Talk:Boss Schmidt/GA1

GA Review

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Reviewer: Kncny11 (talk · contribs) 17:34, 1 July 2021 (UTC)

Hello! I'll be reviewing this article as part of the July 2021 good article nominations backlog drive! Any section that I've marked with a  Working tag means that I haven't finished leaving comments there, but you're free to begin making changes as soon as you see them! Kncny11 ^(shoot) 17:34, 1 July 2021 (UTC)

Good Article review progress box Criteria: 1a. prose () 1b. MoS () 2a. ref layout () 2b. cites WP:RS () 2c. no WP:OR () 2d. no WP:CV () 3a. broadness () 3b. focus () 4. neutral () 5. stable () 6a. free or tagged images () 6b. pics relevant () Note: this represents where the article stands relative to the Good Article criteria. Criteria marked are unassessed

Infobox and lede

• Add birth and death date and place to infobox
• "an American baseball catcher for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB) with all the bells/whistles/WLs
• Rather than including his lifetime stats, which are mentioned verbatim later down, I think including something about his hands and reputation makes for a stronger lede
• And, additionally, add a line or two about what he did after leaving MLB up to his death

Early years

• As for where he was born, this baseball historian says physically born in London and grew up in Coal Hill, which tracks with most athletes who have two birthdates.
• Also, since his full birthday is publicly available information, it should be placed in this section
• ""cutting, shoveling, and pushing carts of coal."" → ""cutting, shoveling, and pushing carts of coal"." per MOS:LQ

Minor leagues

• "semipro" → "semi-professional"
  • I never see this spelled out in sources; semipro baseball is a common term. However, I've linked to it to make it easier for people to know what it means. (Let me know if you still want it changed.) Sanfranciscogiants17 (talk) 01:59, 3 July 2021 (UTC)
• Is there a direct quote from Finn on the "good baseball judgment" that can be used? Not needed, but appreciated
  • Sorry, but the Russo book doesn't have one. Sanfranciscogiants17 (talk) 01:59, 3 July 2021 (UTC)

Detroit Tigers

1906 season

• Link to the other two pitchers traded with him, Davy Jones and Ed Siever
• "During the 1906 season, Schmidt appeared in 68 games, 64 as the team's starting catcher, while sharing catching duties with John Warner and Fred Payne." → "During the 1906 season, Schmidt shared catching duties with John Warner and Fred Payne. He appeared in 68 games, 64 of which were as the team's starting catcher."
• Move the WL for "American League" to the first time it's mentioned in that sentence
• "50.7%" → "50.7 percent" per MOS:PERCENT (I know, I think it's silly and pedantic, but it's MOS, apparently)

1907 season

• "the Detroit Free Press wrote" → "Joe S. Jackson of the Detroit Free Press wrote", and put the author name in the ref
• "x-rays" → "X-rays" and add WL

1908 season

• "113 as the Tigers' catcher" → "starting 113 behind the plate for the Tigers"
• Can you expand on the gnarled hands? Is this a lifelong thing, or a result of the broken finger?
  • I feel like this is covered later on in the first paragraph of the Reputation for toughness section (which seems to clarify that it wasn't a result of the broken finger). Sanfranciscogiants17 (talk) 02:14, 3 July 2021 (UTC)

1909 season

• WL spring training
• As much as I love the phrase "roasted and hammered", it feels anachronistic here. Maybe something like "Schmidt argued that reporters who criticized/condemned/some other c word his misplays were not taking into consideration his skill, or the fact that injuries to his throwing hand had hindered his last two seasons"
• I was going to ask if you could elaborate any on the circumstances that made him report to the team, and then I saw the quality of that newspaper scan

1910 and 1911 seasons

• I just checked to see that we were all good on the long quote; it was published pre-1923, so it's in the PD

Reputation for toughness

• "As a young man, Schmidt worked in the coal mines and developed a muscular and powerful physique" → "Schmidt's work in the coal mines as a young man helped him to develop a muscular and powerful physique" (as the mines were already mentioned)
• Oh, here's the context for the gnarled hand thing earlier! Something about the calluses & scar tissue should be dropped in the 1908 season subhead
• "sometimes straight-up punching" → "sometimes by simply punching"
• " In the second fight, Schmidt battered Cobb close to unconsciousness but admired Cobb's resiliency while fighting and stayed to revive Cobb as he lay motionless on the Tiger dressing room floor." → "Schmidt battered Cobb close to unconsciousness during the second fight, but admired Cobb's resiliency and stayed to revive the man as he lay motionless on the Tigers' dressing room floor."
• "during the fight, and remarked,"
• Copyvio from the source here: As a catcher, Schmidt never wore shinguards. He could force nails into the floor with his bare fists. He once visited a local carnival with some of his teammates and wrestled and pinned a live bear ... Boss's career in in the majors was shortened due to numerous fractures sustained over the years of his thumb and fingers. Will need to be rewritten accordingly.

Return to minor leagues

• Good

Personal life and later years

• Comma after "saying"

References

• Add a subhead under references for "Bibliography", even if it's just that one book

General comments

• Picture is good
• Article is stable
• References are to RS, and all claims are cited
• Apart from the one issue mentioned above, Earwig score checks out. I also spot checked the print references and saw no additional issues.

I can tell that this is an older GAN, because it needs a little more work put in than some of your more recent, streamlined ones! As always, let me know if you have any questions, and I'll formally put it on hold while you address the comments above. Kncny11 ^(shoot) 19:01, 1 July 2021 (UTC)

• It might be more accurately said that this was one of my lazier efforts. :) I thought the article was already in extremely good shape when I found it and only made a few changes. The contributors that preceded me, whoever they might be, deserve the lion's share of the credit for this article. Anyway, made changes; let me know if anything more is needed! Sanfranciscogiants17 (talk) 02:22, 3 July 2021 (UTC)
  • Sorry for the wait, grad school orientation has been kicking my ass, but looks like everything has been addressed, and I'm happy to pass! — GhostRiver 21:38, 8 July 2021 (UTC)