He was not. Paul Ricca ran the Outfit during that time period, with Accardo & in place as underbosses. This proved to be unsuccessful & it was decided that Giancana would take the reigns. After Giancana, Joey 'O'Brien' Aiuppa abruptly took hold of the Outfit, placing Jackie Cerone & Joe B. as consigliere & underboss, respectfully. So no, Joe Batters was never the boss of the outfit, always used as a smokescreen & a mediator, and that's the way Ricca/Aiuppa wanted it, they were the most long-term successful Outfit bosses because no one knew their names, and they stayed out of court (until the whole Vegas thing when Aiuppa & Cerone went down). Tony Accardo didn't mind going down in history as a "top boss", even though anyone with any real Outfit knowledge will laugh at the notion.

I'm new to this website, the general crowd seems to be folks with mainly knowledge of the East Coast factions. I've read a bunch of false Outfit trivia during the short time that I've been a member.