.356 Lifetime

A Barroom Discussion Story #21

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“The greatest hitter of all time is Babe Ruth,” started John.

“You can’t compare stats that way,” exclaimed Joel. “Different pitchers, different bats, different balls. A different approach to the game. It was the dead ball era. ”

“The stats don’t lie,” explained John.

“Everything has changed,” added George. “Comparing one era to another is useless. Pitchers then routinely threw 8 innings and complete games.”

“Batters hit more for base than for homeruns,” added the bartender.

“Great hitters are great hitters. Their eye for a pitch doesn't change,” countered John.

“They also hit pitches that are now banned by baseball and the pitchers routinely doctored balls to try to fool the batters,” added George with some emphasis.

“Yet someone like Shoeless Joe continued to bat near 400 for most of his career,” added Joel.

“It is said that Shoeless Joe used the same bat, Black Betsy, his entire career. That never happens nowadays,” threw in the bartender.

Denyce’s eyes flashed. “Now there is a guy who really got shafted.”

All the guys turned and looked at her.

“Well he did,” she intoned.

“He got caught cheating and paid the price,” said John.

“All evidence points to his innocence,” replied Denyce.

“Denyce,” said Joel with some respect, “he took the cash.”

“Lets look at the facts boys.” They all looked a bit startled. She appeared to know about this. Her interest caught them off guard. “Joe absolutely without a doubt loved the game of baseball more than he loved most other things in his life. When the winter came he looked for games to play where it was warm. His life was baseball. Joe refused to take the money when it was offered to him. Lefty left it in Joe’s room. Joe tried to either turn the money in to Charlie Comiskey or inform Comiskey of the fix but was turned down. It is unclear on that matter. Joe didn’t attend any of the meetings the other black sox had to discuss the offer. He hit 375 in the world series and had no errors in the field.” She smiled triumphantly.

George stepped up to the plate. “But he confessed to participating.”

Denyce smiled. “His lawyer provided for him with the idea that it would be easier to admit guilt that way he could still play in the league again. Joe was naive fellas. He cared about nothing other than playing baseball. In that regard he always gave his best effort on the field.”

Joel spoke up,”what about the fact that in the losing games he hit 250 but in the winning games he hit much better.”

“If anyone hits 250 in the World Series most batters would have had a good World Series performance. The facts still remain that he had a 375 batting average with 12 hits, a homer, 6 RBIs and 5 runs scored in 8 games during the series. While some of his teammates were tanking the series I might add. That doesn’t sound like throwing the series to me.”

“How do you know so much about this?” asked the bartender. “You know a lot of information.”

“My dad was a baseball fanatic. He was open to discussing many things. This was one of his passions." Denyce liked the reflection she now saw when she talked about her dad.

“Is it true that he only used one bat for his entire career," inquired Jeanette with a smile. She turned to the guys who had stunned looks on their faces. “Hey girls can know about baseball too!”

Denyce spoke up. “He had his primary bat, Black Betsy from 1903 onward. He continued to use it after he got banned when he was playing in low level leagues and basically pickup games. He had other bats. Interesting fact,” she said as she looked at John, ”Blond Betsy, Caroliny, Ol' Genril and Big Jim, were the names of some of the other bats he used.”

“Well played Denyce,” said John. “He used different bats in different situations. For example if he was on a no hit streak he would switch to other bats.”

“He had them also because if something happened to Black Betsy he had bats he could rely on to fill in the gaps. Joe loved his bats so much that he would take his bats home with him to South Carolina in the winter, because he said ‘bats don't like to freeze no more than me.’ He would also rub them down with sweet oil and wrap them in a clean cotton cloth. He loved the game that much.”

“He took care of his bats,” said George.

“Indubitably,” added Joel. “While I think we may not have all the facts on Joe, I am happy that the guy with one of the highest lifetime batting averages ever can now at least be considered for the Hall of Fame.”

“I’ll drink to that,” said Denyce. “Thanks dad,” she said silently after her toast.

The bartender reflected, “I think it’s great that everyone has an opinion and they are open to listening to how other people feel.”