Talk:Travis Jackson/GA1

GA Review
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Reviewer: Bladeboy1889 (talk · contribs) 12:09, 21 June 2012 (UTC)

Will pick this one up later today. Bladeboy1889 (talk) 12:09, 21 June 2012 (UTC)

Seems generally well written and informative, broad enough in scope and no issues with edit wars or references. It's not far from a GA - there are a few elements of prose I'd like to clear up to cut down on the number of very short sentences and a query over the image in the infobox.

Image - is it really public domain? The criteria given is that it's a pre-1923 image (images before 1st Jan) yet it's dated 1923 so couldn't meet that date? Prose
 * I guess you're right. The images use is certainly permitted, so I'll look into it. – Muboshgu (talk) 21:25, 22 June 2012 (UTC)
 * "...was an American baseball shortstop. In Major League Baseball (MLB), Jackson played for the New York Giants from 1922 through 1936. He won the 1933 World Series with the Giants, and was a MLB All-Star in 1934." - seems a lot of very short sentences. Could a couple of them be merged to make it less staccato sounding? eg "...played for the NYG from 22 to 36, with whome he won..." etc?
 * I think the first sentence needs to stay as it is, but I merged the next two. – Muboshgu (talk) 21:25, 22 June 2012 (UTC)
 * "Jackson was discovered by Kid Elberfeld at a minor league baseball game at the age of 14." - Could this be merged into the above? Eg "Having been discovered by..., Jackson played for the..." etc
 * The lead for an article of this size should be two paragraphs. I have it organized so that the first paragraph is the nitty gritty and top achievements, while the second gives more detail on who he is and where he came from, though certainly it can be fleshed out a bit more. I added to it for flow.
 * "...led to the nickname..." -> "led to him being given the nickname..." by who?
 * Change to: "Jackson was born in Waldo, Arkansas on November 2, 1903. He was the only child of William Jackson, a wholesale grocer, and his wife, Etta, who named their son after William B. Travis." (plus maybe an explanation of who William B. Travis was - I've certainly never heard of him)
 * Changed. I added a little on WB Travis, but don't want to get too into it, as this isn't his article. – Muboshgu (talk) 21:25, 22 June 2012 (UTC)
 * "...in a work out..." -> "in an impromptu workout" as the key fact is that he did it there and then I believe?
 * Good point. Done. – Muboshgu (talk) 21:25, 22 June 2012 (UTC)
 * "...played for Little Rock in 1921 and 1922. Jackson committed..." -> "... in 1921 and 1922 where he committed..."
 * I get where you're coming from, but didn't like that. I instead merged "Following Jackson's collegiate career, Elberfeld signed Jackson to his first contract. Jackson played for Little Rock in 1921 and 1922." into "Following Jackson's collegiate career, Elberfeld signed Jackson to his first contract, and he played for Little Rock in 1921 and 1922." – Muboshgu (talk) 21:25, 22 June 2012 (UTC)
 * "...adequately replace Bancroft. During the 1924 season..." -> "...replace Bancroft but during the..."
 * Merged, although slightly differently – Muboshgu (talk) 21:25, 22 June 2012 (UTC)
 * "...lost to the Washington Senators. Jackson committed a ..." -> "..Washington Senators but Jackson..."
 * Also merged, also differently. – Muboshgu (talk) 21:25, 22 June 2012 (UTC)
 * "...his career. He led NL shortstops with a .970 fielding percentage in 1931. However, he missed time in his career due to injuries and illnesses. " -> "... his career, leading NL shortstops with a .970 fielding percentage in 1931, however he missed considerable playing time during his career due to injuries and illnesses." - Is it fair to say it was considerable? Also it's worth adding that it was playing time I think.
 * Sentences merged with a semi-colon. I think it's fair to call it "considerable". – Muboshgu (talk) 21:43, 22 June 2012 (UTC)
 * "...and influenza in 1932. He continued to battle..." -> "...in 1932 and he continued..."
 * Merged. – Muboshgu (talk) 21:43, 22 June 2012 (UTC)
 * "...for the 1934 season. He drove in 101 runs in 1934, and was named to appear in the 1934 MLB ..." -> "...for the 1934 season during which he drove 101 runs, and was named..."
 * Done. – Muboshgu (talk) 21:43, 22 June 2012 (UTC)
 * "...He played as a third baseman in his final two seasons. He served as team captain. However, he struggled..." -> "...in his final two seasons and served as team captain although he struggled..."
 * Sentences merged – Muboshgu (talk) 21:43, 22 June 2012 (UTC)
 * "...shortstops in the league. Jackson batted over .300 six times,... "...in the league where he batted..."
 * Didn't do this one. It's one sentence about his defense and another about his offense. – Muboshgu (talk) 21:43, 22 June 2012 (UTC)
 * "...Jackson hit 21 home runs in 1929. He was on four NL pennant-winning teams and one World Series champion (1933). Jackson finished his MLB career with 135 home runs and a .291 batting average." -> "...hit 21 home runs in 1929 and was on four NL pennant-winning teams and one World Series champion (1933). He finished his MLB career ..."
 * Didn't do this either. I merged the batting .300 six times bit with the 21 home runs bit, though. – Muboshgu (talk) 21:43, 22 June 2012 (UTC)
 * "...many games with Jersey City as a player. Jackson remained as the team's..." -> "...as a player but remained as the..."
 * Merged. – Muboshgu (talk) 21:47, 22 June 2012 (UTC)
 * "... as he battled tuberculosis. Jackson then managed in..." -> "...battled tuberculosis, eventually returning to manage in..."
 * Merged – Muboshgu (talk) 21:47, 22 June 2012 (UTC)
 * "...Class-B Southeastern League in 1946. Jackson returned to the Giants..." -> "...in 1946 before returning to..."
 * Instead of doing this, I merged the 1946 sentence with the returning to manage sentence, since that's about one job in one organization, while the next sentence is about another job in another organization. 21:47, 22 June 2012 (UTC)
 * "...Class-D Kentucky-Illinois-Tennessee League in 1950. He began the 1951 season..." -> "...in 1950 and began..."
 * Done. – Muboshgu (talk) 21:47, 22 June 2012 (UTC)

I hope that makes sense and doesn't seem too picky but I think it will help the prose flow better when you read it. I know nothing about Baseball (being English we are programmed to find it completely incomprehensible) but I enjoyed the article and you've obviously put a lot of work into it.

My only one other point now I've just re-read is the issue about him being 'overlooked' for the hall of fame in the lead. As it's written it sort of implies there was an agenda behind it? If there was (or people think there was) then that would be worth referencing to avoid accusations of POV. If there's no agenda then maybe slightly reword to make it sound less accusatory? Eg "Despite his record and achievements he was not inducted into the HOF until..." or something to that effect? Open to discussion on that one. That aside if you're happy to update the prose I've suggested and look at the image issue then I'll be happy to pass it as GA.

Bladeboy1889 (talk) 18:04, 21 June 2012 (UTC)
 * Ah, baseball isn't so different from cricket, which you blokes seem to enjoy. These comments are pretty straight forward and should help the prose. Regarding "overlooked", to me it seems more accidental, the way I might overlook a detail here or there in my work. I'll reword it as you suggest to ensure NPOV. – Muboshgu (talk) 21:27, 22 June 2012 (UTC)
 * All done. – Muboshgu (talk) 21:47, 22 June 2012 (UTC)
 * Ah - I'm no fan of cricket either (it's very dull) - there's only the beautiful game that's really worth watching. ;o) Thanks for the updates, no problems with taking the spirit of my suggestions and working alternatives into the text. I found a couple of typo's which I've fixed and after the changes we've made there were a few repetitions of his name in places so I changed a couple of them to 'he'.  Good work on sorting the image rationale, I wasn't too concerned that it would be out of bounds but it was worth clarifying it. The namesake info is fine - I think it's worth specifying, although obviously I clicked on the link to see who he was had I not I'd have assumed he'd be a former Baseball player. So it all looks good to go so I'll do the good article process now.  And if I get back over to New York soon I might even try and catch a baseball game :) Bladeboy1889 (talk) 20:08, 23 June 2012 (UTC)
 * Thanks for your review! I do recommend seeing a game at Yankee Stadium (they're hosting a few soccer, erm, "football" games with English teams this summer). – Muboshgu (talk) 20:52, 23 June 2012 (UTC)