PSA for the PBBC, March 9

Headnote: One of the thing I like about the Pandemic Baseball Book Club is that it’s a kind of “one stop shopping.” Instead of posting about various authors, projects, and events, all I’m doing here is cutting and pasting their newsletter. This one was received on March 2. Enjoy.

By the way, here are “Bookshelf Conversations” I’ve had with some of the authors associated with the PBBC:

• John Shea
• Joan Ryan
• Jason Turbow
• Anika Orrock
• Brad Balukjian
• Dan Schlossberg

Visit the PBBC for the latest batch of authors with new books coming out this year.

LINKING ARMS WITH BASEBALL PROSPECTUS
So the Pandemic Baseball Book Club and Baseball Prospectus have become sweet on each other (okay, the PBBC has always been sweet on BP), resulting in what will hopefully be an enduring collaboration in which Club authors appear regularly on the BP site.

First up is Andrew Maraniss, who has been getting lots of great attention for Singled Out: The True Story of Glenn Burke, which came out last week. Yesterday, BP published an excerpt, detailing a massive brawl spurred by Burke in the minor leagues.

“Why don’t you come out here if you want to do something about it?!” Burke screamed, and the Carnavals took him up on the offer, sprinting out of the dugout. Before Burke’s teammates could make it out to the field to join the fisticuffs, Burke had already decked the Quebec pitcher, knocking him straight to the frozen infield like falling timber.”

Click the link to read more, and stay tuned for more great excerpts and original PBBC material at Baseball Prospectus.

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Today is release day for Double Plays and Double Crosses: The Black Sox and Baseball in 1920, by Don Zminda. You can hear Don discuss the book on the PBBC podcast channel, in a conversation with author Steve Steinberg that dropped this morning.

Or you could do that in a minute, and read some of his thoughts about the book right here, first.

ASK AN AUTHOR
Don Zminda
Double Plays and Double Crosses: The Black Sox and Baseball in 1920 (Rowman & Littlefield, March 10, 2021)

Why this book? Why now?
There have been a number of books written about the Black Sox scandal over the last 50-plus years, but mine is the first to take an in-depth look at the team the following season, when seven of the eight players continued to play for Chicago. I present evidence that the players were continuing to throw games during the 1920 regular season.

What’s a noteworthy thing you learned doing research?
It fascinated me to learn that Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis, who became baseball’s first commissioner late in 1920, probably would have become commissioner a year earlier if not for opposition from American League president Ban Johnson, who feared that Landis’ installation would diminish his own power (which is exactly what happened). Had Landis taken over earlier, the scandal might have been uncovered much sooner, and the history of the entire event could have been much different.

What surprised you?
Of the eight Black Sox players who were given lifetime bans by Judge Landis, the player generally considered most “innocent” is Buck Weaver, who had direct knowledge of the fix but apparently did not accept any money. My own take is that Weaver’s part in the scandal was much more complicated, and that he may in fact have played an active role in fixing games—particularly during the 1920 regular season. I also have many doubts about Shoeless Joe Jackson’s contention that “I took the money, but I was playing to win”—a story that Jackson’s supporters continue to believe.

Who had the biggest influence on this book?
The work of SABR’s Black Sox Scandal Committee was the starting point for much of the most groundbreaking work in uncovering new aspects of the scandal. Members of the committee who have written on the topic—particularly Jacob Pomrenke, Bill Lamb and Bruce Allardice—had a great deal of influence on my own work.

What’s the most memorable interview you conducted for the book?
All of the characters in the story are long deceased, but Bill Lamb—a SABR member and former New Jersey prosecutor, who wrote one of the definitive books about the Black Sox—really opened my eyes about how Charles Comiskey hid behind a legalistic argument in choosing to bring the Black Sox back in 1920, even though he had more than enough information to conclude that they were guilty.

What are some lessons you learned along the way?
While there is an enormous amount of information available digitally, many important publications and documents are not. I spent a week doing research at the Chicago History Museum, which has a number of Black Sox documents (including trial transcripts) and microfilm files for several Chicago newspapers not available in digital form. I wish I’d had even more time to do this work.

I also learned that a lot of the conventional wisdom about the Black Sox scandal is very probably wrong.

Buy Double Plays and Double Crosses here.

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WHAT ELSE WE’VE BEEN DOING

Seriously, there’s no reason not to. Also, a t-shirt or hoodie to wear while drinking coffee. Or a tote bag, to carry your mug around when it’s not full of coffee. Not sure how babies factor into this coffee-rich scenario, but we have onesies, too. Head over to the PBBC shop to satisfy your needs.