Category / Baseball

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Return Of The Single Game Pitching Leaders

It’s now been eight years (to the day!) and well over 250 games since we last looked at the single game leaders in pitching categories for all the games I have identified and attended in person dating back to 1984.  There are some new names of the list that weren’t there when we first looked in 2012 and again in 2015 and 2018.  Keep in mind that, for pitchers, leading a category can be a bad thing in some cases.

Innings Pitched

Name Total Date
59 tied with 9 Most recently on 9/3/2022

Hits

Name Total Date
Homer Bailey 15 7/26/2008
Jose Lima 13 5/2/2000
Glendon Rusch 13 5/12/2003
Carlos Silva 13 4/23/2006
Mark Buehrle 13 7/2/2006
Carlos Zambrano 13 8/14/2007
Tommy Hanson 13 6/22/2010
Gavin Floyd 13 9/9/2010
Edwin Jackson 13 9/11/2010
Roy Oswalt 13 7/3/2012
Brad Keller 13 8/2/2022

Runs

Name Total Date
Mark Buehrle 11 7/2/2006
Jeff Suppan 11 4/30/2008
Roy Oswalt 11 7/3/2012
Jose Lima 10 5/2/2000
Clay Hensley 10 4/16/2007
Mitch Spence 10 6/26/2026

Earned Runs

Name Total Date
Mark Buehrle 10 7/2/2006
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Ending The Streak

With their 9-5 victory over the Tigers last night, the White Sox won their 63rd game of the season, ensuring that their franchise-worst streak of three-straight 100-loss seasons would come to an end.  Less than two years removed from having the most losses in MLB history, the White Sox find themselves in first place in the middle of August, with a 3.5 game lead over their closest competitor with just 41 games to go.

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Playoffs Part The First

With about seven weeks remaining in the 2026 season, it appears that both Chicago teams may be heading to the postseason for the first time since 2008.  The Cubs, the team with a more secure hold on making the playoffs despite currently sitting in second place, got the ticketing process started.

Sitting five and a half games behind the Brewers for the NL Central crown but holding a six-game lead for the first Wild Card slot, the Cubs sent out post-season invoices to their season ticket holders last week for the second straight year.  Thanks to a randomly selected combination assignment, I would end up with tickets to two games in each potential round.  I would maintain my normal seats through the NLCS but would end up relocated to the right field side should the team advance to the World Series.

Barring a complete collapse over the next seven weeks, the Cubs seem to be a lock to make the postseason.  Getting out of that Wild Card round, where they would face the Phillies if the season ended today, might be more difficult.

On the other side of town, the White Sox currently sit atop the AL Central, holding a three and a half game lead over the Tigers, but have yet to release any postseason ticketing plans.

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Hanging Up The Spikes

On Monday, on a call to celebrate the return of the Field of Dreams game, Tim Anderson announced his official retirement from baseball.  Anderson, who was arguably the face of the White Sox franchise earlier this decade, saw his fortunes fall due to injuries and off-the-field issues starting in the second half of 2022.  He last played for the Angels in 2025.

Drafted by the White Sox in the first round in 2013, Tim Anderson made his major league debut on June 10, 2016, going 2-3 in a victory against the Royals at US Cellular Field.  Replacing veteran Jimmy Rollins, who would be released five days later, Anderson played 99 games, hitting .283 with nine home runs, and finished seventh in Rookie of the Year balloting.  Showing that he was still a work in progress, Anderson slashed .257/.276/.402 in 2017, with a 2.1% walk rate, the lowest in the major leagues.  Defensively, he led the major leagues in errors, with 28, as well as fielding errors (16) and throwing errors (12).  He showed slight improvements in 2018, with slight improvements in his OBP and slugging percentage, while reducing his overall errors.

2019 was Anderson’s coming out party.  He led the major leagues with a .335 average while raising his OPS to .865, setting career highs with 167 hits, 32 doubles, and 81 runs.  He still had some issues on defense, leading all major league players with 26 errors, leading to the lowest fielding percentage amongst all shortstops.  His hot bat continued into the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, notching a .322 average and an .886 OPS.  He won his first Silver Slugger award while leading the White Sox to their first post-season appearance since 2008.  He thrived in the Wild Card series against the A’s, going 9-14 in the three-game series.

Anderson continued to prove that he his offensive improvement wasn’t a fluke when baseball returned full time in 2021.  He was named to his first All Star team and, on the game’s biggest stage, he hit a walk-off home run against the Yankees in the inaugural Field of Dreams game in the cornfields of Iowa.  Overall, he hit .309 and posted an .807 OPS while hitting 17 home runs and driving in 61 RBIs.  Continuing where he left off the previous October, Anderson hit .368 in the ALDS against the Astros.

Things started to sour for Anderson in 2022, both on the field and off.  Injuries limited him to just 79 games and left him with his lowest OPS since 2018.  Off the field, an Instagram post by a woman who was not Anderson’s wife insinuated they were in a relationship, and he was the father of her unborn child.  Looking for a fresh start, Anderson played with Team USA in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, earning praise from manager Mark DeRosa and outfielder Mike Trout.  Unfortunately, those good vibes did not spill over to the 2023 season.  After an early injury, Anderson struggled the entire year, his OPS dropped to a career-low .582 and he managed just a single home run.

He signed with the Marlins for 2024. but appeared in just 65 games before being released in July.  Returning the following year with the Angels, he made it into just 31 games before his May 29th release.

The White Sox will be celebrating Anderson’s career next month, bringing back the Southside uniform set for one night.

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

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Return Of The Single Game Batting Leaders

After eight long years (to the day!) and well over 250 games, it is time once again to look at the single game leaders in offensive categories across all of the games I have identified as having attended in person dating back to 1984.  There are some new names of the list that obviously weren’t there when we first looked in 2012 and again in 2015 and 2018.  So, let’s get the ball rolling.

Home Runs

Name Total Date
Sammy Sosa 3 6/5/1996
Moises Alou 3 7/4/2003
Manny Machado 3 8/7/2016
Enrique Hernandez 3 10/19/2017
Brad Miller 3 7/8/2021
Seby Zavala 3 7/31/2021
Dansby Swanson 3 7/1/2026

Hits

Name Total Date
Scott Rolen 5 4/22/2007
Mike Fontenot 5 6/25/2007
Mark DeRosa 5 9/17/2007
Alfonso Soriano 5 5/17/2008
Derrek Lee 5 6/28/2008
Ryan Braun 5 8/2/2010
Prince Fielder 5 8/2/2010
Danny Santana 5 8/3/2014
Melky Cabrera 5 6/21/2015

Runs

Name Total Date
Chris Burke 5 6/13/2006
Gary Ward 4 8/14/1984
Paul Konerko 4 6/28/2002
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Bolstering The Staffs

Both the Cubs and the White Sox made moves yesterday to bolster their pitching staffs heading into the stretch run.  The Cubs struck first, acquiring starter Kevin Gausman from the Blue Jays for Brett Bateman and Ty Southisene.  Gausman, 35, is 5-10 with a 4.38 ERA and 127 strikeouts in 23 starts for the Blue Jays this season coming off a long post-season in 2025 and is in the final year of his deal.  Bateman, 24, is a left-handed hitting outfielder was the eighth-round pick for the Cubs in 2023 and is currently ranked as the organization’s No. 21 prospect according to MLB.com.  Southisene, 21, is an infielder selected in the fourth round of the 2024 draft and the organization’s 13th top-ranked prospect.

On the South Side, a day after acquiring Luis Castillo for the rotation, the White Sox acquired reliever Huascar Brazobán from the Mets for Gabe Davis and Zach Franklin.  Brazobán, a late bloomer at 36, is having a career-year, posting a 2.56 ERA over 46 games and 52⅔ innings.  He has three years of team control remaining and won’t become eligible for free agency until he’s 39.  Davis, a 6’9″ righty starter, has struggled after being promoted to Birmingham earlier this year.  The 22-year-old was selected in the fifth round of the 2025 draft.  Franklin turns 28 shortly before he becomes eligible for the Rule 5 draft this December.

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Bolstering The Rotation

After a month of July where only two White Sox starters managed to complete six full innings, Chris Getz pulled off a move that will hopefully bolster the rotation while improving the bullpen, both through less work and by subtraction.  The White Sox acquired right-handed starter Luis Castillo from the Mariners in exchange for reliever Seranthony Domínguez, catching prospect Boston Smith, and outfielder Nolan Jones.  Castillo, 33, is signed through 2027 for $22.75 million with a vesting option for $25 million in 2028.  A three-time All-Star, Castillo has struggled this year, with a career-worst 5.06 ERA.

Dominguez, signed this off-season, has struggled, but has been better as of late in low leverage situations.  Smith, 23, was acquired from the Nationals this spring and has slashed a combined .291/.448/.589 with 22 home runs across three minor league levels this season.  Jones, 28, was acquired from the Guardians in June and is basically organization filler at this point.

With the acquisition, Castillo will move into the rotation with Erick Fedde moving to the bullpen.  Hopefully the two will take pressure off of the rest of the bullpen innings-wise and Castillo’s post-season experience will benefit the entire team come October.

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Three Homers

In last night’s victory over the Rays, the White Sox offense saw home runs from Munetaka Murakami, Colson Montgomery, and Miguel Vargas for the fifth time this season, trying the major league record.  The record was first set in 1953 by the then-Brooklyn Dodgers, with contributions from Carl Furillo, Gil Hodges, and Duke Snider and has now been tied an additional nine times.  The current White Sox are the second set of South Siders to have a piece of the record, following the 2004 trio of Joe Crede, Paul Konerko, and Jose Valentin.

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Hall Of Fame Batting Leaders



The Hall of Fame Class of 2026, featuring hitters Carlos Beltran, Andruw Jones, and Jeff Kent, gets enshrined in Cooperstown today.  I’ve seen the three new Hall of Famers play live a combined 64 times, so let’s check back in with the leaders on the offensive side of the ball amongst Hall of Famers for all of the games I’ve attended between 1984 and 2025.

Home Runs

Name Total
Jim Thome 35
Frank Thomas 15
Scott Rolen 7
David Ortiz 6
Vladimir Guerrero 6
Andruw Jones 6

Hits

Name Total
Jim Thome 110
Frank Thomas 54
Joe Mauer 43
Ken Griffey Jr 32
Fred McGriff 28

Runs

Name Total
Jim Thome 82
Frank Thomas 42
Andruw Jones 20
Joe Mauer 19
David Ortiz 16

RBI

Name Total
Jim Thome 84
Frank Thomas 38
Fred McGriff 23
David Ortiz 19
Continue reading →
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Preparing For Stars

Before kicking off the second half of the season Friday night, the Cubs unveiled the logo for the 2027 All-Star Game, planned to be played at Wrigley Field next July 13.  The logo incorporates iconography of both the Wrigley Field marquee and the stars from the Chicago flag.

The game has been played at Wrigley Field three previous times, and each was honored as part of the ceremony.  Phil Cavaretta’s niece stood in for him for the 1947 game, with Billy Williams representing the 1962 game and Andre Dawson and Shawon Dunston representing the 1990 game.  Each installed a base with their game’s logo before the new one was unveiled at home plate.

Of course, the giant elephant in the room is the labor uncertainty thanks to an all-but-certain lockout coming following this season that threatens to interfere with the 2027 season.