re: Shoeless Joe belongs in the Hall of Fame

quote:

---

Why this situation was held up as an anathema is beyond me - except that baseball was the most popular sport at the time - and baseball had to make it legitimate and make an example

---

Pretty much. But also to keep heat off the other ball clubs.

The owners didn't give carte blanche to Landis to punish the Sox because they were stalwarts of integrity. An outward display of resistance against corruption protected their own interests.

Too many forget Landis wasn't the commissioner when the scandal occurred and didn't ban the Sox players until nearly 2 years later, after they were acquitted.