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#56 – Daryl Boston

bostonName: Daryl Boston

Rank: 56

Position: CF

Years With White Sox: 1984-1990

Daryl Boston was selected by the White Sox as the 7th pick in the 1st round of the 1981 draft.  He made his major league debut on May 13, 1984 in the White Sox 8-1 victory against the Rangers, going 3-5 with 2 RBIs and a stolen base while leading off and playing center field.  He ended up appearing in 35 games for a White Sox team that failed to follow up on their success of the previous year, hitting an anemic .169.

Boston split the 1985 season between Triple A Buffalo and Chicago, appearing in 95 games for the White Sox.  He managed to improve his average to .228 with the increased playing time.

1986 again saw Boston splitting time between Triple A and the big leagues.  On October 4th, he hit the 50th and final home run given up by Bert Blyleven during the season, setting the major league record.  He finished the year with 56 appearances, hitting .266 with 5 home runs.

Boston spent the majority of the 1987 season in Chicago, hitting .258 with 10 home runs in 337 at bats.  1988 was his first full season in the major leagues, but he struggled, hitting only .217 but setting a career high with 15 home runs.

Boston rebounded in 1989, raising his average to .252, but hitting only 5 home runs in 101 appearances.  1990 saw his White Sox career come to an end, appearing in 5 games and getting only one at bat before being placed on waivers towards the end of April and being selected by the Mets.

Boston rejoined the White Sox organization in 2001 as a roving minor league instructor.  In 2013, he became the first base coach for new manager Robin Ventura, a role he remains in to this day.

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

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An Evening With Anna Kendrick

annakLast night, I headed out to Naperville to pick up a signed book and a Q&A with Anna Kendrick for her new tome, Scrappy Little Nobody.  Greta Johnsen, co-host of the WBEZ’s Nerdette Podcast, was on hand to moderate the evening’s festivities, in which Kendrick charmed the audience with tales from the book and how to strive for success after “making it”.  The two went back and forth for about an hour, with Kendrick apologizing to Jesus for cursing in the church where the event took place.

This was my second experience with a signing run through Anderson’s Bookshop, and the first since Adam Carolla came to town in 2014.  Other than paying full retail for the book and a small screw up in ordering tickets which led to me buying the last ticket and attending alone, everything ran smoothly and was worth the effort of heading out to the western suburbs after work.  I’ll continue to keep an eye out to see if they have anyone else interesting coming through town.

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Book 23 (of 52) – The Angel Chronicles Volume 3

The Angel Chronicles Volume 3 - Nancy Holder

The Angel Chronicles Volume 3 – Nancy Holder

I dipped back in the to-read drawer for this 17 year old novelization by Nancy Holder of 3 episodes from the second season of Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Surprise, Innocence, and Passion.  After giving in to his forbidden love with Buffy, Angel feels a moment of complete happiness and loses his soul.  He turns on Buffy and the Scooby gang, killing one of their own in the process.

It just so happens that Surprise, the first part of the Angel loses his soul two-parter, was the first episode of Buffy that I ever saw.  Holder manages to convey most of the emotional punch that was on the screen way back when.

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FB2: Week 41

fb2_week41A disappointing week, that just barely managed to sneak past my goal thanks to a slow start to the week with less than 2000 steps on Sunday.  Things bounced back on Monday, with over 7200 steps.  Tuesday was election day, when the world turned to crap, but still good for 6700 steps.  Wednesday was slightly lower, but still safely above my daily goal.  Thursday used an after work outing to post my highest total of the week, falling 101 steps shy of 8000.  Friday, I only put a half day in at work resulting in a total that fell short of my 6000 step goal.  Saturday used a trip to not one, but two grocery stores to help push my daily total over 6700 and put me over the top for the week.

Total steps: 42,215

Daily average: 6030.7

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Autographed Books – President Me

presmeWe continue our look at the hardcover books I’ve gotten autographed over the years with President Me by Adam Carolla.  This collection of rants from the Adam Carolla Show podcast goes over the things the Aceman would change were he to become President of these United States.

During the book tour, Adam did a Q&A and book signing in Naperville in conjunction with Anderson’s Bookshop.  Purchasing the book from them got me a spot in the autograph line for a quick meet and greet and photo, along with the autographed book.

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#57 – Herbert Perry

herbertName: Herbert Perry

Rank: 57

Position: 3B

Years With White Sox: 2000-2001

Herbert Perry joined the White Sox on April 21, 2000 after being selected off waivers from the Devil Rays.  Perry initially was a backup to Greg Norton, but solid defense and a hot bat led to him getting more and more playing time, eventually becoming the everyday third baseman as the White Sox cruised to their first Central Division title.  He finished the year with a .308 average, 12 home runs, and 61 RBIs.  Perry was one of the few White Sox regulars who continued to hit in the post-season, putting up a .444 average in the ALDS against the Mariners.

Injuries and the acquisition of Royce Clayton limited Perry to 92 games in 2001.  His average dropped to .256 and his home runs fell to 7.  After the season, he was traded to the Rangers for a player to be named later.

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

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2016 Final Pitching Leaders

baseballs3Tuesday, we looked at the leaders in the 39 games I attended this year on the offensive side of the ball.  It’s now time to wrap up our look back at the 2016 season with the pitching leaders, starting with everyone’s favorite pitching statistic:

Wins

Name Total
Chris Sale 5
Jose Quintana 3
David Robertson 2
Carlos Rodon 2
Mat Latos 2
Hector Santiago  2
Jon Lester 2

Losses

Name Total
Chris Sale 3
Carlos Rodon 3
James Shields 3
Miguel Gonzalez 2
28 tied with 1

ERA (> 10 IP)

Name Total
Hector Santiago 0.00
Danny Duffy 0.00
Dan Jennings 0.60
Zach Duke 0.75
Nate Jones 1.98

Strikeouts

Name Total
Chris Sale 62
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FB2: Week 40

fb2_week40A decent week, as I put up my highest total in about a month despite missing my step goal on two days.  Things got off to a decent enough start on Sunday as I barely surpassed the 6000 step goal thanks to a trip to Wrigley Field for Game 5 of the World Series.  Monday was All Hallow’s Eve, and I managed to spend most of the afternoon in traffic, but still passed the day’s goal.  Tuesday used some after-work walking around the neighborhood to come close to 8000 steps.  Wednesday was the first down day of the week, thanks to spending the evening engrossed in Game 7 of the World Series on the television.  Thursday was a decent bounce back day due to some lunch time strolls around the parking lot.  Friday was the big day of the week, and my largest total since the Sprint & Stride back in September, surpassing 12,000 steps thanks to a trip down to Grant Park for the Cubs victory parade and rally.  Saturday was another disappointing day, failing to hit 6000 steps despite meeting Hayley in the Glen for some rugby watching and drinking.

Total steps: 50,365

Daily average: 7195

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2016 Final Batting Leaders

MLB: Cincinnati Reds at Los Angeles DodgersAnother baseball season has come to an end, with a 108 year World Series championship drought broken on the North Side of town and yet more disappointment on the South Side.  Let’s take a look back at the offensive leaders for the 39 games, including the post-season, that I attended this season:

Home Runs

Name Total
Jose Abreu 8
Todd Frazier 5
Adam Eaton 5
Tim Anderson 3
Avisail Garcia 3
Manny Machado 3

Hits

Name Total
Jose Abreu 37
Melky Cabrera 35
Adam Eaton 30
Tim Anderson 26
Todd Frazier 23

Runs

Name Total
Jose Abreu 17
Adam Eaton 17
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