The Pitch for Joe Jackson

Now batting for Shoeless Joe Jackson . . . No. 9, Ted Williams. Nope, the Splendid Splinter is not relegated to pinch hitter status. Actually, he's pitching for Jackson. The Hall of Famer has filed a petition with the powers that be in baseball to add Jackson's name to the 15 on the Veterans Committee ballot. Williams, Bob Feller and others fighting with him sincerely believe that the March 3 announcement of inductees from the Veterans Committee this year will include the name of Joe Jackson. Don't bet on it. Jackson is an outlaw from Hall of Fame consideration following the 1919 Black Sox scandal, in which eight members of the White Sox were banned from playing baseball for throwing the series against Cincinnati. Campaigns, from "say it ain't so, Joe" fans to public officials, have sounded the call for Jackson, who hit .375, homered and played errorless ball in the scandal-riddled series, to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. He is also widely considered to be the greatest pure hitter in baseball history. Says who? Says Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb. And so says Ted Williams, who not only talked about such matters with the latter two, but studied Jackson's swing in fashioning his own. For the past three years, Williams has been quietly lobbying for Jackson to be enshrined into the Hall; he's also pushing for former teammate Dom DiMaggio, but that's a different story. Williams is arguably the Hall's most influential living member. He's also a leading member on the Veterans Committee. Unlike the efforts of fans, Williams has some unique weapons in making his case. As a world class hunter and fly fisherman, this is a guy who knows something about ammunition and casting a line.

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