Who the heck wrote THIS?

[TommyJohn]

OK, I'm not one to bust out the tinfoil hat, and I won't now. But I would really
like to know who wrote this gem in today's Sun-Times. There is an article about
players who were beaned in the head by pitches and how it affected their
careers. One of the mentions is about Ray Chapman, known for being the only
major leaguer to be killed by a pitched ball. The quote:

"Chapman, a Cleveland Indian shortstop, became the only major league player
to be killed by a pitched ball when he was hit in the head with a "spitball"
thrown by New York Yankees hurler Carl Mays on Aug. 6, 1920. Many fans in
attendance swore that Mays, a former White Sox later investigated
as part of the Black Sox scandal and widely maligned as a dirty player, threw intentionally at Chapman's head."

I for one find this disgusting. Why? Because Carl Mays NEVER PLAYED for the
White Sox. Not one game. Any baseball fan with a knowledge of the game
would know this. So maybe they don't know? It's called RESEARCH!!! and
journalists sometimes have to do it as part and parcel of their jobs. I just
looked up Carl Mays on retrosheet.org, baseball-reference.com and
baseball-almanac.com and it took me the grand total of 2 minutes, 5 seconds.
Surely someone at the Times could have taken the time to do just that before
writing that garbage and printing it. I mean, what is up with that? Why was
that junk put in there? I find it lazy and irresponsible to put something in that
article that is blatantly, provably (sp?) untrue.

I know. I can almost see the lectures coming from posters who know better.
"That's what happens when you waste your money on crap." Now I know
why some folks here call it the "Scum-Times."

[DarkCloudDropo]

I looked it up in 10 seconds. :)

[Ol' No. 2]

Sloppy journalism? Say it ain't so!

[bunnybrief]

Anyone who has a passing familiarity with the Black Sox knows that.

How the heck did this garbage make the Sun-Times? They're usually display a better knowledge of Chicago than the other paper.

I recall reading that story about the guy killed by a baseball. I'm wondering what other "dirt" there is on Mays.

I did some searching, and I found a geocities web page with this same misinformation. But here is some interesting stuff on Mays:

http://www.thebaseballpage.com/past/pp/mayscarl/

On August 16, 1920, Cleveland shortstop Ray Chapman froze at the plate, taking one of Mays' pitches off his temple. He crumpled to the ground and died the next day. Mays reputation was smirched and he never recovered the respect he had before the tragedy.

On July 13, 1919, Mays was limping along with a 5-11 record. Mays was not the sort of man that liked to lose, and his poor record had him on edge. That day in Chicago against the White Sox, Mays allowed seven runs in the first inning and 2/3, four of them unearned. Irritated, Mays stormed off the field, barking at his teammates for lack of support. Boston manager Ed Barrow couldn't convince Mays to return to the mound and neither could the few teammates who were still talking to the frustrated hurler. What ensued over the next few days stretched the Red Sox to the boiling point and helped signal the end of their dynasty. Sensing tension in Beantown, American League President Ban Johnson ordered the Red Sox to keep Mays on their roster until he could talk to the pitcher. Ignoring Johnson, Boston owner Harry Frazee traded his sulking ace to the New York Yankees for pitchers Bob McGraw, Allen Russell and $40,000.

[MisterB]

Anyone who has a passing familiarity with the Black Sox knows that.

How the heck did this garbage make the Sun-Times? They're usually display a better knowledge of Chicago than the other paper.

I recall reading that story about the guy killed by a baseball. I'm wondering what other "dirt" there is on Mays.

There was a rumor that Mays may have thrown games in the 1921 World Series (he was 1-2 that series after winning 27 in the regular season), but nothing ever came of it. BTW he played for the Red Sox before he came to the Yankees.

[bunnybrief]

Only link between Mays and Black Sox I could find:

www.1919blacksox.com/story4.htm

[TornLabrum]

In the excellent book, The Pitch that Killed, there is a description of Miller Huggins losing it when a discussion of Mays came up. The author then brings up a discussion of the possibility of Mays throwing those World Series games in 1921. Mays, who was certainly more than a redass in his day, spent most of his life bemoaning the fact that he was never elected to the HOF despite his record.

[Chips]

Only link between Mays and Black Sox I could find:

www.1919blacksox.com/story4.htm (http://www.1919blacksox.com/story4.htm)

That web site is very informative, I remember reading it a while back during school to pass the time.

[StillMissOzzie]

I for one find this disgusting. Why? Because Carl Mays NEVER PLAYED for the
White Sox. Not one game. Any baseball fan with a knowledge of the game
would know this. So maybe they don't know? It's called RESEARCH!!! and
journalists sometimes have to do it as part and parcel of their jobs. I just
looked up Carl Mays on retrosheet.org, baseball-reference.com and
baseball-almanac.com and it took me the grand total of 2 minutes, 5 seconds.
Surely someone at the Times could have taken the time to do just that before
writing that garbage and printing it. I mean, what is up with that? Why was
that junk put in there? I find it lazy and irresponsible to put something in that
article that is blatantly, provably (sp?) untrue.

I know. I can almost see the lectures coming from posters who know better.
"That's what happens when you waste your money on crap." Now I know
why some folks here call it the "Scum-Times."

These geniuses probably confused Carl Mays with Carlos May. Note the lack of teal.

SMO
:gulp:

[Stroker Ace]

Cub-Times printing an article that doesn't favor the flubs and is factually wrong? That never happens.