Shoeless Joe Jackson

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Posted By: Frank Evanov

Did the ballplayers do something to the bat to make it last longer.

Yes, Joe reportedly used Viagra for all his "bats."

Frank

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Posted By: dennis

the bats were heavier then so there were less bats broke. i believe they use ash now and the bats are very light also, the handles are much thinner (as compared to the bats thru the 1980s) ruths bats were 49 ounces (i believe). now i think bats weigh about 30 oz. im sure someone here knows more about this than me.

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Posted By: Peter Spaeth

"Shoeless Joe was a great ballplayer, but let's not get carried away. In 1920 Joe had 12 home runs which was the most he ever hit. In 1920 Babe Ruth had 54 home runs. It's unlikely that Joe would have ever gotten into a home run race with the Babe."

Yeah let's not get carried away with the .358 batting average, or for that matter with Cobb's .367, I would put them squarely behind Bobby Bonds and Griffey Sr. in my hall of fame.

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Posted By: peter chao

Peter,

Your getting to be a real pain in the...anyway, you forget that the Babe also pitched and batted .342, so as great as Shoeless Joe was he wasn't in the same ballpark as the Babe. That's all I was saying.

Peter

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Posted By: Josh Adams

I agree with Spaeth.


You didn't even know Jackson was on the 1917 White Sox and you started this thread? Plus, there's nothing to say the Sox wouldn't have dominated in the early 20s. They were a force, had the best pitching ,defense and hitting. 3 HOFers on the 1917 and 1919 teams, and with the reserve clause, there is no basis to say "if the team would have been together."

I miss the pizza thread.

Go Go White Sox
2005 World Series Champions!

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Posted By: Mark Lutz

How did Jackson's bat survive uncracked? I agree with Dennis about the thick handles and the more durable wood. When those bats cracked, they were so sturdy that a bat boy would drive in some nails and the bat would be be as good as new. From what I understand, Jackson used numerous bats with black barrels. In their book,Dave Bushing and Dan Knoll quote a craftsman from the Louisville Slugger factory that Jackson insisted that "all" his bats be blackened with a flame. I would speculate that the black betsy that he kept with him was one of the few betsies that never cracked.

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Posted By: MVSNYC

guys- the flame-treatment supposedly strengthened his bats, and provented cracking (as well as turned them black)...

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Posted By: jay wolt

MVS - and don't forget all the tobacco juice that he spit on the
bat to protect it w/ a thicker coating.

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Posted By: MVSNYC

that gave it a nice heavy texture...

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Posted By: Ed

Ray Liotta as shoeless joe? Batting righty and talking in a yankee (almost Jersey) accent? C'mon. Ruined an otherwise touching movie.

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Posted By: barrysloate

You know, Gary Cooper batted right handed, so when they made "Pride of the Yankees" they just reversed the negative. He wore a backward "4" on his jersey so it would show up positive in those scenes.

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Posted By: jay wolt

Barry, that was also done in Billy Crystal's movie 61*
Anthony Micheal Hall portrayed Whitey Ford and was a right hander
so they too reversed the shot to make it look authentic.

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Posted By: barrysloate

Thanks Jay. 61* is one of my alltime favorite baseball movies.

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Posted By: peter chao

We all get tired of the Yankees once in a while. When you get a chance watch Damn Yankees again. Yankee haters unite.

Peter

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Posted By: Brian

"Ray Liotta as shoeless joe? Batting righty and talking in a yankee (almost Jersey) accent? C'mon. Ruined an otherwise touching movie"

And he threw left handed. I found this interesting, as in the movie it appeared Liotta had difficulting catching and throwing.

Of course, Joe threw right handed.

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Posted By: MVSNYC

ray liotta movie flubs?

how about the fact that joe died 25 years before the movie was made?

it's just a fictional movie guys, stop criticing.

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Posted By: peter chao

MVSYNC,

They actually treated Black Betsy with flames, hard to believe they could do that without severely burning the wood. You would think that present day major leaguers would try to get their bats treated in order for them to be more durable in games.

Peter

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Posted By: Clint

Here's a picture of a flame treated bat from around Joe's time. This was just done in spots on this bat.

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Posted By: howard

Even today many wood bats are flame tempered by the manufacturer so apparantly Shoeless Joe knew what he was doing.