorless ball in the Series, batted .375 and hit the only home run. He has the third-highest batting average in history (.356 for 13 seasons), but-like Pete Rose-Jackson is in ineligible for the Hall of Fame.
Rose is campaigning actively to be reinstated so he can go into the hall. Jackson can’t do that. He died in 1951. But if Rose gets in, maybe Jackson should, too. Just ask the Court of Historical Review.
Mr. Wizard: Cleveland’s Kenny Lofton is having a sterling year without a lot of fanfare. Lofton came into the weekend ranked in the Top 10 in the league in batting average (.315), runs (86), hits (138), triples (8), on-base average (.392) and multi-hit games (46). Lofton also leads the league with 48 stolen bases and was tied for second with 11 outfield assists.
Bad Candy: Candy Maldonado for Glenallen Hill? Both are having horrible years. Maldonado was batting .187 for the Cubs. Hill was hitting .224 for Cleveland. But Hill is four years younger than the 32-year-old Maldonado. He’s faster. And he is making much less ($975,000 to $1.65 million).
Advantage hitters: Texas pitcher Nolan Ryan says hitters have been getting all the breaks for far too long. “Every rule change made in the last 25 to 30 years has favored the hitter,” says Ryan. “The strike zone is smaller. The mounds were lowered. The designated hitter was added in the American League. All those changes have resulted in longer games, more fights and much more aggression.” White Sox pitching coach Jackie Brown agrees-at least as far as the hitters getting all the breaks. “I said 20 years ago that sooner or later they’re going to get rid of the pitchers and just stick a machine out there and let everybody hit until they just drop-until the last guy can’t hit any more.”
Running around: The Blue Jays are a notch above most teams in the running game with speedsters Rickey Henderson, Devon White and Roberto Alomar. Only California and Milwaukee have more stolen bases. But the Jays are pretty generous giving back what they take. Catcher Pat Borders leads the league with 85 stolen bases against him coming into this weekend. Borders never has been known for a great throwing arm and he has the problems of working with pitchers such as Jack Morris, who is slow coming to the plate.
For lease: The Red Sox are shopping shortstop Luis Rivera, without much luck. Rivera has appeared in just 53 games this season and has more strikeouts (32) than hits (26). A lifetime .233 hitter, Rivera is batting .222. He led the American League with 24 errors at shortstop in 1991 and has five as a part-time player this year. Rivera is small potatoes compared to another name being mentioned as a trade possibility-Oakland’s Dennis Eckersley.
Jinx: Outfielder Bob Zupcic is getting a rep as a black cat on the Red Sox. Zupcic came in as a defensive replacement in the eighth inning of last Wednesday night’s game against the White Sox. Boston right-hander Danny Darwin had a no-hitter going until then. Darwin gave up his only hit of the night one out later. It was the second time in two seasons that Zupcic has come in late in a no-hitter. Last year, in Toronto, he came in for the ninth inning and Frank Viola promptly gave up a hit to Devon White.
Zupcic replaced right-fielder Andre Dawson in last week’s game. If Zupcic had gone to center, the Red Sox might have had their first no-hitter in 28 years. The lone hit Darwin gave up was a triple by Dan Pasqua off the center-field wall, just inches out of the reach of 5-foot-9-inch Billy Hatcher. Zupcic is six inches taller than Hatcher.
Around the league: Wrap up the rookie-of-the-year trophy. California’s Tim Salmon came into the weekend leading the Angels with 28 homers. That’s a club record for a rookie, breaking the old mark of 25 set by Ken Hunt in 1961. Salmon, who turns 25 on Tuesday, also has 81 runs batted in. He would become the first rookie of the year in the 33-year history of the Angels’ franchise.
Saturday’s pitching matchup between Boston’s Roger Clemens and Bob Ojeda of Cleveland was a rematch of the starters in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series-the infamous game that ended with the ball rolling between Bill Buckner’s legs. Ojeda was with the Mets then. . . . Baltimore’s Brady Anderson continues to come through with the bases loaded. He had a two-run single last Wednesday to raise his average to .571 (8 for 14) with the bases full. . . . The Indians, meanwhile, continue to struggle in the clutch. They were swept at home for the first time this year by the Rangers last week and the last loss came in extra innings, making the Indians 1-7 in extra-inning games this year. . . . Robin Yount has eight home runs this season. All have been solo shots. . . . The Angels finally picked up left-hander Joe Magrane, 10 days after he was released by the Cardinals. Magrane is scheduled to start Sunday against Milwaukee.
