A Team with Personality

At some point, a team will acquire its defining personality—the bloodless, pinstriped Yankees, the perennially hip Lakers, the blue-collar Bears.  And my White Sox?  They’re straight out of Bernard Malamud’s The Natural.

This makes perfect sense, given that Malamud drew in part on the 1919 Black Sox scandal.  Which means Roy Hobbs could be a little Shoeless Joe Jackson and Judge Banner may have more than a bit of Charles Comiskey in him.  So, it was a long time ago, and so it shall ever be.  The White Sox have had any number of tragic heroes, players who have toiled in obscurity, their career numbers not deemed worthy of Cooperstown.  Think Minnie Minoso, Billy Pierce, Harold Baines and Tommy John.  No, they didn’t take money to throw any games the way Jackson did, but remember that Shoeless Joe always claimed he tried to do the right thing and give that cash back.  Jackson also said he tried to alert the owner of the White Sox of the scandal.

Only some people won’t listen.  Consider Comiskey successor in the owner’s suite, Jerry Reinsdorf.  At the age of 78, you might think Reinsdorf is contemplating retirement, but no.  According to a story in yesterday’s New York Times, Reinsdorf is trying to block Bud Selig’s choice for the next baseball commissioner.  Apparently, Reinsdorf wants to abolish the office for a commission—with him a member, of course—that would rule over the game.  If only Malamud were writing today, what fun he'd have.