Editing Eight Men Out (section)

==Plot==
In [[1919 Chicago White Sox season|1919, the Chicago White Sox]] have won the [[American League]] pennant and are considered among the greatest baseball teams ever assembled; however, the team's stingy owner, [[Charles Comiskey]], gives little inclination to reward his players for a spectacular season.

Gamblers [[Joseph J. Sullivan|"Sport" Sullivan]], [[Bill Burns (baseball)|"Sleepy Bill" Burns]], and [[Billy Maharg]] get wind of the players' discontent, asking shady player [[Chick Gandil]] to convince a select group of Sox—including star [[knuckleball]] pitcher [[Eddie Cicotte]], who led the Majors with a 29–7 [[win–loss record (pitching)|win–loss record]] and an [[earned run average]] of 1.82—that they could earn more money by playing badly and throwing the [[1919 World Series|series]] than they could earn by winning the [[World Series]] against the [[Cincinnati Reds]]. Cicotte was motivated because Comiskey refused him a promised $10,000 should he win 30 games for the season. Cicotte was nearing the milestone when Comiskey ordered team manager [[Kid Gleason]] to bench him for two weeks (missing five starts) with the excuse that the 35-year-old veteran's arm needed a rest before the series.

A number of players, including Gandil, [[Swede Risberg]], and [[Lefty Williams]], go along with the scheme. [[Shoeless Joe Jackson|"Shoeless Joe" Jackson]], the team's illiterate superstar, is also invited, but is depicted as not bright nor entirely sure of what is going on. [[Buck Weaver]], meanwhile, insists that he is a winner and wants nothing to do with the fix.

When the best-of-nine World Series begins, Cicotte deliberately hits Reds leadoff hitter [[Morrie Rath]] in the back in Game 1 with his second pitch, a prearranged signal to gangster [[Arnold Rothstein]] that the fix is in. Cicotte pitches poorly and gives up five runs in four innings before being pulled, and the Sox lose the first game, 9–1. Williams also pitches poorly in Game 2, while Gandil, Risberg and [[Hap Felsch]] make glaring mistakes on the field. Several of the players become upset, however, when the various gamblers involved fail to pay their promised money up front.

Chicago journalists [[Ring Lardner]] and [[Hugh Fullerton]] grow increasingly suspicious, while Gleason continues to hear rumors of a fix, but he remains confident that his boys will come through in the end.

Rookie pitcher [[Dickie Kerr]], not in on the scam, wins Game 3 for the Sox, making both gamblers and teammates uncomfortable. Other teammates, such as catcher [[Ray Schalk]] and second baseman [[Eddie Collins]], play hard, while Weaver and Jackson show no signs of taking a dive. Cicotte loses again in Game 4 and the Sox lose Game 5 as well. With the championship now in jeopardy, the Sox manage to win Game 6 in extra innings. Gleason intends to bench Cicotte, but Cicotte, feeling guilty over throwing his previous games, begs for another chance. The manager reluctantly agrees and is given an easy Game 7 win. Unpaid by the gamblers, Williams also intends to win, but when his wife's life is threatened, he purposely pitches so badly that he is quickly relieved by [[Bill James (pitcher, born 1887)|"Big Bill" James]] in the first inning. Jackson hits a [[home run]] off Reds pitcher [[Hod Eller]] in the third inning, but the team still loses the final game.

Cincinnati wins the series five games to three. Fullerton writes an article condemning the White Sox. An investigation begins. In 1920, Cicotte and Jackson sign confessions admitting to the fix (though the illiterate Jackson is implied as having been coerced into making his confession). As a result of the revelations, Cicotte, Williams, Gandil, Felsch, Risberg, [[Fred McMullin]], Jackson, and Weaver are charged with [[conspiracy]]. The eight men are acquitted of any wrongdoing. However, newly appointed [[Commissioner of Baseball|commissioner]] [[Kenesaw Mountain Landis]] bans all eight men for life because they either intentionally lost games or knew about the fix and did not report it to team officials (as Weaver did).

In 1925, Weaver watches Jackson play a semi-pro game in [[New Jersey]] under the assumed name "Brown". Hearing other fans suspecting his true identity, Weaver tells them that Jackson was the best player he ever saw. When asked point-blank if the player is indeed Jackson, Weaver denies it, protecting his former teammate by telling the fans "those guys are gone now", solemnly reminiscing about the series. A [[title card]] reveals that the eight players banned from the scandal never returned to the majors. Weaver unsuccessfully attempted to have his ban overturned on several occasions until his death in 1956.