text: should shoeless joe jackson be reinstated by major league baseball? do you think jackson should be reinstated and why?  also, do you think he should be in the hall of fame? let me say this: shoeless joe jackson was an innocent man. i have read books about him, and he: 1. declined the money offered to him by gamblers, and a teammate came in and threw it on his bed. 2. told charles comisky about it, but he said he didn't care, because jackson was illiterate. 3. he asked his manager to bench him for the series when all else failed, he wasn't. 4. he went on to have one of the best world series ever, batting .400, making no errors, and hitting the only home run in the series.  so to answer you question, yes, i do think joe should be reinstated, because he was one of the best hitters in history. he is the only rookie to hit .400, and he had the 3rd best career average when he was kicked out.