Roberto Alomar and the Joe Hardy Syndrome

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The White Sox seem to have bought into the concept that having Roberto Alomar makes them a better team.

Updated: August 27, 2003, 10:28 AM ET

By Jim Baker | MLB Insider

"What," you are asking, "is the "Joe Hardy Syndrome?""

I would best describe it as a mythical circumstance in which the arrival of one single ballplayer on a team suddenly changes the rest of the roster into much better players. The name is taken from the lead character in "Damn Yankees." Hardy, an older man transformed into a superstar slugger by Old Scratch himself in exchange for his soul, shows up on the Washington Senators roster and almost immediately makes the rest of the team better.

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