Hello Baseball Fans,
When you really think about it, baseball is a most unique and complex kids’ game. The baseball field has alternating patches and strips of grass and dirt. None of the fields even have the same dimensions, which prompts ‘ground rules’ at every park. The players’ bench is below field level, yet designed such that players sit on the back (top) of the ‘chair’ while their spikes rest on what is the perceived seating level. And it’s actually comfy and the view is truly great and, in fact, the best!
Then, there are the managers who wear uniforms, including at the least, some type of ‘baseball shoe’ if not spikes any longer. There is no game clock or electronic buzzer. There is no limit to calling timeouts as only the correct timing is necessary to have time granted. O.K., all the runners have stopped running and my pitcher has the ball, ‘Time Ump!’. Time, of course, is then granted, and everyone resumes their usual places readying for the next pitch. And if your pitcher walks a second consecutive batter? You wait until he actually touches first base. ‘Time Ump!’. Again, time is granted, and you (being the catcher) trudge out to the mound for a few words that are equal parts encouraging, coaxing, and helpful in the way of strategic and mechanical tips. Together, they represent that your team absolutely can not allow anymore free passes to first base. Focused aggression is what is needed for the battery to collectively get ahead in the next batter’s count.
There are also no ties In baseball. “Play ’til we have a winner boys. Please.” (we envision that being spoken in the light similar to that of Burt Lancaster’s character Moonlight Graham in Field Of Dreams). Picture it? OK, good! And, of course, baseball has the all-time fun claim of both (big) kids at heart and purists alike: in baseball, the defense GETS the ball. All of these traits of the game are collectively quite entertaining even if we don’t regularly, or specifically, think about them. And besides, no other sport can live up to all of them (that’s right, not even cricket can, but you’ll have to either trust us here at the ole VFTD or research it yourself).
However, baseball is also a unique game in terms of discipline. And we’re not talking about anything concerned with in-game behaviors or unwritten rules. Never mind about when it’s OK for pitchers to drill batters after a dirty slide up the middle. And forget about who showed up who after a homer or inning-ending strikeout. We’re talking about discipline at the capital level of lifetime bans.
You may or may not know that the Commisioner of MLB can dole out a life long banishment. Gambling on the game itself and its associations has always been the game’s golden rule not to break. The game’s integrity must be preserved. But along with gambling, PEDs, and player/contract tampering at different levels are also good reasons for such punishments. However, just like many of life’s spoils, not all punishments are the same. You see, there is the procedure of appeal to such lifetime bans and one can be reinstated at the mercy of the commissioner (whether it be the executioner himself or an ensuing commish) or, in several cases, even by an independent arbitrator. As a result, not all ‘lifetime’ bans live up to their label. So much so, that we should perhaps refer to them as big suspensions, which conveniently, and appropriately at times, abbreviates to ‘BS’.
Going back to 1865, a total of forty-five people have received punishments to the level of lifetime banishment (BS). Of those, sixteen of them were prior to 1920. Why is that significant? Well, other than 16 being slightly more than one-third of the total of 45, they were banned by committees prior to the appointment of a singular Commissioner head ruling over the game and leagues. Of the sixteen, 11 were players and 5 of those were re-instated, often within a couple of years or much less.
MLB’s first commish was Kenesaw Mountain Landis, who had previously served as a federal judge. He governed baseball from ’20 until his death in 1944. Of course, Landis’ bans included eight players from the 1919 White Sox. This ban was delivered very late in the season of 1920 despite the team having previously been cleared in public court relative to influence and association with gamblers to throw the ’19 Fall Classic against the perceived large underdog Cincinnati Reds. There was little evidence related to poor play concerning two of those banned players in Buck Weaver and ‘Shoeless’ Joe Jackson. To date, exactly none of the famed members of the ‘Black Sox’ have been reinstated. In all, Landis coincidentally banned 19 people for life. Of the nineteen, all but two were players. And only three players were re-instated (two by Landis, another by Bowie Kuhn many years later).
Summing up what we have so far gives us 79 years through 1944 with 35 of the total of 45 MLB to-date lifetime bans with 8 having been lifted and a ninth about to be lifted under Kuhn’s rule. So there have only been 10 lifetime bans since 1944. Can you name any? Some of the decisions may make you doubt the system. Others, perhaps not. And some of the names may surprise you. Now let’s take a look back at the last 75 years of lifetime bans.
Current MLB chief Rob Manfred is our 10th commish. While keeping in mind that only ten unmentioned lifetime bans remain, Manfred has already delivered three of those bans since taking the reigns in 2015. This is a pace unprecedented since Landis. He has banned one player, Jenrry Mejia, who failed 3 PED suspensions in 2016. He also banned St. Louis Cardinals Scouting Director Chris Correa and former Atlanta Braves G.M. John Coppolella in 2017. Last year, MLB announced that Mejia was to be re-instated effective this year and has already appeared for the Boston Red Sox this spring. Correa is in prison for illegally accessing computer files.
Bud Selig preceded Manfred and from 1992 to ’15, he only banned one person. That was Reds owner Marge Schott, the only female banned for life. She was ousted in 1996 for ridiculous social and racial views and behaviors, yet was reinstated in ’98. She sold the team in ’99. Fay Vincent ruled the big leagues from 1989 to ’92. He banned two New York Yankees. One was pitcher Steve Howe in 1992, who had been suspended seven times for drug and alcohol issues. He was quickly reinstated by an arbitrator and retired in ’96. The other was owner George Steinbrenner. In 1990, he attempted to pay someone to bash the reputation of Dave Winfield of all people, one of the game’s good guys. By ’93, he was reinstated by Selig (an owner himself) and back at the helm after having been removed from controlling the team while still the principle owner.
Manfred, Selig, and Vincent account for nearly 30 of the 75 years since Landis’ death. They have accrued 6 lifetime bans to date, and 4 of those bans have been lifted. Overall, we have accounted for 41 of the 45 total bans. Looking back from 1989 to 1944, there were 6 Commissioners. They were Peter Ueberroth (1984-89), William Eckert (1965-68), Ford Frick (1951-65), and Happy Chandler (1945-51) collectively banned exactly ZERO people from MLB.
Bart Giamatti was commissioner for a total of five months in 1989. He banned one guy. Of course, that was baseball’s all-time hits leader, Pete Rose. Sadly, he passed away a little over a week after doling out the punishment. His decision even inspired the Baseball Hall Of Fame & Museum to convert an unwritten rule of locking out banned players, etc. from the Hall itself (that kept Joe Jackson and others out despite previous rallies in his regard) into a formal rule that would prevent Rose from otherwise surely being inducted (once eligible from his playing days) in 1992.
We are down to the last three lifetime bans and one commissioner, the aforementioned Bowie Kuhn (1969-84). Ironically, they involve three Hall Of Fame players. Yes, that’s right, HOFers. The first ban came in 1980. The Texas Rangers were traveling back to the U.S. from Toronto. At the border, agents reportedly found cocaine, hashish, and marijuana on the belongings of legendary Canadian pitcher, and future HOFer, Ferguson Jenkins. The amounts were minuscule and practically nonpunishable by the laws. It was very late in the season of ’80 and an arbitrator reversed the ban and Jenkins was back to playing at the start of the ’81 season. Kuhn was to drugs and image as Landis was to gambling and integrity to the game, but Kuhn was overruled nonetheless. This leads to the question: What would an independent arbitrator determine today in the case of Joe Jackson and others?
Two more bans left. Ready? Here we go, you’re gonna love it! In 1980 and ’83, respectively, Kuhn also handed down lifetime bans to Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle. They were of course already in the Hall of Fame. And they were completely out of the game. No instructing, no commentating, no jobs in baseball of any kind. They were banned for being greeters and signing autographs in association with and at casinos in Atlantic City. This is a classic case of irrelevance. Kuhn was trying to control what people did long after they were outside of the game. In the meantime, the HOF did nothing and their plaques were left as is. And it wouldn’t be until 1985 ( the year after Kuhn’s departure) that Peter Ueberroth would reinstate them!
Out of the 45 total lifetime bans also known in certain cases as BS (big suspensions), sixteen bans (14 by players) have been lifted thus far. Only 11 non-players have been banned and Schott and Steinbrenner are the only such non-players to be reinstated to date.
Since lifetime bans are not exactly what they advertise and apparently have wiggle room, perhaps they should even have distinct expiration dates? You can decide for yourself. But if it is truly a ‘lifetime ban’ than death should bring it to a close, should it not? Pete Rose being banned is almost not a punishment. True, he can’t coach or manage or be involved with a team. But his playing days were well passed by 1989. However, Joe Jackson had to start over and play ball for years in much lower leagues while hiding his identity since all leagues in that era followed Landis’ recommendations in the form of bans. His punishment was far superior than Rose’s relative to age and playing career prime. Jackson’s prime was prevented in a sense. Inspired by the story and the upcoming centennial anniversary of the 1919 World Series, we should mention some stats.
In regards to Joe Jackson, he made no errors and hit .375 (12 for 32) with the only HR of the ’19 Series, and had a triple and two doubles with 6 RBI in eight games as the ChiSox did lose to the Reds five games to three (Best of 9 that year). For his career, Jackson is 3rd all-time with a .356 average and had a .940 OPS including a 1.033 OPS along with 121 RBI with 336 total bases as the banishment was delivered in September of 1920. And keep in mind, that was done in the Dead Ball Era (pre-1920) and he was banned prior to the power and transition of the game brought on by Babe Ruth and new and more plentiful baseballs. He also stole 20 or more bags five times in eleven full seasons. He had 200 or more hits in a season four times and a .423 OBP as he struck out just 233 times compared to 519 BBs. He batted an amazing .408 in 1911, and racked up an impressive 62.2 WAR in just 1,332 career games.
Two Hall of Famers were also on that 1919 White Sox team. Legendary second baseman Eddie Collins and catcher Ray Schalk. Collins had 3,315 career hits with a nice and neat .333 average and stole 48 bags or more seven times. Schalk was a defensive whiz with 222 double plays, which is best all-time (you need a ton of grounders for that to happen). He is 10th all-time in Caught Stealing Percentage at 51.6 and ninth overall with 1,009 runners thrown out. In 1925, he had a CS% of 71.8 percent.
Considering all of the inconsistencies with the different commissioner’s rulings and reinstatement for some, but not all is muddled at best. And that probably makes for a richer history to the game in the sense of story telling. However, combine that inconsistency with the fact that the ‘Black Sox’ players rode trains for hours back and forth from Cincinnati to Chicago for eight games of a series, and only eight players were either involved with the gamblers AND/OR had knowledge of it? It’s hard to believe that more of them did not know. We don’t want to smear more people, rather call an end to the punishment. It’s already been cruel and unusual. Landis banned two starting pitchers, the shortstop, third baseman, first baseman, left fielder, and center fielder, and a backup infielder yet the Catcher (Schalk) and Second Baseman (Collins) weren’t involved AND didn’t know of anything? Come on!! They had the best views of those players on the field. Again, we don’t want removals from the Hall. We’re looking to put plaque-less Joe Jackson in the hall. It’s TWENTY-19, and it’s about time!!
Later Baseball Fans.