Talk:Ernie Banks

Homers

Cal Ripken Jr. only had 431 homers, he didn't surpass Ernie Banks at 512. User: 64.131.184.221 05:25, 12 June 2006 (UTC)

• Roughly half of Ernie's 512 homers came after he had switched to first base. Wahkeenah 06:22, 12 June 2006 (UTC)

NPOV and Sources

I fixed some of the NPOV issues that were in the article. Here is a summary of what I changed or noticed:

• In 1955, he set the record for grand slams in a single season, at an amazing 5. - The amazing comment is definitely an opinion. While it is a tremendous feat, the tone should remain neutral.

• Banks won the National League Most Valuable Player Award twice, in 1958 and 1959. This feat is amazing, since the Cubs were never pennant contenders during Banks' career and this award is usually given to players who contribute substantially to their teams' championship drives. - Again this is an opinion.

• A contemporary sportswriter remarked that, "Without Ernie Banks, the Cubs would have finished the season in Albuquerque!" - If this is true, then it needs a citation, right now it is just an unreferenced claim.

• Despite never having appeared in a postseason game, Banks is regarded as the most popular baseball player in Chicago history, leading to his nickname of "Mr. Cub." - Regarded by who, again, this needs to be referenced.

• Ernie Banks has been rumored to be part of a group looking into buying the Chicago Cubs, in case the Tribune Company decides to sell the club, as is also rumored. - This needs to be cited as well.

In the next couple of weeks (depending on my schedule) I would like to improve and expand this article. As a Cub fan, I would love to see his page reach featured article status.--Cyrus Andiron ^t/_c 14:00, 23 February 2007 (UTC)

The article could use some improvement and expansion, for sure. You were right to remove the hype, as it's redundant, at the very least. Ernie's stats speak for themselves. I found the Albuquerque quote. I had forgotten who said it. Dykes is the one attributed, which stands to reason, as he was a player and manager on the rival Sox for many years, and was often good for a quip. To say Ernie "is the most popular player" is a stretch at this point, since a generation or two never saw him play. A lot of them never saw Sandberg play, and I think he was being called "The New Mr. Cub" at one point. Sandberg wasn't outgoing like Ernie, though. "Among the most popular" is certainly fair. I had to relocate the Crain's article which I think was my original source for the comment about Banks looking into acquisition of the Cubs. That article is 8 months old, but as far as I know the Trib company is still looking at divestiture possibilities... of the Cubs, of WGN, of anything that they think will somehow make them wealthier in the short run. Wahkeenah 14:36, 23 February 2007 (UTC)

Was it Banks who said, "Let's play two!"? And, if so, is it a phrase notable enough for mention? 199.8.26.10 (talk) 19:20, 20 April 2009 (UTC)

Albuquerque

The article links to the city, which is unhelpful to me. It is obvious to me where they're talking about; the question is why? What connection to baseball does Albuquerque have?--Prosfilaes (talk) 22:05, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

Albuquerque has traditionally been some major league team's minor league affiliate. For some years, it was the L.A. Dodgers' AAA affiliate in the Pacific Coast League. Perhaps it was a Chicago Cubs minor league team at the time, although as a long-time Cubs fan, I don't recall Albuquerque having a Cubs affiliate team. BubbleDine (talk) 14:36, 17 June 2013 (UTC)

GA Review

This review is transcluded from Talk:Ernie Banks/GA1. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.

Reviewer: Sportsguy17 (talk · contribs) 20:07, 3 January 2014 (UTC)

So we meet again EricEnfermero . Glad to work with you again. I'll take up this review. I will have it be noted that I am participating in WikiCup, but I am not doing it to win, just for fun. Anyway, let me do the initial stuff. Sportsguy17 (T • C) 20:07, 3 January 2014 (UTC)

Reflinks gives me a thumbs up. I am a little concerned about Checklinks, especially the Baseball-Reference citation. While not a requirement, do you think you could search Baseball-Reference for his new Home Run log, or see if it was archived? Everything else labeled look like redirects and are OK. Sportsguy17 (T • C) 20:15, 3 January 2014 (UTC)

No problem. Done. Looks like the title and URL changed slightly. I always forget Reflinks and Checklinks. EricEnfermero ^HOWDY! 20:43, 3 January 2014 (UTC)

Section-by-Section

Lead

• In the second paragraph, clarify who the Cubs are. Are they in the Negro league, or are you referring to the MLB team the Cubs? If so, say He joined the MLB in 1953 and played for the Cubs.

• Clarified so that it is explicit but not redundant to the opening. EricEnfermero ^HOWDY! 00:32, 4 January 2014 (UTC)

• In the last sentence, change it to Banks currently resides in the Los Angeles area. It gives more sophisticated language and also clarifies for the reader that it is his current residence.

• I usually avoid "currently" per WP:WTW, which is one of the important guidelines listed under GA criterion 1b. I prefer "moved to Los Angeles in _____" but I can't find a source for it. We may just need to take it out for now. EricEnfermero ^HOWDY! 00:32, 4 January 2014 (UTC)

Early Life

• Could you find a reference for the statement that his father bought him a glove for less than three dollars at the five and dime store?

When you do, also add what age that happened at.

• It's actually sourced after the following sentence, toward the end of the article. No indication of the age, but I think this section is fairly robust without it. EricEnfermero ^HOWDY! 00:32, 4 January 2014 (UTC)

• Could you also find a source his high school graduation?

• Done. Thanks for your work on this so far. EricEnfermero ^HOWDY! 00:32, 4 January 2014 (UTC)

I have to go eat dinner, so lets start with these two sections. I'm mostly looking at references as well as sentencing structure. The article overall looks good so far. Sportsguy17 (T • C) 23:11, 3 January 2014 (UTC)

MLB Career (Early Career)

• In the first paragraph of, I'd like to see a reference for him being the first black player on the Cubs, as well as Krosntadt and Moffi's writing.

• Both the quote and the first black player assertion come from the Kronstadt and Moffi source. Is that the question? WP:Citation overkill encourages that one reference can be used for multiple consecutive sentences without repeating the ref tag. I try my best to source each sentence that falls under WP:MINREF, but I'm concerned about readability if we routinely source like that. EricEnfermero ^HOWDY! 01:03, 4 January 2014 (UTC)

• The second paragraph looks fine.
• The third paragraph has many unreferenced statements. Add a reference about him and Gene Baker and Baker being the second black player on the Cubs. Likely, Baseball-Reference will work for many statements about Banks in this paragraph regarding statistics.

• Added a BR reference and an MLB.com reference, which should cover that paragraph. EricEnfermero ^HOWDY! 01:03, 4 January 2014 (UTC)

• The fourth paragraph is all good.
• The fifth paragraph again could use sources such as Baseball-Reference to reference statistics.

• This is a similar issue to the one above. One citation supports more than one consecutive sentence. EricEnfermero ^HOWDY! 01:03, 4 January 2014 (UTC)

Lets put it here for now @EricEnfermero: and you can make changes as suggested. I need to offline soon and may not hope back on again tonight. Once again, it's been a pleasure to work with you [again] so far . The article is looking good and best. Sportsguy17 (T • C) 00:15, 4 January 2014 (UTC)

No problem, sir. I have this watchlisted, so I'll respond to the next round of feedback as soon as I am online again. EricEnfermero ^HOWDY! 01:03, 4 January 2014 (UTC)

Ah yes, forgot about WP:WTW. Ignore my suggestion there then, as well as for adding more refs. As long as its verifiable. I shall move on now. Sportsguy17 (T • C) 16:12, 5 January 2014 (UTC)

Here is the continuation

MLB Career (Move to first base)

• First paragraph looks good.
• We need to reference a few things in the second paragraph (again, I'm sorry if I'm suggesting too much referencing, this is just for a few things ). Mostly, we just need references for his batting averages (again Baseball-Reference or MLB.com will work) and if possible reference his offseason activities. I am mostly asking to reference per WP:OR. If another reference already references it, then its fine.
• For the third paragraph, we should reference his 4000th home run and maybe a reference of Durocher's arrival.
• Fourth paragraph looks good.
• Fifth paragraph is good too.

MLB Career (Final seasons)

• This whole section looks good.

Personal Life

• This section looks good.

Later years and honors

• Reference his throwing out the ceremonial first pitch. Otherwise, section looks good.

This concludes the section-by-section. Let me know when you're done. Then, we can give it a final scrubdown review, @EricEnfermero:. Sportsguy17 (T • C) 16:40, 5 January 2014 (UTC)

Done. All of the above should be addressed now. For things like the Durocher hiring, they're sourced at the end of the paragraph, but I added sources for the 4000th HR and the All-Star Game first pitch. I'm ready for my scrubdown. :) Again, thanks for your work on this so far. EricEnfermero ^HOWDY! 17:16, 5 January 2014 (UTC)

Final Review

GA review – see WP:WIAGA for criteria

1. Is it reasonably well written?

   A. Prose quality, no copyvios, spelling and grammar:

   B. MoS compliance for lead, layout, words to watch, fiction, and lists:

2. Is it factually accurate and verifiable?

   A. Has an appropriate reference section:

   B. Citation to reliable sources where necessary:

   C. No original research:

3. Is it broad in its coverage?

   A. Major aspects:

   B. Focused:

4. Is it neutral?

   Fair representation without bias:

5. Is it stable?

   No edit wars, etc:

6. Does it contain images to illustrate the topic?

   A. Images are tagged with their copyright status, and valid fair use rationales are provided for non-free content:

   B. Images are provided if possible and are relevant to the topic, and have suitable captions:

7. Overall:

   Pass or Fail:

Pass! Excellent work. It was a pleasure to work with you once more. Sportsguy17 (T • C) 17:41, 5 January 2014 (UTC)

Baker or Banks?

Who was the first Afro-American to play for the Cubs? Both Baker and Banks started in 1953. Our text and NPR say it was Ernie Banks, but their team-mate Ralph Kiner said Baker: http://www.baseballlibrary.com/excerpts/excerpt.php?book=banks_sandberg_grace&page=3. Kdammers (talk) 09:03, 24 January 2015 (UTC)

I took his comment as possibly meaning that Baker joined the team around the time Banks did, which turns out to be true. Banks debuted on September 17 and Baker followed three days later per the players' Baseball Reference entries. EricEnfermero (Talk) 09:11, 24 January 2015 (UTC)

I left out that Baker was signed by the organization almost four years earlier than Banks, but he spent that time in the minors. EricEnfermero (Talk) 09:15, 24 January 2015 (UTC)