Fraudulent Activity in Baseball History Since baseball has existed, many amazing things have happened. From players breaking records to countless highlights, baseball is undoubtedly one of America's favorite pastimes. While there are so many great memories that the game of baseball has to offer us, there are also a couple of blemishes in its record. For example, in 1919, the Chicago White Sox anchored the World Series. Eight team members participated in the fix. Also on the list is the current issue of steroid use. It's no surprise to hear a story on ESPN news that another baseball player has tested positive for steroids. One star, Jose Conseco, has admitted to using steroids and Barry Bonds is also in question. While the two offenses are quite different in nature, they both left a lasting impression on the game. According to the website www.Sportingnews.com, the 1919 World Series was not played by all participants, as was revealed at the end of the 1920 season in which the confessions were made. Eight members of the team, starting with Eddie Cicotte, Claude Williams, Joe Jackson, Happy Felsch, Chick Gandil, Swede Risberg, Buck Weaver, and Fred McMullin, were convicted of conspiring to fix the outcome of the World Series against the Cincinnati Reds. The situation started to take shape as the odds started to go haywire. Suddenly the Chicago White Sox were the underdogs, when they were clearly the favorites in the days and weeks prior. For some reason, it was quickly forgotten and fans began to accept the odds. Soon after the World Series unfolded, questions arose about how Joe Jackson batted .375 in real life, yet always struck out in key situations. Players like Williams and Cicotte had lost three starts and committed two errors respectively in the fifth inning of game four. Felsch and Risberg had batted just .192 and .080, and McMillin had only come to the plate twice, both times as a pinch hitter during the series with the Reds (Sportingnews.com pg 2). In the book Eight Men Out: The Black Sox and the 1919 World Series, Eliot Asinof analyzes the events of what happened during the scandal. The 1919 settlement became known as a “fantastic scandal” (Asinof 4). Shortly before the scandal broke, in 1917, the United States entered the World War 1.