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By The Numbers – 55

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 #55.  30 players have donned #55 while playing in Chicago, 13 for the White Sox and 14 for the Cubs.

So maybe this is recency bias kicking in a bit, since he threw a no-hitter last month, but Carlos Rodon gets my nod as the top #55 in Chicago baseball history.  Selected with the #3 pick in the first round of the 2014 draft, Rodon made his debut in 2015 and never quite became that top of the rotation force that you would expect given his pedigree.  Then, the injuries started.  Making only 49 appearances over 4 seasons, Rodon appeared to hit his low point in 2020, when, just back off the IL, manager Rick Renteria brought him out of the bullpen for 2 high leverage situations: a last week of the season game against the Indians while battling for the division title and again in the last Wild Card game against the A’s as the White Sox fought to advance to the next round.  Neither appearance went well and after the season, Rodon was non-tendered.  However, he was brought back on a smaller deal and, on a cold Wednesday night in April, he was perfect for 8 1/3 innings, before hitting a batter and then finishing up the no-hitter.  Maybe, after 6 seasons, he’s finally ready to break through as the ace he was drafted to be?

On the north side, when one thinks of Double Nickels on the back of the uniform, one thinks of Shawn Estes.  Signed as a free agent prior to the 2003 season, Estes went 8-11 with a 5.73 ERA as the Cubs surprised pretty much everyone in winning the Central Division title.  He did not appear in the post-season and left as a free agent after the season.

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Opening Back Up

With approval from city and state officials, the White Sox and the Cubs both announced yesterday that they would be increasing capacity to 60% later this month, with the White Sox starting on May 24 against the Cardinals and the Cubs on May 28 against the Reds.  For this weekend’s games against the Royals, the White Sox will feature two vaccinated-only sections without social distancing for fans showing proof of vaccination.  The Cubs will do the same for their series against the Nationals next week.  Fans will still be required to wear masks, although very few actually do.

The expectation is that both teams will be back to full capacity by the end of June, which may jumble up plans on how to sell tickets for the early part of next month.  Other than the additional capacity added to games already on sale, neither team has announced future sales plans as of this morning.

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iTunes Top 200 Artists: #41-50

It’s been 4 years since we last counted down the Top 200 artists in my iTunes library.  Since my iTunes stats are still intact, across multiple PCs, iPods, iPads, and iPhones, I figured it was time to take another look at the artists that have entertained me the most based on number of plays from late 2007 through January 1, 2021.

We start the final quarter of the list today with the next batch of 10 artists, with ties at 50th, 48th, and 43rd.

#50: Queen
iTunes stats: 176 plays
Previous ranking: #35

A big 15 spot drop for the band from England, due mostly to their dropping off the White Sox victory playlist now more than 10 years removed from their 2005 World Series title.

#48: Boyz II Men
iTunes stats: 177 plays
Previous ranking: #49

The stars of my first concert added 80 new listens from their 9 tunes in my collection, inching them up one spot in the rankings.

#48: Klaus Badelt
iTunes stats: 177 plays
Previous ranking: #30

The composer dropped 18 spots in the rankings due to the White Sox no longer using his theme from Pirates of the Caribbean as part of their pre-game routine.

#47: Snoop Dogg
iTunes stats: 181 plays
Previous ranking: #45

The ganja-smoking gangsta rapper, a somewhat surprising 14-time Grammy nominee, added 71 additional listens, dropping him two spots in the rankings.

#46: John Morris
iTunes stats: 182 plays
Previous ranking: #88

The composer of the score from the best movie ever made, Clue: The Movie.

#45: Purdue “All-American” Marching Band
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By The Numbers – 56

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 #56.  19 different players have donned #56 while playing in Chicago, and, spoiler alert, it has been retired on one side of town.

Mark Buehrle joined the White Sox organization in 1998, drafted in the 38th round.  Despite his lowly draft status, he rose quickly through the system, first coming up during the 2000 season, working out of the bullpen for the eventual division champions.  He moved into the rotation the following season, and stayed there for the next 11 seasons.  During that time, there were numerous memorable appearances, many of which I was privileged to see in person.

  • The 2007 no-hitter against the Rangers
  • The 2009 perfect game against the Rays
  • Winning Game 2 of the 2005 ALCS against the Angels, thanks to AJ’s heads-up baserunning, and starting the streak of 4 straight complete games
  • The 1 hour 36 minute game against the Mariners in 2005
  • The no look, through his legs flip to Paul Konerko on Opening Day 2010 against the Indians
  • And, of course, his performance in the 2005 World Series, starting Game 2, getting a no decision, and coming in to pitch the 14th inning and earning the save in Game 3

In White Sox annals, Buehrle is currently fifth all-time in strikeouts, sixth in games started, and eighth in wins and innings pitched.  Number 56 was retired in his honor in 2017.

Slim pickings for #56 on the north side of town, but centerfielder Brian McRae, who spent parts of 3 seasons with the Cubs, gets the nod.  McRae was acquired from the Royals in April of 1995, following the early season lockout that continued from the strike the year before.  He was sent to the Mets, along with Mel Rojas and Turk Wendell, in August of 1997.

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Book 19 (of 52) – Broken

Broken – Karin Slaughter

When Sara Linton returns to Grant County for the first time since leaving following her husband’s death, she stumbles across a murder, a suicide, and a chance to settle some long-standing grudges.  GBI agent Will Trent joins her to investigate the crimes, and the local police department that seems to be covering up the whole thing.  When a second murder occurs, the coverup falls apart and one local detective puts her career on the line, comes clean, and teams up with Will to find the truth.

Broken, the fourth entry in Karin Slaughter’s Will Trent series and my fifth overall, feels like the wrap up of Slaughter’s Grant County series, which predated this one.  Having not read any of those books, I will say that I am now interested to see how there characters got to where they are here.  But first, there is the remaining entries in the Trent series to get to, all of which are waiting on my Kindle, except for the tenth which was just published last August.

 

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End Of The Road?

With only four months remaining on the 10-year, $240 million contract signed following to the 2011 season, the Angels decided to cut ties with Albert Pujols, designating the future Hall of Fame baseball person for assignment yesterday.  “It’s more about opportunity,” GM Perry Minasian said of Pujols, to date, had posted an OPS 80 points below the league average in his age-41 season.  “Albert is not a bench player. We felt like, for him, with respect to him, keeping him on the bench, him not getting any playing time, would not do him any good or the team any good.”

Pujols is reportedly steadfast in his desire to continue playing, but it’s hard to see a good fit for him, especially with no DH in the National League.  Some speculation mentioned the White Sox as a potential landing spot, given the relationship between Pujols and Tony La Russa, but, unless Pujols is suddenly able to play the outfield, you would think the presence of Jose Abreu and Yermin Mercedes would preclude any such reunion.  If I had to guess, I would say this is the end of Pujols’ long and distinguished career.

Thanks to the profitable nature of the Cubs/Cardinals rivalry, I didn’t see Pujols play in person as often as I could have during his prime, but he’s still in the top 5 of games played for non-Chicago players in my history.  His numbers, both for games I attended and overall, were:

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Fitbit VII – Week 14

A slight bounce back this week, though still a disappointing finish.  Things got off to a decent enough start on Sunday, as a trip down to Guaranteed Rate Field left me 6 steps shy of 5800.  Monday was slightly better, coming in above 6100 steps as the weather started to turn more spring-like.  Tuesday was the nicest day of the week, both weather wise and step wise, as I managed to surpass my daily goal with 7600 steps.  Wednesday was a down day, with only 3700 steps.  Thursday bounced back a bit, as I raised that step total to 5100.  Friday was easily the worst day of the week, with only 3300 steps.  Saturday used another trip to the old ballpark to finish with 5500 steps.

Total steps: 37,322

Daily average: 5331.7

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Book 18 (of 52) – The Watcher Girl

The Watcher Girl – Minka Kent

In The Watcher Girl, Minka Kent’s latest, a young woman, who has avoided her family for years, returns home to apologize to an old boyfriend, whom she believes to still be hung up on her.  When she accidentally runs into his wife, literally, she finds that he may not be the man she remembers.  Can she help her newfound friend escape before things go too far?  Or is the man she once loved still there somewhere, ready to return when she least expects it?

Minka Kent is a writer whose work has circled my awareness for some time now, but, thanks to the Amazon’s First Reads program, I was able to get this one early and free.  She doesn’t waste many words, with the book clocking in at under 240 pages, and the plot moves along quickly.  I found out after that many of these characters show up in a different novel, the story of which is touched upon here, and I was able to pick that up cheaply, so I will be revisiting Kent, and these set of characters, some time in the future.

 

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Another One Bites The Dust

The White Sox outfield is now down two starters after Luis Robert suffered a complete tear of his right hip flexor during Sunday’s game, general manager Rick Hahn said yesterday.  He won’t resume baseball activities for 12 to 16 weeks, whether he and the team opt for surgery or rest.  Robert, in his second season with the White Sox, was hitting .316 this season, with a homer and 11 runs scored.

Robert joins Eloy Jimenez on the injured list, after Jimenez tore his pectoral muscle during the last week of spring training and is expected to miss most, if not all, of the season.  Hahn says the team will rely on internal options to take Robert’s place, but will also explore external options.  Either way, this is a big blow for a team expected to compete for the post-season.