All-Time Indians: Shoeless Joe Jackson

Almost exclusively known for his implication in the Chicago Black Sox scandal, Shoeless Joe Jackson was one of the best hitters in the early days of the American League and remains one of the greatest in Indians history and one of the greatest not to be enshrined in the Hall of Fame.

The illiterate Jackson began his playing career in his home state of South Carolina and it was at this semi-pro level that he earned his nickname. In a game early in career, he was trying to play a game with new cleats, but they were too tight and he removed them early in the game, playing it out in his socks. The nickname would stick with him the rest of his life to the point that now, long after his death, it is still the primary one that most use for the outfielder.

In 1908, Jackson was discovered by the Philadelphia A’s, but he was unable to adjust to big city life and struggled for two seasons before being traded in 1910 as the Player to Be Named Later in a deal to bring Bris Lord back to the A’s (Morrie Rath was the primary component of the deal). In the smaller town of Cleveland, Jackson went from hitting .150 through ten games across two years with Philadelphia to batting .387 through 20 games in 1910 and finishing fourth in the MVP voting in 1911.

One of the best pure hitters in baseball history, he batting .408 in 1911, the first and last Indians (or Naps as they were called at the time) hitter to hit above .400. This would also be the start to his career average of .375 with the Indians, still the Indians record as well. At this point, Ty Cobb was already well established and he easily took the 1911 MVP, the first ever awarded. Jackson very quickly joined Cobb, Eddie Collins and his Cleveland teammate Nap Lajoie as the top hitters in baseball. Incredibly as a rookie, Jackson didn’t just hit for average, but knocked 45 doubles, 19 triples and stole 45 bases in what would be the best season of his short, but extremely elevated career.

This would mark his career high in hits, doubles, runs, steals, average, OBP (setting a team record that has since been beaten only twice, both times by Tris Speaker) and slugging percent, all at the age of 23. While he wouldn’t match these numbers in 1912, he would continue his success, hitting .395/.458/.579 with his career high in 26 triples. He lead the league in both triples and hits, finishing 9th in MVP voting again behind Cobb, Collins and Walsh, ultimately losing to future Indians player/manager Speaker.

Despite having two of the top ten hitters in the league, the Naps offense was otherwise devoid of life. In 1912, they finished 5th in the 8 team AL in runs scored and 30.5 games out of the Pennant and while they’d get within 10 games by the end of 1913, Jackson would never really be on a competitive team until he joined the White Sox.

Unfortunately for both parties, that time would come shortly, but Jackson would still have two more incredible years in Cleveland before moving on. In 1913, he finished second in the MVP race, just barely losing to one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history, Walter Johnson. Had there been a separate award at the time for pitchers, this would likely have been the Indians first MVP just as he would likely have been the Indians first Rookie of the Year had the award been around in the 1910’s. Pushing him to the point he finally surpassed Cobb and Collins in the MVP race were his league best .551 SLG and 1.011 OPS (although the writers certainly weren’t looking at those numbers directly) and his AL best 39 doubles and 197 hits. He also hit .373, but saw a significant decrease in steals, runs and RBI.

Jackson broke his leg in 1914 and played just 122 games, still hitting .338 with 22 steals, 22 doubles and 13 triples. Despite this extreme decrease in both playing time and production, Jackson was still, by far, the Naps best hitter. Despite this he was the secondary focus after Charles Somers sold Lajoie to Philadelphia prior to the 1915 season to make the team more financially sound. Needing to save more money to remain owner, Somers sent Jackson to Chicago mid-season for Ed Klepfer, Braggo Roth, Larry Chappell and $31,500. While it wasn’t quite the steal that brought him to Cleveland in the first place, there is little question that the White Sox got the better of the deal and it still wasn’t enough to save Somers, who sold the team anyway in 1916.

In Chicago, Jackson would achieve both his dream and nightmare. After hitting just .308 between two teams in 1915, he got back to .341 and lead the league in triples again in 1916, then helped the White Sox to the AL Pennant and World Series championship in 1917. As great as this was, it was Charles Comiskey’s thriftiness after winning the championship that lead those famous eight to throw their chance the next time they reached the World Series in 1919.

Whether or not Jackson was directly involved remains in question and, in fact, the national court system didn’t find him guilty. However, the newly appointed commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis wouldn’t stand for any threats of gambling and would ban all eight players for life, including Jackson, just prior to the end of the 1920 season. It was this mass banning that helped keep the Indians in first in the AL in 1920 and ultimately lead to their first franchise World Series victory.

Despite the fact that Jackson’s life long ban should have ended with his death in 1951, he has still not been allowed in baseball’s Hall of Fame. His ban from Major League Baseball has not kept him out of the Cleveland Indians Hall of Fame, where his memorial can be seen in center field at Progressive Field.

Joe Jackson by jLablitz, on Flickr” href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlablitz/8159288391/”>