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By The Numbers – 46

In 1929, uniform numbers appeared on the back of baseball jerseys for the first time, thanks to the Indians and the Yankees. By 1937, numbers finally appeared across all uniforms, both home and away, across both major leagues. Since that time, 81 distinct numbers have been worn by members of the White Sox, while the Cubs boast 76.

Today, we continue our look at those players, picking our favorite, if not the best, player to wear each uniform number for both Chicago teams with #46. 40 players have donned #52 while playing in Chicago, 34 each for the White Sox and 22 for the Cubs.

Lee Arthur Smith was the 2nd round selection of the Cubs in the 1975 draft.  He made his major league debut on September 1, 1980, becoming a fixture in the Cubs bullpen wearing #46.  He took over the closer role in 1982 and became a force, leading the league in saves in 1983 while earning his first All Star nod and post-season support for both the Cy Young award and MVP.  Following the 1987 season, he was traded to the Red Sox for Al Nipper and Calvin Schiraldi, ending his Cubs career with a 40-51 record and a 2.92 ERA with 180 saves and 342 games finished.  In 2019, he was elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veteran’s Committee.

On the South side of town, Neal Cotts donned #46 after being acquired by the White Sox, along with Billy Koch and Daylan Holt, from the A’s in exchange for Keith Foulke, Mark Johnson, and Joe Valentine in December of 2002.  He made his major league debut on August 12, 2003, lasting only 2 1/3 innings in a start against the Angels, and made 3 additional starts, finishing the year with an 8.10 ERA in only 13 1/3 innings pitched.  Cotts moved to the bullpen in 2004 and, in 2005, things finally clicked.  He appeared in 69 regular season games and posted a sparkling 1.94 ERA, before facing one batter in the ALDS and becoming the only White Sox reliever to appear in the ALCS, getting the final 2 outs in the Game 1 loss to the Angels.  As the White Sox moved on to their first World Series since 1959, Cotts appeared in all 4 games, winning Game 2 and giving up only 1 hit in an inning and a third.  Cotts reverted back to his previous form in 2006 and, following the season, he was traded across town to the Cubs for fellow relief pitcher David Aardsma.

 

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Fitbit VII – Week 24

A step in the wrong direction this week, as I continue to fail to get moving and have any realistic chance at meeting my goals.  Things got off to a slow start on Sunday, as I finished 9 steps over 3400.  Monday improved a bit, up to 4100.  Tuesday fell back down and was the worst day of the week, as I barely managed to pass 2000 steps.  Wednesday saw a slight improvement, as I managed to get back up to 3400 steps.  Thursday was the week’s highpoint, thanks to a trip to Wrigley Field which put me up over 6800 steps.  Friday fell off quite a bit, as I dropped down to 3200 steps.  A day of leisure on Saturday, which included a trip to the grocery store, put me back over 4500 steps.

Total steps: 27,593

Daily average: 3941.9

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Book 27 (of 52) – A Promised Land

A Promised Land – Barack Obama

A child, born in Hawaii to an African father and a white, American woman, grows up to be a community organizer and a law professor in Chicago.  Much to his wife’s chagrin, a calling to live up to his mother’s teachings to change the world for the better leads him to become an Illinois state senator, a US senator representing Illinois, and, eventually, the President of the United States.

In A Promised Land, Barack Obama tells his story, focusing on his decision to run for various elected positions, his campaign for president in 2008, and the first two-plus years of his presidency.  He details the fight to right the economy following the housing market crash and the resulting failures in the financial sector, the battle to pass the Affordable Care Act. the crushing defeat the Democrats suffered in the mid-term elections, and the hunt for and eventual killing of Osama bin Laden.

Going in to this, I did not realize that the scope would not be Obama’s entire presidency. so 700+ pages to get about a quarter of the way through was a bit of a disappointment, but overall, it was an interesting look into the meat grinder that is the US political system.  I imagine part two will be released either this Christmas or next, so I’m sure I will be along for the rest of the ride.

 

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2021 All Star Break Pitching Leaders

The second half gets kicked off tonight, with the White Sox holding an 8 game lead in the AL Central and the Cubs looking to be sellers after losing 13 of their final 15 games heading in to the break, dropping them from first place to third, with an 8 game deficit.  Let’s wrap up the first half with a look at the leaders on the defensive side of the ball for the 32 games I attended, starting with everyone’s favorite stat:

Wins

Name Total
Lance Lynn 4
Codi Heuer 2
Michael Kopech 2
Lucas Giolito 2
Dallas Keuchel 2

Losses

Name Total
Lucas Giolito 3
Carlos Rodon 3
Lance Lynn 2
Jorge Alcalá 2
22 tied with 1

ERA (> 6 IP)

Name Total
Michael Kopech 1.53
Dylan Cease 1.61
Mike Minor 1.64
Lance Lynn 1.70
Liam Henriks 2.03

Strikeouts

Name Total
Lance Lynn 51
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2021 All Star Break Batting Leaders

The All Star Game is in the books, as the American League extended its winning streak to 8 straight and White Sox closer Liam Hendriks earned the save, only the second White Sox player to do so.  As baseball takes the day off to prepare for the second half, let’s take a look at the first half offensive leaders for the 32 games I attended, starting with:

Home Runs

Name Total
Jose Abreu 5
Javier Baez 4
Adam Eaton 3
Patrick Wisdom 3
Yasmani Grandal 3
Carlos Santana 3
Brad Miller 3

Hits

Name Total
Tim Anderson 28
Yoan Moncada 26
Jose Abreu 24
Nick Madrigal 21
Yermin Mercedes 14

Runs

Name Total
Tim Anderson 17
Jose Abreu 14
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2021 All Star Break Standings

For the first time in two years, the American League takes on the National League in the Midsummer Classic.  As the baseball world turns its sights to AtlantaColorado for tonight’s All Star Game, it’s time to take a look at the team records for the 32 games I attended in the first half of the baseball season, a pretty healthy amount after the pandemic-related strangeness that was 2020.

2021 Team Records
Team Name Won Loss Winning Pctg
Tampa Bay Rays 1 0 1.000
Philadelphia Phillies 1 0 1.000
Washington Nationals 1 0 1.000
Chicago Cubs 4 2 0.667
Seattle Mariners 2 1 0.667
Chicago White Sox 16 10 0.615
Kansas City Royals 3 3 0.500
Cleveland Indians 2 2 0.500
St. Louis Cardinals 1 1 0.500
Detroit Tigers 1 1 0.500
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10 Years Of Step Tracking

10 years ago, I started a program through work that “encourages you to track your steps and help you to focus on your fitness in a simple and accessible way.”  They gave us a tracker, which attached to your shoe and used “an accelerometer to accurately calculate the number of steps, distance walked, calories burned and time of activity.”  I received that first tracker 10 years ago today.  After a little more than 3 1/2 years, the program shut down and I finished with a little more than 6.5 million steps.That same week, I ordered my first Fitbit, looking to continue tracking my steps.  Which worked out well, at least until last March when the global pandemic caused by the corona virus shut everything down.

That is a total of 22,247,266 steps over 10 years, which averages out to a little over 2.2 million steps per year and 6095 steps per day.  In the early days, this was well above my goals.  I started looking to get 2,000,000 steps in those first few years, which I had a difficult time making.  As I moved over to the Fitbit from the Global Fit tracker, I started meeting those goals and, subsequently, increasing them each year.  These last 2 years have seen some backslides, as I try to get into a sustainable rhythm while working remotely.

Along the way, I participated in some 5Ks, hiked up a mountain, and traveled the world, racking up steps along the way.  Now that the world is opening back up again, here’s hoping the next 10 years is even better.

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By The Numbers – 47

In 1929, uniform numbers appeared on the back of baseball jerseys for the first time, thanks to the Indians and the Yankees.  By 1937, numbers finally appeared across all uniforms, both home and away, across both major leagues.  Since that time, 81 distinct numbers have been worn by members of the White Sox, while the Cubs boast 76.

Today, we continue our look at those players, picking our favorite, if not the best, player to wear each uniform number for both Chicago teams with #47.  73 players have donned #47 while playing in Chicago, 38 for the White Sox and 35 for the Cubs.

The somewhat unfortunately named Rusty Kuntz spent parts of 5 seasons with the White Sox, wearing #47 the entire time.  He was selected by the White Sox in the 11th round of the 1977 draft and made his major league debut 2 years later as a September call-up in 1979, starting in left field and going 0-3 in a 4-3 victory over the Tigers en route to 5 appearances and an anemic .091 average.  Kuntz split time between Triple A Iowa and Chicago in 1980, with slightly better results, before spending the entire strike-shortened 1981 season with the White Sox, appearing in 67 games and batting .255 in a mere 55 at bats.  Both 1982 and 1983 saw Kuntz back splitting time between Triple A and Chicago, until he was finally traded to the Twins for a minor leaguer.

Catcher Miguel Montero wore #47 during his 2 1/2 years on the North side.  He had a few highlights, including his Game One grand slam in the 2016 NLCS against the Dodgers to give the Cubs the win.  His tenure with the Cubs came to an abrupt end the following June when, after the Nationals stole 7 bases in one game to leave him at 0-31 at nabbing would-be base stealers for the season, he placed the blame on the pitching staff.  The next day, he was designated for assignment.

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And Then There Were Four

With players dropping out of the All Star Game due to injury, arrival of a baby, or, in some cases, pure uninterest, Tim Anderson has been added to the American League roster, giving the White Sox their fourth All Star.  Anderson has hit .432 over the past 10 days leading in to the break and leads MLB with a .325 average since the start of the 2019 season.

It also gives the White Sox four All Stars for the first time since 2012, when Paul Konerko, Adam Dunn, Jake Peavy, and Chris Sale all made it for the game in Kansas City.

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They Say You Can’t Go Home Again

Last December, the White Sox brought back Adam Eaton on a one-year deal, with an option for 2022, to shore up right field against right handers, platooning with Adam Engel.  Many, including myself, were skeptical of the move, given Eaton’s injury history and better, but more expensive, options available on the market.  He started the season strong-ish, hitting .233 with 3 home runs and 18 RBIs in April, but fell off significantly after that.  He hit .158 with 2 homers and only 7 RBIs in 21 May games and hit .161 while only appearing in 11 games in June.

All of that added up to a .201 average with a career low .642 OPS and, with a roster crunch caused by Adam Engel’s return from the IL and the play of Brian Goodwin and Billy Hamilton, Eaton was designated for assignment yesterday.  The initial concerns, of whether he would be able to stay on the field for a full season, seem well founded after 2 stints on the IL in 3 months.  I’m sure this isn’t the end of the road for Eaton, but it is probably a start down that road.  A player like him, who relies on his legs for so much of his game, can see the writing on the wall once those legs start to go.

Eaton’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:

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