可笑的黑色絲帶 VII - 大聯盟主席的產生

在上一小節當中提到了"Black Sox"這個詞的由來，有一種說法是白襪的老闆很吝嗇連洗衣服的錢都不給，衣服就愈來愈黑，因此在放水之前"Black Sox"的名號早就不脛而走。雖然Eight Men Out這本書的作者在考據後沒有證實這種說法，然而這種說法的出現也代表著當時聯盟球隊資方跟勞方之間的關係。有一個像白襪這種老闆會壓榨球員，當然他不會是唯一一個。

有鑑於球團老闆為了一己之利，不斷地爭權奪利及壓榨球員，造成整體環境的不平衡，甚至間接導致了放水的事實，於是在前面也有提到過，球團老闆決定推舉一個非球團人士但擁有絕對權力的人來管理聯盟，為了完全杜絕放水球再度發生。於是當時負責審理黑襪事件的聯盟法官，成為大聯盟理事長的第一屆人選。

而在Wiki查到了第一屆大聯盟理事長Kenesaw Mountain Landis，也查了以下的敘述：

While serving as a federal judge, Landis was selected as chairman of a new National Commission of baseball. The owners decided to appoint a commission made up entirely of non-baseball men to restore confidence in the sport following the 1919 Black Sox Scandal, perhaps the worst of a number of incidents that jeopardized the integrity of the game.
在擔任聯盟法官的時候，Landis被選為新的國家棒球委員會的主席。球團老闆們決定任命一個非棒球人士組成的委員會為了重建在1919年黑襪事件發生後的運動精神，或許許多危及比賽公平性的事件是最糟的。

However, Landis would only accept an appointment as sole commissioner. He also demanded unlimited authority over all aspects of the organized game. The owners, still reeling from the perception that the sport was crooked, readily agreed.
然而，Landis將只接受擔任唯一的理事長的派任。他也要求無上限的權威超過組成比賽的各方面。球團老闆們，仍然感到一陣暈眩從知道運動精神被欺騙了，立即就同意了。

在他上任後，他做了兩件針對黑襪事件的措施：

其一就是之間有提到的，關於球員終生禁賽的部分，在此不再贅述。

其二：

A fiercely independent Commissioner's Office

The owners had hoped he would then settle into a comfortable retirement as the titular head of baseball. Instead, Landis established a fiercely independent Commissioner's Office that would go on to often make both players and owners miserable with decisions that were, generally, in the best interests of the game. He worked to clean up the hooliganism that was tarnishing the reputation of players in the 1920s, and inserted his office into negotiations with players where he deemed appropriate to end a few of the labor practices of owners like Charles Comiskey that had contributed to the players' discontent.

極度獨立的理事長辦公室

球團老闆們希望他將會適應舒適的退休生活擔任一個有名無實的棒球首領。相反地，Landis建立了極度獨立的理事長辦公室，它將持續經營而時常做出讓球員們跟老闆們慘兮兮的決定，那些決定通常是球賽最好的利益。他為了清除1920年代玷污球名聲的無賴行為而奮鬥，並且將他的辦公室介入了球員間的協商，在此他認為是適當的為了終結一些像Charles Comiskey這種老闆的勞動行為，那已經造成了球員們的不滿。