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#28 – Tim Raines

Name: Tim Raines

Rank: 28

Position: LF

Years With White Sox: 1991-1995

Acquired in December of 1990 from the Expos, along with Jeff Carter and a player to be named later, for Ivan Calderon and Barry Jones, Tim Raines took over left field, and the lead off spot, as the White Sox moved in to the new Comiskey Park.  At the age of 31, Raines appeared in 155 games, his highest total since 1984, while hitting .268 with 51 stolen bases.

In 1992, Raines had another strong season, putting up a .294 average with 7 home runs, 54 RBIs, and 45 stolen bases.

Limited to 115 games in 1993 due to a torn thumb ligament, Raines had the best season of his post-Expos career, hitting .306 and posting a .401 OBP, adding 16 home runs and 21 stolen bases.  During the ALCS against the Blue Jays, Raines hit .444 with an OPS of 1.038 as the White Sox dropped the series in 6 games.

Raines saw his production drop off a bit in 1994, his average dropping to .266 but with 10 home runs when the season ended early due to the player’s strike.  When baseball returned in 1995, so did Raines.  He bounced back with a .285 average and a .796 OPS, his second highest total as a member of the White Sox.  Following the season, Raines was traded to the Yankees for an unheralded player to be named later.

Raines rejoined the White Sox organization in November of 2004 when he was named the first base coach, a position he would hold for the championship season in 2005.  For 2006, he was moved to bench coach and, after the season, his services were not retained.

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

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A New Ride

After weeks (months?  years?) of deliberations, number crunching, and soul searching, I finally pulled the trigger this afternoon on purchasing a new car.  Come late June, I will take possession of a brand new Tesla and will send a good portion of my paycheck to Elon Musk each month.

My last new car was purchased in November of 2008, quite a long time ago.  This new one will be a bit different, costing three times as much and not requiring gasoline.  An exciting time.

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Fitbit III: Week 14

They say all good things must come to an end, and they certainly did this week as my streak of 50,000 step weeks and my streak of overall weeks above goal both were stopped cold.  The week got off to a slow start on Sunday, where rain kept me well under my daily step goal.  Monday was back up over 6500, but not by much.  Tuesday was another down day, thanks to spending most of my day sitting at my desk with little reason to leave.  Wednesday just barely managed to surpass my daily goal, due to a trip up north for a memorial service, followed by a return to CarMax and then a trip to Oakbrook to test drive a Tesla.  Thursday was back to work and again managed to just barely surpass 6500 steps.  Friday was a small shot up, as I parlayed some exciting ping pong action into nearly 7000 steps.  Saturday tried to make up for the rest of the week, with a trip down to Wrigley Field for Cub/Yankee inter-league action, but it wasn’t enough to keep me on track.

Total steps: 43,692

Daily average: 6241.7

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iTunes Top 200 Artists: #51-59

3 years ago, we first counted down the then Top 100 artists in my iTunes library.  Since that time, I’ve successfully managed to migrate my music collection to a new PC with the stats intact.  So, I figured it was time to take another look, expanding out the field to the top 200 artists, based on number of plays from late 2007 through January 1, 2017.

We finish up the first 2/3 of the list with listens from the high 70s through the mid 90s.

#59: Kermit the Frog
iTunes stats: 78 plays
Previous ranking: N/A

The world’s most favorite Muppet makes the second highest debut on the list, clocking in with 7 tracks.

#59: 10,000 Maniacs
iTunes stats: 78 plays
Previous ranking: #53

Only 3 tracks make up this total, though a scant 29 new listens contributed to a 6 spot drop in the rankings.

#58: Smashing Pumpkins
iTunes stats: 81 plays
Previous ranking: #59

Doubling their play total, plus 1, over the past 3 years enables the Chicago based alternative band to jump up 1 whole spot in the rankings.

#57: Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons
iTunes stats: 83 plays
Previous ranking: #45

A mere 17 new listens over the past 3 years cause the Jersey Boys inspirations to drop 12 spots on the list.

#56: The Rolling Stones
iTunes stats: 84 plays
Previous ranking: #74

Listens from 17 songs, up from 9 three years ago, led to the British bad boys jumping 18 spots in the rankings.

#55: Cheap Trick
iTunes stats: 86 plays
Previous ranking: #56

The boys from Rockford add an additional 40 listens to rise 1 spot on the list.

#54: The Outfield
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Pitching In

With an already-taxed bullpen and a starting pitcher that lasted 1/3 of an inning, Cubs manager Joe Maddon turned to catcher Miguel Montero to pitch the final frame of last night’s blowout loss to the Yankees.  Somehow, despite attending 842 major league baseball games prior to last night, this was the first time I had personally witnessed a position player taking the mound.

While Montero was a little shaky, walking two batters and nearly hitting one, he did finish as the only Cub pitcher of the night to not give up a run.

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#29 – Lance Johnson

Name: Lance Johnson

Rank: 29

Position: CF

Years With White Sox: 1988-1995

Lance Johnson, along with Ricky Horton, was acquired by the White Sox from the Cardinals for Jose DeLeon just before spring training in 1988.  After earning Most Valuable Player honors in the American Association the year before, Johnson was given the starting center fielder job.  Things did not go well, and after hitting only .185 in 33 games, he was sent back to the minor leagues.

Johnson returned to Triple A in 1988, before finally returning to the White Sox, and the major leagues, for good.  In a 50 game stint, his largest to date, Jonson hit .300 with 16 stolen bases and a .360 OBP.

In 1990, Johnson patrolled centerfield for the final season at Comiskey Park.  He hit .285 and managed 36 stolen bases, despite leading the league with 22 caught stealings, easily his career high.  He also hit his first career home run.

1991 saw the White Sox move across the street to their new home, and Johnson continued his steady presence in the lineup.  Hitting .274 while appearing in 159 games, he stole 26 bases and hit 13 triples, leading the American League for the first of four consecutive seasons, the first player in Major League history to accomplish this feat.

Johnson hit .279 in 1992, with another 12 triples and 41 stolen bases.  He also managed to hit the ball out of the ballpark 3 times, setting a new career high.

1993 saw Johnson and the White Sox finally put everything together.  Johnson raised his average to .311, hitting 14 triples and stealing 35 bases while the White Sox won their first divisional title in a decade.  Unfortunately, Johnson struggled in the ALCS against the Blue Jays, hitting only .217 in the 6 game series, though knocking in 6 runs and hitting his only home run of the season.

The strike-shortened 1994 season cut down what could have been a tremendous season for Johnson.  He again hit 14 triples, but in only 106 games.  He tied his career high with 3 home runs and managed 26 stolen bases, while hitting .277.

When baseball resumed in 1995, Johnson turned in his finest season in a White Sox uniform.  He hit .306 and set a career high with a .766 OPS.  He led the league in at bats and hits, though he saw his streak of triples crowns end despite hitting a solid 12.  He set a career high with 10 home runs, 3 more than his previous career total.  On September 23, he became the first White Sox hitter to get 6 hits in a game since Floyd Robinson in 1962.  Following the season, he became a free agent and his White Sox career came to an end.

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

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Fitbit III: Week 13

We are one step closer to tying last summer’s record of 14 straight 50,000 step weeks, thanks to my highest total in 4 weeks.  Things got off to a strong start on Sunday, thanks to a tilt between the White Sox and Indians at Guaranteed Rate Field followed by Michael’s birthday celebration at Outback Steakhouse.  Monday scored an impressive total of over 12,000 steps, thanks to an after-work session trying to get the Mercury out of the garage and running again.  Tuesday was even better, falling less than 200 steps short of 13,000 due to another trip to the South Side, minus a parking pass.  Wednesday fell back down to my goal territory, despite trips to Target and Meijer for car fluids.  Thursday had a bit of a bounce back up nearly 9000 steps, thanks to a trip to North plaza and a few smoking breaks with Val.  Friday broke 7300 steps, with more car work.  The weather turned bad on Saturday, as rain kept me inside most of the day, leading to a disappointing total of 3100 steps.

Total steps: 58,534

Daily average: 8362

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#30 – Greg Walker

Name: Greg Walker

Rank: 30

Position: 1B

Years With White Sox: 1982-1990

Acquired as a rule 5 selection from the Phillies in 1979, Greg Walker made his major league debut for the White Sox on September 18, 1982, pinch hitting for Marc Hill and getting a hit against Brian Kingman in the White Sox 5-4 loss to the A’s at Comiskey Park.  During his brief cup of coffee with the big league club, Walker took advantage, hitting .412 with 2 home runs in 11 games.

Walker split time with Tom Paciorek in 1983, hitting .270 with 10 home runs and 55 RBIs in 118 games.  He led the American League with 15 pinch hit RBIs.  He appeared in 2 games during the ALCS against the Orioles, going 1-3 with a walk.

In 1984, Walker started to establish himself as the every day first baseman.  In 136 games, he hit 24 home runs while posting a .294 average.  He hit another 24 home runs in 1985 while tying a White Sox record with 163 games played.

1986 saw Walker spend time on the disabled list, limiting him to 78 games and only 13 home runs, with a .277 average.  He bounced back in 1987, appearing in 157 games and setting career highs with 27 home runs and 94 RBIs while hitting a career low .256.

Walker’s 1988 season came to a premature end on July 30, when he suffered a seizure during batting practice while fielding grounders from coach Ed Brinkman.  Four trainers were needed to hold Walker down and pry open his mouth to prevent Walker from swallowing his own tongue.  During the ordeal, Walker bit his tongue and chipped a tooth from biting down on a pair of scissors.  A subsequent seizure the following day kept Walker in the hospital for 11 days.  A third seizure, days after being released from the hospital, left him in a daze for months.

He returned in 1989, unsure if he would be able to continue his career, until a .308 spring average with 7 home runs convinced him, and the White Sox, that he once again could be a productive member of the lineup.  He wasted little time in getting back in the swing of things, participating in an Opening Day brawl against the Angels after Bob McClure hit Ivan Calderon with a pitch in the ninth inning.  The good feelings did not last, though, as he appeared in only 77 games due to a shoulder injury and hit a career low .210 with only 5 home runs.

Walker found himself the odd man out in 1990, appearing in only 2 games before being released on April 30.

Walker rejoined the White Sox organization on May 19, 2003 as hitting coach, a position he would hold until September 28, 2011 in the waning days of Ozzie Guillen’s tenure.

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

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Bad Jersey Choices

Last fall, while waiting outside Wrigley Field to get in for the World Series, I saw a young gentleman wearing an Arismendy Alcantara jersey and thought, wow, what a colossal mistake this man has made.  I thought about starting a Tumblr/Twitter account to track poor jersey choices, but never really got around to it.  As this season has gotten underway, I’ve kept an eye out for instances of people who really should have put more thought in to their apparel purchases.

On the north side of town, it has been a total strikeout.  Seeing how everyone has renewed their jersey purchases with the World Series championship, there is just a sea of Rizzos, Bryants, and, of course, Rosses.  On the south side of town, I finally hit paydirt on Sunday, when I came across someone who was so enthralled by last year’s signing of broken down catcher Alex Avila, that he went out and bought the jersey.  A long lasting tribute to a one-season player who spent much of his time here on the disabled list.