Ethical Ranks

Stats Toolbox

Access THT's stats:

Player Search:

Rank Baseball's Ethical Scenarios

Want to play the "Baseball Ethics" game? Two randomly selected actual ethical incidents from baseball's storied history are listed below. Please tell us which one you consider to be "worse." In other words, select the one you think is less ethical than the other. This exercise originally ran in August, 2008. After 35,000 votes, we compiled the results in this article.

This material was developed for an American Studies course at Carleton College. You can read about it in this article. The entire bibliography of sources is on this page.

Here are your first two choices. Select the less ethical one and you'll be given the opportunity to make even more choices. Thanks for helping.

1. Fake injury

Hall of Fame outfielder Mike "King" Kelly retired 1893. During his 16-year career, Kelly developed a reputation for pretending he was injured when on the base paths. Once the fielders had let down their guard, the suddenly healthy and speedy Kelly would take an extra base.

Many years later, another Hall of Famer, slugger Reggie Jackson, used the same trick when with the Yankees. Jackson was barely safe on a very close play at first base. He fell over the bag, and came up hobbling. The game was stopped. The Yankee trainer was called out to administer first aid. It was eventually decided that Jackson would try to play, despite his apparent leg injury. On the very next pitch, a smiling Jackson easily stole second base, with no sign of a limp. (Gutman, p. XX)

2. Tomato crate

There are many examples in which unruly fans hurled dangerous objects at ball players in the field of play. Take the case of Detroit Tigers catcher Birdie Tebbetts, who was visiting Cleveland for a game in the 1940s. A fan--sitting in the upper deck, no less--intentionally dropped a crate of tomatoes onto the head of Tebbetts, who was happily ensconced in the visitors' bullpen and never saw it coming. Tebbetts was knocked unconscious. (Scheinin, p. 242)