Eight Men Out 1988

As the 1919 season comes to a close, the Chicago White Sox are riding high on their American League pennant-winning success, boasting an impressive roster of talented players. However, team owner Charles Comiskey (Clifton James) proves to be a miserly benefactor, showing little inclination to reward his players for their outstanding achievements. It’s against this backdrop of discontent that gamblers “Sleepy Bill” Burns (Christopher Lloyd) and Billy Maharg (Richard Edson) begin secretly manipulating the team’s star pitcher, Eddie Cicotte (David Strathairn), who had been on pace to shatter records with his remarkable 29-7 win-loss record and minuscule earned run average of 1.82.

Cicotte’s motivation for getting in bed with the gamblers stems from Comiskey’s refusal to honor a promised $10,000 bonus should he reach the 30-win milestone. The team’s manager, Kid Gleason (John Mahoney), further exacerbates the situation by benching Cicotte for two weeks without explanation, citing the need to rest his arm before the World Series against the Cincinnati Reds.

As the plot unfolds, a group of players, including Chick Gandil (Michael Rooker), Swede Risberg (Don Harvey), and Lefty Williams (James Read), are persuaded by Burns and Maharg to deliberately throw the series. Meanwhile, “Shoeless Joe” Jackson (D. B. Sweeney), the team’s charismatic superstar, is unwittingly drawn into the scheme, his lack of education making it difficult for him to fully comprehend the scope of the fix.

Buck Weaver (John Cusack), on the other hand, remains steadfast in his commitment to winning, refusing to get involved with the corrupt gamblers. As the series begins, Cicotte sets the tone by deliberately hitting Reds leadoff hitter Morrie Rath in the back with his second pitch, a signal to Arnold Rothstein (Michael Lerner) that the fix is in place.

Cicotte’s poor performance in Game 1 is marked by five runs in four innings, with four of those coming in the fourth inning, highlighted by a triple from Reds pitcher Walter “Dutch” Ruether. He is subsequently relieved by Gleason, but the Sox ultimately fall to the Reds 9-1.

As the series progresses, Williams pitches poorly in Game 2, while Gandil, Risberg, and Hap Felsch (Charlie Sheen) commit glaring errors on the field. The players’ discontent grows as the gamblers fail to deliver on their promised payouts, leading some to question the morality of their actions.

Meanwhile, Chicago journalists Ring Lardner (John Sayles) and Hugh Fullerton (Studs Terkel) grow increasingly suspicious of the Sox’s performance, while Gleason remains confident that his team will ultimately come through in the end.

As rookie pitcher Dickie Kerr (Jace Alexander) steers the White Sox to a surprising Game 3 victory, an unsettling atmosphere settles over the team. Catcher Ray Schalk (Gordon Clapp) and second baseman Eddie Collins (Bill Irwin) continue to demonstrate their competitive spirit, while teammates Weaver and Jackson maintain a stoic silence, refusing to betray any signs of complicity in the alleged fix. Cicotte’s losing streak continues with another defeat in Game 4, followed by a crushing loss for the Sox in Game 5, leaving them on the brink of elimination. The team’s championship hopes hang precariously in the balance as they eke out a thrilling extra-inning win in Game 6. Manager Gleason intends to bench Cicotte from his next start, but the embattled pitcher pleads for another chance, citing feelings of guilt over his previous performances. Despite reservations, Gleason relents and grants Cicotte another opportunity, resulting in an easy victory in Game 7. Meanwhile, Williams, motivated by a desire to prove himself despite being unpaid by the gamblers, deliberately pitches poorly in the final game, leading to his quick replacement by “Big Bill” James in the first inning. Jackson’s moment of redemption comes when he hits a home run off Reds pitcher Hod Eller in the third inning, but ultimately, the White Sox fall short, surrendering the series to Cincinnati with a 5-3 defeat.

The fallout from the Series is swift and severe. Sportswriter Fullerton pens a scathing article condemning the White Sox for their alleged betrayal of the game. An investigation into the possible fixing of the Series commences, ultimately leading to confessions from Cicotte and Jackson in 1920. The admissions come at great personal cost, as the eight men implicated - Cicotte, Williams, Gandil, Felsch, Risberg, Fred McMullin (Perry Lang), Jackson, and Weaver - face charges of conspiracy. In a stunning turn of events, the accused are acquitted of any wrongdoing, only to be subsequently banned for life from professional baseball by newly appointed commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis (John Anderson). The commissioner’s decisive action reflects his unwavering commitment to preserving the integrity of the game, no matter the personal cost to those involved.

As the sun sets over the rolling hills of New Jersey in 1925, Weaver finds himself transported back to a bygone era as he watches Jackson lace up his cleats and take the field under an assumed identity, donning the moniker “Brown”. The air is thick with the whispers of suspicious fans, their eyes darting about, searching for any hint that might confirm their suspicions. Weaver’s stoic expression belies the turmoil brewing within him as he’s asked point-blank if this phenom is indeed his former teammate Jackson. With a solemnity that borders on reverence, Weaver delivers a resounding denial, shielding his old friend from the prying eyes of the curious crowd by invoking the ghosts of the 1919 World Series. The weight of history settles upon him like a shroud as he glances out at the sea of expectant faces, his thoughts drifting back to that fateful Fall when the mighty were brought low and the very fabric of the game was forever altered.

The title card that follows serves as a stark reminder of the devastating consequences that befell the eight players who found themselves on the wrong side of the scandal. Their once-promising careers reduced to naught but a distant memory, their names etched in the annals of history as cautionary tales of what happens when the allure of victory is trumped by the corrupting influence of ambition. Weaver’s own struggles to have his ban overturned would prove futile, his death in 1956 marking the end of an era and the final curtain call on a chapter in his life that was forever marred by the stain of scandal.