‘IT’S PART OF OUR HISTORY’
100 years later, the White Sox acknowledge but don’t celebrate the 1919 ‘Black Sox’
A banner hangs beneath the stadium lights beyond the leftcenter-field seats at Guaranteed Rate Field listing the seven seasons the White Sox won the American League championship.
The list begins with 1906, when the “Hitless Wonders” beat the mighty Cubs in Chicago’s only intracity World Series. It ends with 2005, when the team was on its way to its third and most recent World Series title.
And then there’s 1919.
The 100-year anniversary of the infamous World Series known for the “Black Sox” gambling scandal draws near. Game 1 of the 1919 Series was Oct. 1.
As the 2019 season inches closer to an end, the modern Sox reflected on a piece of team history.
“When you look at all the things that have been written, you think about the gambling, you think about the belief that guys threw games (and) that they didn’t play the best that they could play at that particular time,” Sox manager Rick Renteria said. “It was a sad moment in baseball history.
“And I still want to believe that nobody would want to give less of themselves as they are going out there competing, because competing is the biggest thing you live for when you are playing any professional sport.”
The Sox, who finished the season 88-52 and had won the 1917 World Series, were favored to beat the National League-champion Reds, despite their gaudy 96-44 record. The Sox fell behind 4-1 in the best-of-nine series and lost in eight games. Eight Sox players, including “Shoeless” Joe Jackson, were charged in 1920 with conspiring to fix the Series’ outcome.
“It’s part of our history,” Sox senior vice president of communications Scott Reifert said recently. “But that relationship with the club and the 1919 team has evolved over time. Winning in 2005 really changed everything. That whole concept of ‘You’ll never win because of that’ was gone. It was erased in four nights.
“It was a historical moment in this franchise’s history. Now it’s more about understanding that history accurately.”
The current Sox recognize some of the history and acknowledge how much has changed on and off the field.
Sports gambling has become legal in some states, including Indiana.
“With guys in this clubhouse or any clubhouse in the major leagues, you don’t want those guys betting on baseball,” infielder Ryan Goins said. “It would be a big issue if guys were throwing games, that would be a huge issue. But overall, sports betting is becoming normal in different states.”
While the scandal has been noted in films such as “Eight Men Out” and “Field of Dreams,” for the most part it has faded from the national sports conversation.
Reifert said the Sox haven’t purposely avoided the 1919 season, rather that when it comes to celebrations, the team typically centers on teams or individuals that connect closely with fans.
“We tend to try to acknowledge things that mean something to our fans,” Reifert said. “That’s so long ago. If you look at the statues in the outfield (concourse), we often talk, ‘Should we have a statue of a guy from the 19-0-something team?’
“Other than it being a cool statue of an old player, nobody alive really saw that person play. That general mindset kind of applies in this case.”
It’s a topic that likely will arise again when the Sox play the Yankees next season in the “MLB at Field of Dreams” game on Aug. 13 in Dyersville, Iowa.
Pitcher Lucas Giolito said there are lessons to take from 100 years ago.
“I’m all for the integrity of the game,” said Giolito, who is on the advisory board of Taylor Hooton Foundation, which strives to inform people about appearance and performance-enhancing substances. “That’s just how I see it. I like the even playing field. I don’t like cheating. I don’t like anything shady.”
Renteria also said there is plenty to take away from the chapter.
“Competing and doing the best you can on a daily basis is what everybody strives for professionally,” he said. “And if we continue to move forward in that regard and not have to look back anymore at it, we are probably in a good place.”