BASEBALL CHEATS (AND OTHER CREATIVE ACTS) | 2007
The series, baseball cheats (and other creative acts), takes a look at cheating as not just a subversive act, but also a moment of creativity, desperation, high drama, and hilarity. In each of these images, players are depicted at the decisive moment when fair play descends into cheating. In baseball—and countless other games—acts of cheating are often what shape the rules and help the sport continue to evolve. Aspects of the game we now think of as cheating may simply have been a creative way to win within the original rules. In this respect, cheating defines key aspects of the game (the current rulebook for Major League Baseball is over 200 pages long).
Some short narratives of the plays and players that were investigated in the series:
Lenny Randle
On May 27, 1981, the Seattle Mariners hosted the Kansas City Royals for a game at the Kingdome. The crowd of 6,331 was treated to a spectacle that might have never been seen before in a big league game.
With Kansas City ahead 7–4 over the Mariners, Amos Otis tapped a dribbler down the third base line in the 6th inning. Mariner 3B Lenny Randle proceeded to get down on all fours as the ball rolled along the line, finally going foul. Royals manager Whitey Herzog protested that Randle was blowing the ball foul, while the third baseman argued he was merely pleading with it. Ump Larry McCoy rules in favor of Herzog and Otis gets a hit. Otis doesn't score but the Royals won anyway, 8–5.
Graig Nettles
Graig Nettles, a hard-hitting 3rd baseman, was an outstanding defensive player who played for six teams during his 22-year career. On 7 September 1974, Nettles, then with the New York Yankees, was caught using a bat that had six superballs inside it. He said that he had received the bat from a Yankees fan in Chicago and did not know that the bat had been altered.
Alex Rodriguez
The epic 2004 American League Championship Series between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees was notable for several reasons. First and foremost, the Sox became the first team in Major League Baseball history to win a seven-game postseason series after losing the first three games. In the 8th inning of Game 6, Alex Rodriguez grounded the ball to Sox pitcher Bronson Arroyo, who picked up the ball and ran to the baseline to tag Rodríguez out, but the Yankee slapped Arroyo's arm, knocking the ball loose. While the ball rolled down the baseline, Rodríguez went to second and Jeter scored. After a long conversation among the umpires, Rodríguez was called out for interference and Jeter was ordered back to first, thus wiping out the score. The Red Sox got out of the inning without further damage, eventually winning the game.
Barry Bonds
On 15 November 2007, Barry Bonds was indicted by the United States government on four counts of perjury and one count of obstruction of justice.
Kent Hrbek
The 1991 World Series pitted the Atlanta Braves against the Minnesota Twins, who had finished in last place the previous season. In the second inning of Game 2, Braves centerfielder Ron Gant hit a long single into left field, advancing runner Lonnie Smith to third. In moving back to first base to avoid a pick-off play, Gant's momentum was "helped along" by Hrbek, who seemingly lifted Gant off the bag then tagged him out. This inning-ending play stymied the Braves, who lost the game and eventually the series in seven games.
Eddie Ciccote
In perhaps the most infamous cheating scandal in baseball history, eight members of the Chicago White Sox conspired to throw the 1919 World Series. Bribed by local gangsters and chafed by their meager pay from Sox owner Charles Comiskey, eight members of the team were eventually exposed, then slapped with lifetime bans from the Commissioner of Baseball, Kennesaw Mountain Landis. The players and gamblers knew the fix was on thanks to starting pitcher Eddie Ciccote. The first pitch of the Series was to Cincinnati Reds lead-off batter Maurice Rath - a called strike. Cicotte's second pitch hit Rath in the back. The Reds won the Series, five games to three.
Harold Homer "Hal" Chase
"Hal" Chase was perhaps the dirtiest player of his era. Although incredibly gifted as a defensive first baseman, Chase was also an incorrigible gambler. He unrepentantly bet against his own teams--the New York Highlanders/Yankees (1905-1913), Chicago White Sox (1913-1914), Buffalo Buffeds (1914-1915), Cincinnati Reds (1916-1918), and New York Giants (1919). Furthermore, he would pay other players to throw games. His own method of throwing games included the tendency to jump just a little too late for balls hit his way. In 1921, the weight of evidence of his corruption led to him receiving a formal lifetime ban from baseball from Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis.
Joe Niekro
Pitchers Joe and Phil Niekro were masters of the knuckleball. Brother Phil, in fact, used it to win several of his 318 games, 121 of which came after her turned 40. On 3 August 1987, Joe was caught red-handed with a nail file doctoring the ball from the mound. For this creative effort, he received a 10-day suspension. When the Minnesota Twins released a bobblehead set of the 1987 World Series team, the bobblehead for Niekro included the nail file in his back pocket.
Bobby Thompson
In 1951, both the Brooklyn Dodgers and their crosstown rivals the New York Giants finished the regular season with identical records of 96-58. The Giants had played exceptionally well late in the season, overcoming a 13½-game lead after August 11th. To determine the pennant, the teams played a best-of-three series. In the final game of the series, Brooklyn led 4-1 going into the bottom of the 9th. With two men on and one run already in, Bobby Thompson hit the second pitch from reliever Ralph Branca over the left field wall. In this famous "Shot Heard 'Round the World," the Giants had won the game and the pennant. In February 2001, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Giants had positioned coach Herman Franks with a telescope in the Giants' clubhouse during the game, and had stolen the pitching signs of the Dodger catcher, Rube Walker, subbing for the injured Roy Campanella in the playoff game. Although not technically cheating, it was certainly stealing. The Giants subsequently lost the World Series to the New York Yankees in six games.
Lenny Randle
On May 27, 1981, the Seattle Mariners hosted the Kansas City Royals for a game at the Kingdome. The crowd of 6,331 was treated to a spectacle that might have never been seen before in a big league game.
With Kansas City ahead 7–4 over the Mariners, Amos Otis tapped a dribbler down the third base line in the 6th inning. Mariner 3B Lenny Randle proceeded to get down on all fours as the ball rolled along the line, finally going foul. Royals manager Whitey Herzog protested that Randle was blowing the ball foul, while the third baseman argued he was merely pleading with it. Ump Larry McCoy rules in favor of Herzog and Otis gets a hit. Otis doesn't score but the Royals won anyway, 8–5.
Graig Nettles
Graig Nettles, a hard-hitting 3rd baseman, was an outstanding defensive player who played for six teams during his 22-year career. On 7 September 1974, Nettles, then with the New York Yankees, was caught using a bat that had six superballs inside it. He said that he had received the bat from a Yankees fan in Chicago and did not know that the bat had been altered.
Alex Rodriguez
The epic 2004 American League Championship Series between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees was notable for several reasons. First and foremost, the Sox became the first team in Major League Baseball history to win a seven-game postseason series after losing the first three games. In the 8th inning of Game 6, Alex Rodriguez grounded the ball to Sox pitcher Bronson Arroyo, who picked up the ball and ran to the baseline to tag Rodríguez out, but the Yankee slapped Arroyo's arm, knocking the ball loose. While the ball rolled down the baseline, Rodríguez went to second and Jeter scored. After a long conversation among the umpires, Rodríguez was called out for interference and Jeter was ordered back to first, thus wiping out the score. The Red Sox got out of the inning without further damage, eventually winning the game.
Barry Bonds
On 15 November 2007, Barry Bonds was indicted by the United States government on four counts of perjury and one count of obstruction of justice.
Kent Hrbek
The 1991 World Series pitted the Atlanta Braves against the Minnesota Twins, who had finished in last place the previous season. In the second inning of Game 2, Braves centerfielder Ron Gant hit a long single into left field, advancing runner Lonnie Smith to third. In moving back to first base to avoid a pick-off play, Gant's momentum was "helped along" by Hrbek, who seemingly lifted Gant off the bag then tagged him out. This inning-ending play stymied the Braves, who lost the game and eventually the series in seven games.
Eddie Ciccote
In perhaps the most infamous cheating scandal in baseball history, eight members of the Chicago White Sox conspired to throw the 1919 World Series. Bribed by local gangsters and chafed by their meager pay from Sox owner Charles Comiskey, eight members of the team were eventually exposed, then slapped with lifetime bans from the Commissioner of Baseball, Kennesaw Mountain Landis. The players and gamblers knew the fix was on thanks to starting pitcher Eddie Ciccote. The first pitch of the Series was to Cincinnati Reds lead-off batter Maurice Rath - a called strike. Cicotte's second pitch hit Rath in the back. The Reds won the Series, five games to three.
Harold Homer "Hal" Chase
"Hal" Chase was perhaps the dirtiest player of his era. Although incredibly gifted as a defensive first baseman, Chase was also an incorrigible gambler. He unrepentantly bet against his own teams--the New York Highlanders/Yankees (1905-1913), Chicago White Sox (1913-1914), Buffalo Buffeds (1914-1915), Cincinnati Reds (1916-1918), and New York Giants (1919). Furthermore, he would pay other players to throw games. His own method of throwing games included the tendency to jump just a little too late for balls hit his way. In 1921, the weight of evidence of his corruption led to him receiving a formal lifetime ban from baseball from Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis.
Joe Niekro
Pitchers Joe and Phil Niekro were masters of the knuckleball. Brother Phil, in fact, used it to win several of his 318 games, 121 of which came after her turned 40. On 3 August 1987, Joe was caught red-handed with a nail file doctoring the ball from the mound. For this creative effort, he received a 10-day suspension. When the Minnesota Twins released a bobblehead set of the 1987 World Series team, the bobblehead for Niekro included the nail file in his back pocket.
Bobby Thompson
In 1951, both the Brooklyn Dodgers and their crosstown rivals the New York Giants finished the regular season with identical records of 96-58. The Giants had played exceptionally well late in the season, overcoming a 13½-game lead after August 11th. To determine the pennant, the teams played a best-of-three series. In the final game of the series, Brooklyn led 4-1 going into the bottom of the 9th. With two men on and one run already in, Bobby Thompson hit the second pitch from reliever Ralph Branca over the left field wall. In this famous "Shot Heard 'Round the World," the Giants had won the game and the pennant. In February 2001, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Giants had positioned coach Herman Franks with a telescope in the Giants' clubhouse during the game, and had stolen the pitching signs of the Dodger catcher, Rube Walker, subbing for the injured Roy Campanella in the playoff game. Although not technically cheating, it was certainly stealing. The Giants subsequently lost the World Series to the New York Yankees in six games.