Rose, Shoeless Joe Become Hall Eligible

Rose, Shoeless Joe, Become Hall Eligible
Commentary by Sanford D. Horn
May 13, 2025

In a major league announcement made Tuesday, May 13, Major League Baseball Commissioner Robert D. Manfred, Jr., has declared the late Pete Rose, the late “Shoeless” Joe Jackson, and 15 other deceased players removed from the permanently ineligible list. 

The National Baseball Hall of Fame Historical Overview Committee will be tasked with determining who, if any, of the 17 deceased players are to be deemed worthy of appearing on a Hall of Fame ballot. Those ballotted players would be required to receive votes from at least 12 of the 16 members of the Classic Baseball Era Committee in order to earn enshrinement in Cooperstown. (The Village of Cooperstown in Otsego County, NY, is the home of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.) Rose and Jackson would have been automatics if not for their transgressions. Now, their families and fans will have to settle, perhaps, for posthumous inductions.

Major League Baseball and the National Baseball Hall of Fame are separate entities and as such have their own policies and procedures. When Rose’s banishment by Major League Baseball became official in 1989, the Hall of Fame lacked any rule barring those on the ineligible list from appearing on Hall of Fame ballots. Rose would have been a lock for the Class of 1992 - joining Rollie Fingers, Hal Newhouser, and my favorite player - Tom Seaver. The Hall of Fame knew any discussion of Rose entering Cooperstown would create a tumult. In 1991 the Hall of Fame installed a rule barring those on the Major League Baseball ineligible list from Hall eligibility. Interestingly, as that rule had not heretofore existed, Jackson appeared on Hall ballots in 1936 and 1946 earning less than one percent of the vote in both years.

Yet, in a statement following Manfred’s announcement, Hall of Fame board chairman Jane Forbes Clark said “the National Baseball Hall of Fame has always maintained that anyone removed from Baseball’s permanently ineligible list will become eligible for Hall of Fame consideration.”

I would like to think that the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA) would have brains enough to continue to balk at Jackson’s entry, but he is a sentimental favorite having been a major character in Phil Alden Robinson’s 1989 film Field of Dreams. However, it was in John Sayles’ 1988 film Eight Men Out that dramatized the crux of the 1919 Black Sox scandal where the heavily favored Chicago White Sox threw the World Series to the underdog Cincinnati Reds. Cavorting with gamblers, accepting payment to intentionally lose any game, let alone the World Series - actions have consequences.

The most immediate and long lasting consequence of the 1919 Black Sox scandal saw federal judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis installed as the first commissioner of Major League Baseball. He served from 1920 until his death in 1944. (Manfred, serving since 2015, is the tenth commissioner of Major League Baseball.) Landis had a goal to clean up baseball - get rid of the gamblers. 

Although the eight Chicago White Sox players won an acquittal in a court of law in 1921, having been sued by a fan who bet on the White Sox and, of course, lost. Landis banned them for life the very next day. “Regardless of the verdict of juries, no player who throws a ballgame, no player that entertains proposals or promises to throw a game, no player that sits in conference with a bunch of crooked players and gamblers where the ways and means of throwing games are discussed and does not promptly tell his club about it, will ever play professional baseball. Baseball is entirely competent to protect itself against crooks, both inside and outside the game,” Landis wrote.

Of the 17 deceased players who have now been freed from the permanently ineligible list, only three will be impacted by a potential enshrinement in Cooperstown. According to the BBWAA rules for election to the Hall of Fame, “3 - Eligible Candidates… B. Player must have played in each of ten (10) major league championship seasons… E. Any player on Baseball’s ineligible list shall not be an eligible candidate.”

The following players played fewer than the requisite 10 seasons: William Cox, Cozy Dolan, Phil Douglas, Lee Magee, Jimmy O’ Connell, and Gene Paulette - all banned by Landis for gambling related offenses. In the case of Cox, at the time of his ousting he held the position of president of the Philadelphia Phillies and part owner of the team. His punishment included being forced to sell his portion of the team.

Benny Kauff also played fewer than 10 years in the majors. His banning came due to an indictment for auto theft, and even after being acquitted, the Landis ban stuck. In fact, Kauff sued Landis for reinstatement, but the suit was dismissed.

Joe Gedeon got himself caught up in the Black Sox scandal with gambling, but not as a White Sox player. During Gedeon’s seven year career he played for the Washington Senators, New York Yankees, and St. Louis Browns. Landis banned Gedeon in 1921, as he did with the eight White Sox players, six of whom also did not play 10 seasons in the majors. Although first baseman Arnold “Chick” Gandil retired from baseball following the 1919 season, he too faced permanent expulsion from Major League Baseball. The other five were centerfielder Oscar “Happy” Felsch, seldom used third baseman Fred McMullin, infielder Charles “Swede” Risberg, third baseman George “Buck” Weaver, and southpaw pitcher Claude “Lefty” Williams.

Weaver, who played a superb, and clean, World Series, maintained his innocence until his death in 1956, having applied for, and been rejected for, reinstatement on several occasions. Quite frankly, had his career trajectory continued for another nine seasons beyond the nine he played 1912-20, Weaver might have had an outside chance at the Hall of Fame. Lefty Williams, whose career spanned 1913-20, had a solid record of 82 wins and only 48 losses. In his last two seasons Williams went a combined 45-25, averaging 298 innings pitched per season. Continuing along that path could have led Williams to Cooperstown.

Right hand pitcher Eddie Cicotte, well established with a 14 year career - 1905-20, a 209 and 148 win-loss record and a rather impressive 2.38 Earned Run Average could also have made a run at Cooperstown. In his final two seasons Cicotte went 50 and 17, hurling more than 300 innings each season. Another half dozen seasons at that pace and Cicotte would have been a lock for the Hall of Fame. (Plenty of pitchers with worse records have plaques in Cooperstown.)

None of the above 14 deceased players banned by Landis that played fewer than 10 seasons of Major League Baseball can or will be admitted to the Hall of Fame. Nor should 14 year veteran Cicotte. Not even Jackson. “Shoeless” Joe Jackson had tremendous skills - fleet-afoot - could run down a fly ball in the outfield that no one else would reach. Jackson possessed great talent at the plate - in his 13 major league seasons spanning 1908-20 - Jackson hit an incredible .356 - good for fourth all time behind Ty Cobb’s .366, Oscar Charleston’s .365, and Rogers Hornsby’s .359. Four times Jackson collected more than 200 hits in a season. He showed no signs of slowing down as he led the American League with 20 triples in 1920. In his last two seasons Jackson batted .351 and .382. But throwing a World Series is akin to a capital crime and should never be rewarded. (No one from the 2017 Houston Astros should be admitted to Cooperstown for their “trashy” cheating, but that’s a story for another column.)

The difference between Cicotte, Jackson, and Rose is that Rose, who also gambled on baseball, did not bet against his own team. His competitive nature would not have allowed him to do so. A sterling example came in the 1970 All Star game - an exhibition game with no bearing on the regular season standings or statistics. With the game tied at four in the bottom of the 12th inning Rose hit a single. Two batters later, with Rose on second base, another base hit and Rose turned third heading toward the plate. Both Rose and the ball from outfield reach home plate simultaneously. Rose bulldozed through Ray Fosse, flipping him over backwards, as Rose scored the game winning run, while leaving the American League catcher flat on his back dazed and stunned for more than a few seconds. Several of his teammates and manager Earl Weaver poured out of the dugout to check on the injured Fosse, who would eventually go to a hospital. While Rose missed three games with a thigh bruise, Fosse would play the remainder of the season with a fractured and separated left shoulder which healed in the wrong place.  Fosse’s career was never the same.

Make no mistake, I am no fan of Pete Rose - I even told him as much in person having met him a number of years ago. I told him why - politely. My animus toward Rose had to do with an on-field fight he started during the 1973 National League playoffs between his Cincinnati Reds and my New York Mets. So while I told Rose I did not like him, I also told him I thought he belonged in the Hall of Fame. In fact, for years, since his banishment in 1989, I said Pete Rose will be inducted into the Hall of Fame a year or two after his death. This would be baseball’s final revenge on a less than contrite Rose, who for years denied he gambled on baseball. Not until his 2004 autobiography did Rose finally admit to betting on baseball - still not against his own team.

As a ball player, Rose, known as “Charlie Hustle,” holds the major league record for hits in a career with 4,256, games played at 3,562, won the Rookie of the Year award in 1963, MVP in 1973, three World Series titles, and was a 17 time All Star selection. For his performance on the field, Rose, who died September 30, 2024, should earn the necessary 12 votes from the Classic Baseball Era Committee in December 2027, and be enshrined in July 2028.

Although language from an electronic communication between Manfred and Jeffrey M. Lenkov, Rose’s attorney handling his several reinstatement applications, seems contradictory within itself. Manfred noted the only difference between the 2015 request for reinstatement and that made after the new year is the September 30 passing of Rose. Manfred explained, in his letter dated May 13, that a discussion had never ensued pertaining to the status of a deceased player on the permanently ineligible list. But Manfred referenced the term “lifetime ban,” a term oft-used instead of permanently ineligible. He noted the two expressions are not interchangeable. But Manfred seemed to endorse the definition of the latter, rather than the former based upon his announcement - meaning, Rose’s lifetime is over, and that should make him eligible again. For Manfred to remain consistent with Major League Baseball’s actual language, he would never have made the announcement.

This may be a matter of semantics, but the two terms have very different meanings. It all surrounds compliance with the language of Major League Baseball’s Rule 21, discussing conduct unbecoming, which includes gambling, specifically stating “permanently ineligible.” Manfred attempted to explain that with Rose deceased he could no longer violate Rule 21. 

“In my view, once an individual has passed away, the purposes of Rule 21 have been served. Obviously, a person no longer with us cannot represent a threat to the integrity of the game,” wrote Manfred to Lenkov.

Manfred further contradicted himself, writing, “While it is my preference not to disturb decisions made by prior Commissioners…,” yet never mentioned Landis and the fact that 16 of the 17 players Manfred removed from the permanently ineligible list had been placed there by Landis. Manfred merely mentioned Rose in regard to former Commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti and the decision made by his office.

My support of Rose for the Hall of Fame may ruffle more than a few feathers amongst sitting hall of famers. During the May 13 Mets game, just hours after Manfred’s announcement, Mets broadcaster Howie Rose reminded fans of something the late Ralph Kiner said years ago. Kiner is a hall of famer who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates and became one of the Mets original announcers in 1962. Paraphrasing, Rose said Kiner said if Pete Rose got into the Hall of Fame, there would be many already enshrined Hall of Famers who would not return to Cooperstown. My question is, how many of those unnamed Hall of Famers are still alive today?

With all the gambling websites, with all the gambling advertisements during baseball games (and most other sports as well,) with all the discussion of odds on this team or that team, it seems rather hypocritical to keep a Pete Rose out of the Hall of Fame. He did not cheat like the 2017 Astros. He did not wager against his own team, like the 1919 White Sox. It seems baseball has come full circle - from gamblers with their mitts on the underside of baseball to a century later where the gambling is out in the open. Some would say that’s progress. I’m not so sure.

Sanford D. Horn is a writer and educator living in Westfield, IN. He has been a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum since 2007.

Revenge of the Braves

Revenge of the Braves
Commentary by Sanford D. Horn
October 25, 2021

For the first time since 1999 the Atlanta Braves will represent the National League in the World Series. While the series will open Tuesday, October 26 in Houston as the Astros will be the American League standard bearer, Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred may not be welcome in either city.

Although Manfred was at the helm of MLB during the height of the Astros cheating scandal, only a couple players remain with the team. However, the Commish had better bring an umbrella to Truist Park in Atlanta for Game Three on Friday as the fans will rain down boos upon him like that of a monsoon for the dastardly act of spiriting away to Denver this year’s MLB All-Star Game from the home of the Braves.

Floundering in the middle of the National League Eastern division around the time of that All-Star break in mid-July, postseason seemed an out of reach fantasy, especially after losing two of their best players to serious injuries. Two-thirds of the Braves starting outfield went down for the count with season ending injuries - right fielder Ronald Acuna, Jr., one of MLB’s most exciting young players, and left fielder Marcell Ozuna. 

Heading into the All-Star break the Braves found themselves in third place with a record of a mediocre 44-45, and an even worse tally of 51-54 at the July 30 trading deadline. But the Braves maintained a busy trading schedule, swapping for right hand relief pitcher Richard Rodriguez and four outfielders, Adam Duvall, Eddie Rosario, Jorge Soler, and the pearl-clad right fielder Joc Pederson, having such a fine postseason, he has been dubbed “Joctober.” Each of them, save for Rodriguez, had a better season once they joined the Braves, and the Braves took off like a rocket, finishing the last third of the season 37-19, for an overall record of 88-73, winning the East. Following the division win, the Braves dispatched the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Divisional Series, before sending the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers home in the National League Championship Series, setting up their date with the Astros in the World Series.

Now, the Braves are getting their revenge on Major League Baseball. After losing the All-Star Game and the MLB Draft to Denver for reasons that contradict reality, Manfred, who has made myriad awful decisions during his tempestuous tenure as MLB Commissioner, surrendered to the woke mob when announcing the move on April 2 that this is “the best way to demonstrate our values as a sport.”

Stripping the city of Atlanta of the MLB All-Star Game was the misguided punishment levied by Manfred and MLB in response to the new Georgia voting laws. According to those opposing the amended law, who, quite frankly had not bothered to read it, say it limits minority access to the ballot and is a direct challenge to voters attempting to cast ballots by mail or in person, sans valid identification. 

In acts of cowardice and hypocrisy, Manfred, who obviously had also not read the bill/law, succumbed to the irrationality of the woke crowd and took their hysterical complaints at “face value,” said Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr. The Georgia legislature “passed common sense voting laws” to protect the integrity of elections, added Carr. 

People in Georgia support voter ID laws and the integrity of the drop boxes, said Georgia Governor Brian Kemp (R), who signed the bill into law on March 25 of this year, prompting the outcry of the ignorant and Manfred’s feeble decision on April 2. Kemp indicated that this has been the “largest African-American voter turnout in the nation since 2018.” The governor added that early voting was occurring currently, “with no horror stories going on.” Kemp further pointed out that Colorado, the host of the All-Star Game, and Iowa, the August 12 host of the Chicago White Sox-New York Yankees Field of Dreams game, have “more restrictive voting laws than Georgia.”

“Major League Baseball fundamentally supports voting rights for all Americans and opposes restrictions at the ballot box,” said Manfred. Had Manfred bothered to conduct his due diligence and simply read the 95 page bill outlining the truth about the voting laws, all of this injudiciousness could have been avoided. Joe Biden also supported Manfred’s decision, yet another manner of knowing it was shortsighted from jump. (It should be noted that Biden’s adopted home state of Delaware does not enjoy early voting - much stricter than Georgia.) Most reports defining the bill as restrictive did so without any specific examples from the legislation itself.

ABC News reported on June 2, that Job Creators Network, a non-partisan business organization, filed a lawsuit for one billion dollars in punitive damages against Major League Baseball, the MLB Players Association, Manfred, and MLBPA Executive Director Tony Clark as co-defendants. The lawsuit was filed in the Southern District of New York, the home base of Major League Baseball’s offices. Businesses, many minority owned, were predicted to lose $100 million during All-Star weekend. ABC inaccurately reported upon aspects of the bill/law, that, had they bothered to read the 95 page document, could have been avoided. Simple journalistic integrity.

While Manfred decided voter identification was too restrictive, it should be noted that across Major and Minor League Baseball, ID is required at stadium will call windows.

Job Creators Network sent a letter to Manfred objecting to his terrible decision, noting the importance of the All-Star Game to Atlanta and minority business owners. “Your decision is punishing the very group you claim to be defending,” wrote Alfredo Ortiz, representing Job Creators. “Small businesses in Georgia are hurting, and you pulled a multi-million dollar rug out from underneath them…. Don’t let activist groups weaponize America’s pastime to push radical ideas that Major League Baseball fans don’t support,” continued Ortiz.

“When big business teams up with politicians, they make bad decisions, and small businesses and their hardworking employees suffer the most,” said Darrell Anderson, a Black owner of a limousine service. “Politics should be decided at the ballot box. It has no place in making business decisions, like where to hold the All-Star Game,” continued Anderson, owner of ASG - Airport Shuttle Group, LLC.

According to a Rasmussen poll, the majority of Black voters opposed moving the All-Star Game out of Atlanta.

And from the flip side, it is “ridiculous to inject politics in baseball,” Governor Kemp said, while eagerly awaiting Game Three of the Fall Classic to take the field at Truist Park in Cobb County, Georgia.

Play Ball!, says this lifelong New York Mets fan, who in good conscience cannot root for the Braves, as they are divisional archrivals.

Sanford D. Horn is a writer and educator living in Westfield, IN. The New Jersey native has been a loyal Mets fan since 1972. Ironically, this column was written on the 35th anniversary of the famed Mookie Wilson-Bill Buckner, Game Six of the 1986 World Series. Two nights later, the Mets would wrap up that World Series against the Boston Red Sox. The Mets have not won a World Series since. 

Mighty MLB Has Struck Out

Mighty MLB Has Struck Out
Commentary by Sanford D. Horn
June 15, 2020

While America is literally burning, Major League Baseball is fiddling as billionaires and millionaires engage in a pissing match that is leaving baseball fans feeling all wet as the 2020 season is on the verge of being rained out.

Yet the myopic Commissioner Rob Manfred, mustering all the power of hitting the forkball with a wet noodle, guaranteed Major League Baseball will be played in 2020. While never having met Manfred, he’s no “Broadway” Joe Namath. The major leagues will play “baseball in 2020 - 100 percent - even if it has to be under the March 26 agreement. If we get to that point in the calendar, so be it. But, one way or the other, we’re playing major league baseball,” said the pusillanimous and feckless Manfred.

In March, the Major League Baseball Players Association and Major League Baseball agreed to allow the league to implement a schedule, and with no agreement in place, could impose a 50 game regular season, paying players “full prorated salaries worth a total of around $1.25 billion.”

Bear in mind a proposed 89 game regular season with full prorated salaries, down from 114 games, had already been deemed a non-starter by the MLBPA. This was a deal to include expanded playoffs to 16 teams - eight from the National League and eight from the American League - for both the 2020 and 2021 seasons. Another non-starter had a 76 game MLB regular season run July 10-October 11. With the expanded playoffs, the World Series would wrap up sometime between Chanukah and Christmas.

The MLBPA also rejected a proposed 72 game regular season at 70 percent prorated pay. Do the math, 72 games out of a traditional regular season of 162 games is but 44.4 percent of the season, yet the players would see more of their salaries than they actually should. The MLBPA called on the league to out forth a schedule for 2020 instead of countering the latest rejected proposal. “Further dialogue with the league would be futile. It’s time to get back to work. Tell us when and where,”said MLBPA executive director Tony Clark on Saturday, June 13.


ESPN released part of a letter it acquired sent by MLBPA negotiator Bruce Meyer to Dan Halem, deputy commissioner of MLB that said, “We demand that you inform us of your plans by close of business on Monday, June 15.” Yet as of the close of business, Wednesday, June 17 and a multi-hour meeting in Phoenix, the 2020 baseball season still hangs in the balance. 


Saturday night, June 13 MLB released a statement, part of which said “We are disappointed that the MLBPA has chose not to negotiate in good faith over resumption of play after MLB has made three successive proposals that would provide players, Clubs, and our fans with an amicable resolution to a very difficult situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.”

If COVID-19 is genuinely the sticking point, and players are genuinely concerned for their health, then the responsible course of action is to not play baseball in 2020. After all, a potential 50 game regular season with an extended postseason more than half as long, is ridiculously stupid. When did Major League Baseball become the NBA and the NHL - 82 and 80 games respectively with half the leagues making the playoffs? No thank you. Everyone go home and come back fighting in 2021 with a full complement of games.

Team owners wishing to pay players a portion of their salaries should do so under no obligation that it be mandated. On the other hand, players choosing to sit out the 2020 season, should do so. There are hundreds of minor leaguers at the Double-A and Triple-A levels who are playing for $350 and $502 per week respectively and would gladly suit up in a major league ballpark for the MLB minimum salary of $563, 500, or even 70 percent of that ($394,450). Promote those minor leaguers to fill out the 40 man roster. They are barely seeing enough money to pay for their per diem/meal money, while the owners and players are bitching over the millions, revenue sharing, and television revenue.

Regardless of the number of games to be played and the start date, (July 3-September 27 for 87 games), MLB still desires a regular season that concludes on Sunday, September 27 in order to avoid the postseason spilling over into November competing with football and the November 3 presidential election. While the suggested postseason plans call for 16 teams, the following plan is limited to 12 teams, six per league - division winners and the next best three records regardless of division. The division winners with the two best records will earn a bye in a first round, best of five series. The remaining division winner will play the lowest ranked of the three non-division winners, while the other two non-division winners will face off. With no days off, the series would start Tuesday, September 29 with a possible game five on Saturday, October 3. No Sunday game to compete with the NFL.

The divisional series would match the two bye teams against the winners of the first round in another best of five series. These series would begin on Monday, October 5, with a possible game five on Saturday, October 10, with yet another Sunday free to watch the NFL. The league championship series, seven gamers, would start on Monday, October 12 with possible game sevens on Tuesday, October 20. And as October winds down, the World Series would commence on Friday, October 23, with a thrilling conclusion game seven on Saturday, October 31 - yes, Halloween, but MLB will have its season ender prior to November 1, and no Sunday games throughout.

If COVID-19 is not the chief concern, the major leaguers can suck it up, suit up, and take the field to play a game most of us would play for free. They have rejected deals that would pay them more than they ought to be paid based upon the prorated statistics. If the schedule calls for 114 games, the payers should get paid for 114 games. If 50, likewise. It’s called a contract, and if the players don’t honor it, they should be fired for breach of contract.

Apparently both the owners and the players association have channeled their inner Gordon Gekko, adhering to the mantra, “Greed is good.”

There’s a tone-deafness even Beethoven would recognize. The fans really don’t give a rat’s tuchus about the prorated salaries, revenue sharing, or television revenue bickering back and forth. There are roughly 40 million Americans out of work who desperately need a respite from COVID reality and race riots. They just want to see the American pastime in action on the field of play not the boardroom of some ivory tower. No one in Major League Baseball should be crying poverty.

The minors, as has been demonstrated above, has 42 more legitimate reasons to cry poverty. Even before COVID-19 hit the fan, MLB had put a plan in place to contract 42 minor league teams from Rookie ball to Double-A. Although salary bumps are in the offing for the 2021 season, it is MLB, ironically, that is doing most of the crying. 

League From/Week To/Week
Rookie/Short Season $290 $400
Single-A $290 $500
Double-A $350 $600
Triple-A         $502 $700

Minor league players are only paid during the five months of their season - or less. They are not compensated for spring training or postseason. Some have argued that such low salaries violate minimum wage laws. The poverty line for a single person in 2019 was $12,490 and for a family of four, $25,750 according to the US Department of Health and Human Services.

Minor Leagues, Major Slayings:

Appalachian League (Advance Rookie): Bluefield Blue Jays, Bristol Pirates, Burlington Royals, Danville Braves, Elizabethton Twins, Greeneville Reds, Johnson City Cardinals, Kingsport Mets, Princeton Rays

California League (Advanced-A): Lancaster Jethawks

Carolina League (Advanced-A): Frederick Keys

Eastern League (Double-A): Binghamton Rumble Ponies, Erie Seawolves

Florida State League (Advanced-A): Daytona Tortugas, Florida Fire Frogs

Midwest League (Full Season-A): Burlington Bees, Clinton Lumber Kings, Quad Cities River Bandits

New York-Penn League (Short Season-A): Auburn Doubledays, Batavia Muckdogs, Connecticut Tigers, Lowell Spinners, Mahoning Valley Scrappers, State College Spikes, Staten Island Yankees, Vermont Lake Monsters, Williamsport Crosscutters

Northwest League (Short Season-A): Salem-Keizer Volcanoes, Tri-City Dust Devils

Pioneer League (Advanced Rookie): Billings Mustangs, Grand Junction Rockies, Great Falls Voyagers, Idaho Falls Chukars, Missoula PaddleHeads, Ogden Raptors, Orem Owlz, Rocky Mountain Vibes

Southern League (Double-A): Chattanooga Lookouts, Jackson Generals

South Atlantic League (Full Season-A): Hagerstown Suns, Lexington Legends, West Virginia Power

Yet, while the average value of a major league team is $1.78 billion, according to Forbes, and MLB revenue in 2018 was $10.3 billion, MLB claims it is purging 42 teams to cut costs and save money. Minor league teams are valued between $5 million and $45 million. According to Buster Olney of ESPN, the savings emerging from the elimination of these 42 teams is about $60 million for MLB as a whole - or $1,428,571 per team killed off. What is also being killed off are thousands of jobs in the host cities - both team and non-team related, local economies will suffer - stadium jobs, restaurant jobs, lodging - hotels and homes, small businesses will suffer, other tourist attractions will also experience losses, and, a culture of a team’s history will be destroyed. 

Olney also pointed out that New York Yankees starting pitcher Gerrit Cole will earn about $1 million per start in 2020. Put to the test, Cole is the second highest paid player behind only Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels centerfielder. Assuming Cole takes the mound once every five days, he would start 32 games. At a salary of $36 million for the season, every start is valued at $1.125 million, or $125,000 per inning pitched were he to complete every start. In two starts, Cole could save one of these forlorn teams with enough left over to buy that team’s fans a hot dog and a Coke ® . 

It would take the aforementioned Trout just under six games to save a team. His $37 million 2020 salary comes to $232, 716 per game, assuming he plays all 162 games in a season, or $25, 857 per inning played, were he to play every inning of the season.

Max Scherzer, Nationals pitcher $35.9 million $1.122 million per start
Zack Greinke, Astros pitcher $35 million $1.094 million per start
Stephen Strasburg, Nats pitcher $35 million $1.094 million per start
Nolan Arenado, Rockies 3rd baseman   $35 million $216,049 per game
Justin Verlander, Astros pitcher $33 million $1.031 million per start
David Price, Dodgers pitcher $32 million $1 million per start
Manny Machado, Padres 3rd baseman  $32 million $197,530 per game
Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers pitcher $31 million $969,000 per start

And that’s just the top 10. The big boys of MLB could very easily help their younger brethren and save some small towns and cities along the way. And, I’ll just bet such largess might be tax deductible. Save a team, save a town.

Sanford D. Horn is a writer and educator living in Westfield, IN. Please visit https://www.change.org/Save-a-Team-Save-a-Town to Save a Team, Save a Town.

Manfred in a "Mountain" of an MLB Mess

Manfred in a “Mountain” of an MLB Mess
Commentary by Sanford D. Horn
February 20, 2020

In 1921 the first commissioner of Major League Baseball, Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis - a real judge, appointed by President Theodore Roosevelt, took bold and brisk steps in banning from professional baseball, for life, eight members of the Chicago White Sox World Series team from 1919.

Bold, as the loss of eight members of a team decimated the White Sox - losing six players either in their prime or past their prime but with something left in the tank to ably contribute to the team. One player retired following the 1919 season, and one more played infrequently, riding the bench for the most part.

Brisk, for although the investigation into allegations the White Sox, received ill-gotten payments to throw the World Series to the underdog Cincinnati Reds, took 22 months, Landis’ decision came on the heels of a court ruling. A Chicago jury found the players, a.k.a. The Black Sox, not guilty, in spite of overwhelming evidence, in what had to have been a bigger fix than the series itself. In spite of that ruling, Landis said:

“Regardless of the verdict of juries, no player who throws a ballgame, no player that undertakes or promises to throw a ballgame, no player that sits in confidence with a bunch of crooked players and gamblers where the ways and means of throwing games are planned and discussed and does not promptly tell his club about it, will ever play professional baseball. Baseball is entirely competent to protect itself against crooks, both inside and outside the game” said Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis. [Famous-trials.com/blacksox] 

Nine commissioners and a century later, Major League Baseball is embroiled in a scandal just as significant, regarding another World Series - this one the 2017 Houston Astros v. the Los Angeles Dodgers. In a series that went the distance, the Astros defeated the Dodgers four games to three; or did they?

Accusations of cheating were made public last November when former Astros pitcher Mike Fiers, a member of the 2017 team, spoke with The Athletic blew the whistle on his former team’s sign stealing via electronic means - signs that would indicate to the batter what kind of pitch would be forthcoming - information that could make a mediocre player good, a good player great, and a good team a World Series winner. In addition to the electronic sign stealing scheme, the Astros optioned additional signals to batters through the banging of trash can lids.

In conducting an investigation, Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred opted for short cuts that are now making him a pariah in his own sport, and to others outside of baseball. Manfred, in the interest of expediency, and a bit of cajoling by the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) - their union, agreed to grant immunity to any players responding honestly during the investigation. This is a weak-kneed decision by Manfred, taking the easy way out and genuflecting to the players union. Major League Baseball suspended both Astros manager AJ Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow for one full season, fined the team $5 million, and stripped the team of two future draft picks. Not a very strong punishment. Astros owner Jim Crane, within hours of the MLB decision, fired both Hinch and Luhnow. The five million is akin to lunch money for a team owner, $50 million would deliver a stronger message.

Granting immunity to admitted cheaters caused a firestorm around baseball. The Dodgers believe they were robbed of both the 2017 and 2018 World Series - losing in 2018 to the Boston Red Sox in seven games. The 2018 Red Sox were led by rookie manager Alex Cora, the bench coach for the Astros during the 2017 season. Cora is now unemployed. So too is Carlos Beltran, about to start his first season at the helm of the New York Mets. Beltran played on the 2017 Astros and a beneficiary of the sign stealing.

“Over my 20 years in the game, I’ve always taken pride in being a leader and doing things the right way… As a veteran player on the team, I should’ve recognized the severity of the issue and truly regret the actions that were taken,” said Beltran.

New York Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman said to ESPN on February 14, the Astros “had a distinct advantage,”and that the illicit sign stealing was the difference maker. “I definitely think it had an effect on things, without question,” added Cashman regarding the Yankees loss to the Astros in the 2017 American League Playoffs.

Typically quiet Los Angeles Angels center fielder Mike Trout said he “lost respect for the Astros. They cheated… I don’t agree with the punishment. Going up to the plate knowing what’s coming… that would be a lot of fun. If you know what’s coming it’s definitely going to help you. Obviously the GM got fired and Hinch got fired, but the players getting nothing, that’s definitely not right, for sure,” said the three-time American League Most Valuable Player.

“The commissioner completely handled it the wrong way… he should be embarrassed,” said Atlanta Braves outfielder Nick Markakis. “Everything has been handled [in] a bad way… the players are scot free. Those guys still get to play. It’s bullsh*t,” said the usually low key Markakis, a 14-year veteran in the league.

Many other players are outspoken about how miserably Manfred botched this scandal, calling for both the Astros and Red Sox to be stripped of their respective World Series titles from 2017 and 2018. That is exactly what should happen, and I rooted for both the Astros and Red Sox in those two series. Cheating tarnishes the game with a permanent stain; a stain that can only be eradicated with extreme prejudice.

Adding insult to injury, responding to calls for the Astros to vacate their 2017 World Series, Manfred disparaged the very trophy on which his name, as commissioner, is etched. “The idea of an asterisk, or asking for a piece of metal back seems like a futile act,” said Manfred about the World Series trophy in an interview with ESPN’s Karl Ravech.

“You need to fix this for the sake of sports,” tweeted NBA all-star LeBron James. I’m no fan of the Los Angeles Lakers player, but James is spot on. Problem is, a fix may be too late. Manfred has already demonstrated his weakness as a commissioner in both kowtowing to the players association in granting immunity, and for not extending the investigation and digging deep into the trenches before going the easy route.

It’s times like this that I know I can count on Abraham Lincoln. “By general law, life and limb must be protected; yet often a limb must be amputated to save a life; but a life is never wisely given to save a limb,” is one of my favorite pearls of wisdom from our 16th president.

Manfred and perhaps a fair number of Astros players are those limbs and Major League Baseball is that life. A life that must be preserved, for as Kenesaw Mountain Landis said, “Baseball is something more than a game to an American boy. It is his training field for life work. Destroy his faith in its squareness and honesty and you have destroyed something more; you have planted suspicion of all things in his heart.”

Sanford D. Horn is a writer and educator living in Westfield, IN.