Wikipedia:Peer review/Thurman Tucker/archive1

Thurman Tucker

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This peer review discussion has been closed.
I've listed this article for peer review because I am considering sending it through FAC; not sure if I will yet since it's a relatively short article. It's in good shape now but I imagine there are a few spots that I could do some work on, but it would need a fresh pair of eyes.

Thanks, Wizardman _{Operation Big Bear} 17:25, 20 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Comments by Sarastro

I have done some copy-editing as I've gone through. As usual, please just revert anything that I have messed up or that you are not happy with. --Sarastro1 (talk) 23:59, 29 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Lead

As usual, betraying my ignorance here, but is "posted" formal in baseball? If it is, no problem at all. If not, maybe "recorded"?
Link major league in the lead?
I would question the need to link WW2 but not a problem either way for me.
"major league scout and insurance agent until his death in 1993": This implies he worked right up until his death, which I assume was not the case.

Early life

"enrolled in a baseball school": They had baseball schools? I'm trying to imagine a cricket school... Could this possibly be expanded, as it sounds interesting (maybe it is commonly known what this is, if so I apologise) but at the very least suggests someone spotted talent. Do we know any details?

Minor league career

"changed positions": To avoid any ambiguity, would it be ok to say "fielding positions" or similar? (Not sure if this term is used in baseball)
"Chicago White Sox farm manager": I know what this is, but not everyone might. Can farm be linked?
It is a little vague with details of his 1942 performances.
I tweaked the 2nd paragraph a bit, but may have changed the meaning too much. Please check what I did and revert if necessary.
One minor concern here is that it is not clear how he progressed through the minor leagues; I do not think there is a sense of each move being a move "upwards" as suggested in the lead. However, I appreciate that this is difficult to explain and reference, so a compromise may be to add a generic comment somewhere around here that he "progressed" and reference it from a biography or something, or just to take that part from the lead.

Chicago White Sox

" team's leadoff hitter": Maybe explain or link?
"His hitting and fielding abilities, combined with the possibility of joining the Navy at any time, led to sportswriter Fred Lieb noting him as a breakout performer that year." Not sure I see the connection with his call up and this being a breakout season.
"He was the leadoff hitter in the 1944 Major League Baseball All-Star Game and went hitless in four at-bats." This is obviously not good, but could be spelt out more possibly. Maybe "but" instead of "and"?
"he was benched": Possibly too informal?
"At the end of July, both Tucker and George Case participated in a 75–yard dash at part of the White Sox's annual benefit for the war; Tucker lost the race to Case by a yard.": I'm struggling to see the relevance or importance of this, and it interrupts the flow of his achievements (or lack of them, at this point).
"Tucker was slated to be the starting centre fielder": slated too jargony?
"was relegated to his original status as a good fielder but a poor hitter": Not sure about relegated (as this suggests dropped or demoted) but this is the first mention of him being a good fielder and a poor hitter.
"while rookie Dave Philley was in left field and Taffy Wright and Bob Kennedy platooned in right field." Something missing here to make it make sense.
"did not play full time for the White Sox until the middle of May" (slight ce to this text): Does this mean he was playing every game or playing regularly? I think play regularly would read better.
"Tucker ended up splitting time with Philley due to his light hitting": Jargony?

Cleveland Indians

"the Indians made the move because they regarded Tucker as "the finest defensive player in baseball." (old text, now tweaked): Who said this? Needs in-text attribution.
"He missed a couple weeks of playing time": Can we be more precise here?
"scoring a run in the sixth inning on a walk": Help! Lost! Could this be linked or explained for non-specialists?
"Tucker and Allie Clark were both looking to crack the Indians roster": Jargon?

Later life

"and he contemplated retirement from baseball during a contract in February 1952." Not quite clear here; on first reading, it looks like a typo for saying during contract negotiations or something similar. If this was not the case, why mention his contract? It would be fine as "he contemplated retirement from baseball in February 1952".

General

I don't think the length of this article would prevent it being a FA.
Possibly the prose needs a little more polish. It is a little repetitive in the "In XXXX, he XXXX" or "The following season, he hit ...", that kind of thing. It also becomes dry stats a few times too. This could be improved but my shallow baseball knowledge can't quite manage to come up with anything right now. I also have an impression that a lot of sentences start in a similar way throughout; I tried to sort some in the c-e, but may have missed a few. Or even made it worse. Jargon is fine except for those mentioned above.
If possible (and I realise it probably is not), more details of his achievements, playing style and personality would be beneficial. Also personal life. It is a little light on particularly good performances he had, and on opinions on him; there is just the one reference to a good fielder and a poor hitter. Except in the stats, this does not come across.
Just to note, I have not looked at referencing or done spot-checks.
It is really could do with some images. Any fair-use ones that could be used? Stadiums? Other players mentioned?
Ping me if you want me to have another look at any point. --Sarastro1 (talk) 23:59, 29 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks for the review. I found little on his personal life, to my surprise, even in the Sporting News articles which usually give me stuff to work with. I'll keep looking and address the other concerns. Wizardman _{Operation Big Bear} 17:25, 1 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]