You would have figured that after 8 members of his baseball team were banned for life after throwing the 1919 World Series because of your selfish ways, owner Charles Comiskey would have at least acknowledged his part in this black eye on baseball. Had he not prevented Eddie Cicotte from having the opportunity to win his 30 games, therefore getting his bonus he would have been entitled to, the gamblers may have not had enough pull to get the team to throw the series, which they lost to the Cincinnati Reds. The White Sox, who won 96 games in the 1920 season, enough to finish 2nd place behind the eventual World Series Champion Cleveland Indians, were informed after the season that 8 players were banned for life as a result of the Black Sox scandal. They went from 96-58 in 1920 to 62-92 and 7th place in the AL for the 1921 season.
A battle would be started after the season between LHP Dickey Kerr, who as a rookie in 1919 won two games in the infamous World Series for the White Sox and miserable Sox owner Comiskey. Kerr, who had won 21 games and finished with a 3.38 ERA in 1920, saw his record drop to 19-17, 4.72 in 1921. The lack of talent around him was factored in, but Kerr did lead the Junior Curcuit in earned runs allowed (162) and hits (357). But, he was the team;s workhorse and did finish with a winning record on a team that was 30 games under .500. While Kerr was 19-17, the rest of the pitchers were 43-75. And you also had to factor in the rest of the team that was missing because of the lifetime bans.
While the decision by Comiskey seemed minute compared to other negotiations in regards to salary, Kerr was not going to stand for a $500 paycut for the 1922 season. Like many of the other White Sox players, Kerr felt the owner was the one to blame for setting off the actions of 1919. According to Kerr, it was the selfishness of Comiskey which led to the World Series being thrown in the first place. From the owner's perspective, he looked at the simple numbers which saw Kerr give up more hits and earned runs than in the past. The numbers were off clearly because the talent around Kerr was nothing like it was in the past.
Dickey Kerr did what few others had the courage to do. He decided he was not going to take the owner's minuscule contract. After the cheap owner refused to change his mind, Kerr decided he wanted his release from the White Sox. After that did not work, he quit. After he quit, he was placed on the permanent ineligible list by Commissioner Landis. Kerr continued to pitch in outlaw leagues until he was reinstated on this date in 1925.
The White Sox at that time were managed by 2B Eddie Collins. Though catcher Ray Schalk was still on the team, Kerr did not have much to offer on the mound. He got into 12 games, 2 as a starter, going 0-1 with a 5.15 ERA on a team that finished 79-75. He would never pitch in the major leagues again.
Dickey Kerr would eventually become a scout for the St Louis Cardinals in the 1940s. Prior to that, he was a minor league manager and he discovered a young pitcher who seemed on the outs with his ability to throw the baseball. The pitcher's sore arm looked like it had done him in but it was known he had a decent bat. He helped the young "man" become a full time hitter and his name... Stan Musial. Kerr seemed to get a little senile as he got older, claiming he belonged in Baseball's Hall of Fame even though he pitched in parts of four seasons in the big leagues.
A battle would be started after the season between LHP Dickey Kerr, who as a rookie in 1919 won two games in the infamous World Series for the White Sox and miserable Sox owner Comiskey. Kerr, who had won 21 games and finished with a 3.38 ERA in 1920, saw his record drop to 19-17, 4.72 in 1921. The lack of talent around him was factored in, but Kerr did lead the Junior Curcuit in earned runs allowed (162) and hits (357). But, he was the team;s workhorse and did finish with a winning record on a team that was 30 games under .500. While Kerr was 19-17, the rest of the pitchers were 43-75. And you also had to factor in the rest of the team that was missing because of the lifetime bans.
While the decision by Comiskey seemed minute compared to other negotiations in regards to salary, Kerr was not going to stand for a $500 paycut for the 1922 season. Like many of the other White Sox players, Kerr felt the owner was the one to blame for setting off the actions of 1919. According to Kerr, it was the selfishness of Comiskey which led to the World Series being thrown in the first place. From the owner's perspective, he looked at the simple numbers which saw Kerr give up more hits and earned runs than in the past. The numbers were off clearly because the talent around Kerr was nothing like it was in the past.
Dickey Kerr did what few others had the courage to do. He decided he was not going to take the owner's minuscule contract. After the cheap owner refused to change his mind, Kerr decided he wanted his release from the White Sox. After that did not work, he quit. After he quit, he was placed on the permanent ineligible list by Commissioner Landis. Kerr continued to pitch in outlaw leagues until he was reinstated on this date in 1925.
The White Sox at that time were managed by 2B Eddie Collins. Though catcher Ray Schalk was still on the team, Kerr did not have much to offer on the mound. He got into 12 games, 2 as a starter, going 0-1 with a 5.15 ERA on a team that finished 79-75. He would never pitch in the major leagues again.
Dickey Kerr would eventually become a scout for the St Louis Cardinals in the 1940s. Prior to that, he was a minor league manager and he discovered a young pitcher who seemed on the outs with his ability to throw the baseball. The pitcher's sore arm looked like it had done him in but it was known he had a decent bat. He helped the young "man" become a full time hitter and his name... Stan Musial. Kerr seemed to get a little senile as he got older, claiming he belonged in Baseball's Hall of Fame even though he pitched in parts of four seasons in the big leagues.
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