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About a month or two ago I finally read the book Eight Men Out , something that I had put off for awhile. After reading that book it got me to thinking about what would have happened in the 20's and also how we today would view baseball history. Especially Babe Ruth, the Yankees, and 20's baseball.
First some history to lay the groundwork. Some members of the 1919 Chicago White Sox agreed to fix the World Series. I won't go into detail on who and why since that in itself would touch off a debate. A debate which I am not interested in debating on this thread. The Sox lost the World Series. The next season the White Sox were in contention through out the year and losing out in the end because by that point Comiskey had suspended them from the team and a trial was coming up. After 1920 the White Sox slip into mediocrity for the next 30 years or so. Meantime the Yankees acquire Babe Ruth win a few World Series and ever after dominate baseball talk past and present. That is the history in its most general form.
Here is my theory. Had the White Sox not fixed the World Series in all probability they win the 1919 World Series. Also in 1920 they win the pennant. Why? Because it is also believed and there is some evidence that does suggest this that the 1920 team was also throwing games to keep race to the pennant close. It is possible that they could win the 1920 World Series as well since at this time the AL was a much better league than the NL and the Cleveland Indians had won the World Series in 1920. So now we have a great team that has won 3 World Series in 4 years playing with a set of players that are largely in their prime. In 1921 the two best teams were the New York Yankees and Cleveland Indians. That year the Yankees finished 4.5 games ahead of second place with 98 wins. More importantly though they won 9 games against a mediocre White Sox team. In fact in 1921 the White Sox were the only team they had a losing record against. Part of this I think because of Comiskey Park had such an effect on the sluggers. The Yanks went 4-7 at Comiskey while going 5-6 at home. I think it is entirely possible that either a) the White Sox with their star players still on the team could have won more total games than the Yanks or b)won enough games against the Yanks that somebody else would have won the crown. The last part is a little harder to pull off since the Indians had a great record against the White Sox which would have changed if the real White Sox had played. I think the first part is more likely. Now then I don't know if the White Sox had enough to beat the Giants in the World Series.
Now comes 1922, and in this season the Yanks only win 94 games and win the league by one game over the St. Louis Browns. This time the Sox play the Yanks poorly and they have a losing record. By this time I think even if White Sox had started to show their age they could have wounded the Yanks enough to keep them from the pennant or made the race close enough to make a 50/50 shot.
1923 is probably the first real time where the Yankees would win the pennant even with the real White Sox playing. By this many of the players would have aged considerably and some would have probably been out of baseball. The only argument one could make is that the Sox having had success on the field for many years and the financial windfall that it brings would have brought in more stars to maintain this.
Then of course comes 1924 and 1925 when the Yanks fail to clinch the pennant, and Ruth has a very stressful 1925 season.
After this starts the dynasty and again it is worth noting that both 1926 and 1928 were both close pennant races. Races that even an aging White Sox team or a modified White Sox could have effected.
Which brings me to the point of all this verbiage. Had the White Sox not become the Black Sox it is possible that we could be talking about how great the White Sox were back then not how great the Yankees were. It is entirely possible that the Sox could have won five or 6 World Series from 1918 to 1928, or at the least five or six pennants. Also it is worth noting that the White Sox, New York Giants (the team that beat the Yanks in the WS in 1921 and 1922), and the Cleveland Indians (who won the 1920 WS and was one of the top teams at the start of the 1920's) were all conservative old time baseball teams. They used small ball tactics and relied on pitching and defense, whereas the Yankees relied on power. It is in my opinion that had the Sox maintained their dominance that we would probably be viewing Babe Ruth differently and that the presence of the home run ball would have been stalled in its introduction. If Sox had still been around it is highly likely that Babe and the Yanks would not have won a pennant until 1923, instead of when they actually did in 1921. Even then they might not have won in 1923. Which means their first pennant could have come in 1926 or 1927. If either was the case it is entirely possible that the Yanks could have either changed Ruth's role or traded him. Many baseball insiders at the turn of the decade believed that the Home Run ball was a novelty and not really useful to winning it all. This belief was reinforced by the fact that the New York Giants (small ball wizards) had beaten the Yanks twice in a row in the World Series. What would these insiders be saying if the Yanks were not even able to win the pennant and maybe not even finish in second place behind two small ball teams? Is it possible that they might then switch Babe back to pitching or trade him away? Many teams when they are succeeding will blame their best players, incorrectly fixating on their shortcomings instead of focusing on their strengths. Everyone knows that Babe Ruth was a handful would people want to put up with it if they were not winning championships? Rogers Hornsby bounced around teams a lot, perhaps it is because he didn't bring home the Championship often enough for teams to put up with him.
Last evidence would be the financial side. Comiskey's White Sox before the scandal was one of the best financially run teams in the game. After 1919 the White Sox saw a huge increase in attendance and revenue. I believe they almost double their revenue. By maintaining their success on the field the Sox in all likelihood would have maintained their financial success off of it. If that being the case in all likelihood it would have been easier for the Sox to acquire future star players. Also instead of having to plug 6 or 7 holes like Comiskey had to after the suspensions he would have probably only had to fill a hole once a year or two. Definitely easier than fixing 6 or 7 holes at once. Then consider it from the Yankees side. The Yankees had a huge financial stake in the early Yankees teams. They spent a lot of money acquiring Babe Ruth and other top-tiered talent. The Yankees saw a huge upsurge in attendance when they got Babe and others, but how long would the fickle New York fans continue to flock to the park if they continually failed to win?
Basically to sum it up. Had the White Sox stayed clean it is entirely possible that people could be fondly remembering the great Sox team of the 20's instead of the Yankees and Babe Ruth would be just another footnote in baseball history. Or if that is too much for you then just another great player in the pantheon of baseball greats. Plus Landis would never have become Commissioner and integration might very well have happened a lot sooner than 1947.
First some history to lay the groundwork. Some members of the 1919 Chicago White Sox agreed to fix the World Series. I won't go into detail on who and why since that in itself would touch off a debate. A debate which I am not interested in debating on this thread. The Sox lost the World Series. The next season the White Sox were in contention through out the year and losing out in the end because by that point Comiskey had suspended them from the team and a trial was coming up. After 1920 the White Sox slip into mediocrity for the next 30 years or so. Meantime the Yankees acquire Babe Ruth win a few World Series and ever after dominate baseball talk past and present. That is the history in its most general form.
Here is my theory. Had the White Sox not fixed the World Series in all probability they win the 1919 World Series. Also in 1920 they win the pennant. Why? Because it is also believed and there is some evidence that does suggest this that the 1920 team was also throwing games to keep race to the pennant close. It is possible that they could win the 1920 World Series as well since at this time the AL was a much better league than the NL and the Cleveland Indians had won the World Series in 1920. So now we have a great team that has won 3 World Series in 4 years playing with a set of players that are largely in their prime. In 1921 the two best teams were the New York Yankees and Cleveland Indians. That year the Yankees finished 4.5 games ahead of second place with 98 wins. More importantly though they won 9 games against a mediocre White Sox team. In fact in 1921 the White Sox were the only team they had a losing record against. Part of this I think because of Comiskey Park had such an effect on the sluggers. The Yanks went 4-7 at Comiskey while going 5-6 at home. I think it is entirely possible that either a) the White Sox with their star players still on the team could have won more total games than the Yanks or b)won enough games against the Yanks that somebody else would have won the crown. The last part is a little harder to pull off since the Indians had a great record against the White Sox which would have changed if the real White Sox had played. I think the first part is more likely. Now then I don't know if the White Sox had enough to beat the Giants in the World Series.
Now comes 1922, and in this season the Yanks only win 94 games and win the league by one game over the St. Louis Browns. This time the Sox play the Yanks poorly and they have a losing record. By this time I think even if White Sox had started to show their age they could have wounded the Yanks enough to keep them from the pennant or made the race close enough to make a 50/50 shot.
1923 is probably the first real time where the Yankees would win the pennant even with the real White Sox playing. By this many of the players would have aged considerably and some would have probably been out of baseball. The only argument one could make is that the Sox having had success on the field for many years and the financial windfall that it brings would have brought in more stars to maintain this.
Then of course comes 1924 and 1925 when the Yanks fail to clinch the pennant, and Ruth has a very stressful 1925 season.
After this starts the dynasty and again it is worth noting that both 1926 and 1928 were both close pennant races. Races that even an aging White Sox team or a modified White Sox could have effected.
Which brings me to the point of all this verbiage. Had the White Sox not become the Black Sox it is possible that we could be talking about how great the White Sox were back then not how great the Yankees were. It is entirely possible that the Sox could have won five or 6 World Series from 1918 to 1928, or at the least five or six pennants. Also it is worth noting that the White Sox, New York Giants (the team that beat the Yanks in the WS in 1921 and 1922), and the Cleveland Indians (who won the 1920 WS and was one of the top teams at the start of the 1920's) were all conservative old time baseball teams. They used small ball tactics and relied on pitching and defense, whereas the Yankees relied on power. It is in my opinion that had the Sox maintained their dominance that we would probably be viewing Babe Ruth differently and that the presence of the home run ball would have been stalled in its introduction. If Sox had still been around it is highly likely that Babe and the Yanks would not have won a pennant until 1923, instead of when they actually did in 1921. Even then they might not have won in 1923. Which means their first pennant could have come in 1926 or 1927. If either was the case it is entirely possible that the Yanks could have either changed Ruth's role or traded him. Many baseball insiders at the turn of the decade believed that the Home Run ball was a novelty and not really useful to winning it all. This belief was reinforced by the fact that the New York Giants (small ball wizards) had beaten the Yanks twice in a row in the World Series. What would these insiders be saying if the Yanks were not even able to win the pennant and maybe not even finish in second place behind two small ball teams? Is it possible that they might then switch Babe back to pitching or trade him away? Many teams when they are succeeding will blame their best players, incorrectly fixating on their shortcomings instead of focusing on their strengths. Everyone knows that Babe Ruth was a handful would people want to put up with it if they were not winning championships? Rogers Hornsby bounced around teams a lot, perhaps it is because he didn't bring home the Championship often enough for teams to put up with him.
Last evidence would be the financial side. Comiskey's White Sox before the scandal was one of the best financially run teams in the game. After 1919 the White Sox saw a huge increase in attendance and revenue. I believe they almost double their revenue. By maintaining their success on the field the Sox in all likelihood would have maintained their financial success off of it. If that being the case in all likelihood it would have been easier for the Sox to acquire future star players. Also instead of having to plug 6 or 7 holes like Comiskey had to after the suspensions he would have probably only had to fill a hole once a year or two. Definitely easier than fixing 6 or 7 holes at once. Then consider it from the Yankees side. The Yankees had a huge financial stake in the early Yankees teams. They spent a lot of money acquiring Babe Ruth and other top-tiered talent. The Yankees saw a huge upsurge in attendance when they got Babe and others, but how long would the fickle New York fans continue to flock to the park if they continually failed to win?
Basically to sum it up. Had the White Sox stayed clean it is entirely possible that people could be fondly remembering the great Sox team of the 20's instead of the Yankees and Babe Ruth would be just another footnote in baseball history. Or if that is too much for you then just another great player in the pantheon of baseball greats. Plus Landis would never have become Commissioner and integration might very well have happened a lot sooner than 1947.
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