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Posted By: Misunderestimated

I guess the big thing -- I want to stress about "Prince Hal" was that even if it appeared that he could play first base as well as any of his contemporaries you were more likely to lose with him on your team because of what he did. True, all those players saw him at some time or another field the position as well as anyone, but he presence on a team was cancerous. The object of baseball is ultimately rather simple and no different than any other team sport: win. If you had Chase you were less likely to win. Chase's perfidy was generally unknown until near the end of his career when he played for Christy Matthewson, who managed the Reds. Matty knew just how dangerous Chase was and he knew when things were fishy. "In Eight Men Out," Eliot Asinoff explained that the terminally ill Matty was one of the first people to suspect that 1919 series was compromised and recorded each play that suggested a lack of effort by the ChiSox from the press area where he watched the games with legendary journalist Hugh Fullerton.

Chase was ultimately suspended in the wake of the Black Sox scandal, not for throwing games but for fixing them. Chase's story has made him one of the most popular subjects for biography of his era and a great deal is now known about exactly what he did. These biographies and the statistics reveal that while he could play first base as well as anyone, he rarely did. Unlike Eddie Cicotte, Chick Gandil, Heinie Zimmerman, or anyone who threw a game or even the World Series, Chase essentially threw a career. His dishonesty and his "angling" were, according the biographies I have seen, an integral part of his play. He was never really good, even in pure terms of play either statistically or otherwise. The anecdotal evidence -- the stories of his contemporaries -- suggests that, at most, he had great potential.

Johnny Kling provides a great contrast. As a catcher a lot of what he did eluded the box score (working with the Pitchers etc) and his individual hitting statistics are hardly remarkable. He was, however, the starting catcher for a team that made 4 straight post seasons and won regular season games at a incredible pace, the 1906-10 Cubs. The Cubs dynasty ended just before Kling left and as we all know they haven't won a World Series since Kling was their regular catcher.