Category / Baseball

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Franchise Four – Chicago White Sox

Major League Baseball is asking its fans to vote for the four most impactful players who best represent the history of each franchise.  The winners will be announced in July at the All Star Game in Cincinnati.  Today, we finish up the entire league as I give my Franchise Four picks for the Chicago White Sox.

F4WhiteSox

LALuis Aparicio played for the White Sox from 1956 – 1962 and again from 1968 – 1970.  He was an All Star 6 times in those years and was elected to Hall of Fame in 1984.  His number 11 was retired by the White Sox in 1984.

NFNellie Fox teamed with Aparicio to make up the double play combination for the 1959 American League Champions.  Fox came to the White Sox in 1950 and manned second base through the 1963 season, earning 12 All Star nods and the 1959 AL MVP.  He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1997.

LAppAfter the White Sox roster was decimated by the banishments following the throwing of the 1919 World Series, there were few bright spots until Luke Appling debuted in 1930.  20 years later, Appling retired, with 7 All Star nods, 2 batting titles, 3 top 10 MVP finishes, and too many team records to count.  He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1964.

PKPaul Konerko came to the White Sox via trade prior to the 1999 season and became a fixture at first base until his retirement last year.  Having led the White Sox to victory in the 2005 World Series, he finished his career as the White Sox all time leader in total bases and second all time in home runs, RBIs, and games played.

HBHarold Baines was selected by the White Sox as the first overall pick of the 1977 draft.  He spent parts of 14 seasons with the team, in three different stints, until his retirement following the 2001 season.  He holds the White Sox team records for home runs, RBIs, and extra base hits for left handed hitters. Continue reading →

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#147 – Matt Merullo

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Name: Matt Merullo

Rank: 147

Position: C

Years With White Sox: 1989, 1991-1993

Matt Merullo was selected by the White Sox in the 7th round of the 1986 draft.  When Carlton Fisk broke his hand days in to the 1989 season, Merullo got his chance with the big league club.  He made his major league debut on April 12, 1989, going hitless in one at bat against the Mariners.  2 days later, he made his first start in the White Sox home opener, and notched his first hit, his first home run, and his first caught stealing behind the plate.   He got in to 31 games total that season, hitting .222 in 81 at bats with that lone home run.

A knee injury, plus the continued presence of Fisk and Ron Karkovice, kept Merullo in Birmingham in 1990.  He split the 1991 season between Double A and the big leagues, appearing in a career high 80 games despite hitting only .229.

1992 saw Merullo splitting time between Triple A and the White Sox, and he only made it in to 24 games with the big league club.  He spent the majority of 1993 back in Triple A, playing only 8 games with the White Sox, hitting an anemic .050.

With spring training winding down in 1994, Merullo was dealt to the Indians.

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

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by jim

Moving Up The Dial

After months of speculation, word broke yesterday that the White Sox will be leaving their radio home since 2006, WSCR The Score, at the end of this season and will be moving up the dial to WLS.  The former Big 89, which beat out WGN along with The Score, are expected to sign a 6 year deal with the White Sox later this week.

No word yet on whether the current broadcast team of Ed Farmer and Darrin Jackson will make the move.  Farmer followed the club from ESPN 1000 to The Score following the 2005 season, but will be 66 by opening day 2016.  Jackson, who turns 52 in August, is the young pup of the White Sox broadcast team.

Now that the first domino has fallen in the Chicago radio rights game, expect the next to come rather quickly.  CBS Radio, knowing that the Sox contact was due to expire, set up a clause in their Cubs deal that allows them to move those broadcasts to The Score from WBBM.  Given the poor fit that Cubs baseball has been on the all news station, I expect them to do so sooner rather than later.

by admin

Franchise Four – Chicago Cubs

Major League Baseball is asking its fans to vote for the four most impactful players who best represent the history of each franchise.  The winners will be announced in July at the All Star Game in Cincinnati.  Today, I will give my Franchise Four picks for the Chicago Cubs.

F4Cubs

EBErnie Banks, who was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1977, played his entire 19 year career with the Cubs, earning back-to-back MVP honors in 1958 and 1959.  When he retired following the 1971 season, he ranked 9th all-time in home runs, with 512.

RSRyne Sandberg joined the Cubs in 1982 and quickly became a fixture in the middle of the Cub infield, where he remained until 1997.  The 10-time all star, who earned MVP honors in 1984, was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2005.

TFBMordecai “Three Finger” Brown, who earned his nickname due to farming incident in his youth, spent 10 of his 14 seasons with the Cubs, leading them to World Series titles in 1907 and 1908.  He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1949.

RoSRon Santo spent 14 of his 15 big league seasons with the Cubs, earning 9 All Star game appearances and 5 Gold Gloves.  He followed his playing career with a long broadcasting stint with the team.  He was posthumously elected to the Hall of Fame in 2012.

GHGabby Hartnett spent the first 19 years of his career with the Cubs, appearing in 6 All Star games and earning the MVP award in 1935.  Perhaps best remembered for the “Homer in the Gloamin'” in 1938, Hartnett was considered the best National League catcher until the emergence of Johnny Bench.  He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1955. Continue reading →

by admin

#148 – Shingo Takatsu

Name: Shingo Takatsu

Rank: 148

Position: P

Years With White Sox: 2004-2005

After a 13 year career in the Japanese baseball league, Shingo Takatsu signed with the White Sox on January 22, 2004, becoming the first Japanese born player to sign with a Chicago team.  As a 35 year old rookie, he made his major league debut on April 9, 2004 against the Yankees, facing countryman Hideki Matsui as his first batter.

Takatsu eventually became the closer for the 2004 White Sox, earning 19 saves in 56 appearances with a sparkling 2.31 ERA.  Unfortunately, his success was short lived.

Takatsu began the 2005 season as the team’s closer, earning the save in the Opening Day 1-0 victory over the Indians.  Sadly, the league seemed to catch on to his trickery, as his ERA grew to 5.97 in 31 games.  He was replaced as closer by Dustin Hermanson and, while the White Sox went on to win the division and the World Series, Takatsu was released on August 1st.

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

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by admin

Franchise Four – AL Central

Major League Baseball is asking its fans to vote for the four most impactful players who best represent the history of each franchise.  The winners will be announced in July at the All Star Game in Cincinnati.  Today, I will give my Franchise Four picks for the American League Central, save the White Sox.

F4IndiansWith 6 of their 8 nominees debuting in the major leagues prior to 1950, the Indians representation is focused on their early successes, with the remaining 2 covering their renaissance in the 1990s.  The obvious choices are Nap Lajoie, for whom they owe their nickname, Tris Speaker, and Bob Feller.  For the final slot, I will go with the criminally overlooked Larry Doby, who gets none of the credit that Jackie Robinson gets despite facing the same challenges.

F4TigersThe Tigers nominees are more spread out across their long history, although their four selections are all fairly obvious.  With little thought, my picks here are Miguel Cabrera, Hank Greenberg, Ty Cobb, and Al Kaline.

F4Royals Continue reading →

by admin

#149 – Charlie Hough

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Name: Charlie Hough

Rank: 149

Position: P

Years With White Sox: 1991-1992

A month shy of his 43rd birthday, Charlie Hough signed with the White Sox as a free agent in December of 1990.  The knuckleballer filled out the rotation for a White Sox team that had surprising success in 1990 and looked to go further in their new stadium the following year.

Hough ended up going 9-10, failing to win 10 games for the first time since becoming a full-time starter in 1982.  His 4.02 ERA was second to only Jack McDowell in the starting rotation.

Hough returned to the White Sox in 1992.  He improved his ERA slightly to 3.93, but saw his record fall 7-12 in 27 starts.  He moved to the bullpen in August to make room for young starter Wilson Alvarez, but returned to the rotation to replace the struggling Greg Hibbard.

With the Marlins and Rockies joining the league for the 1993 season, the White Sox let Hough become a free agent, with the intention of bringing him back should the team lose a pitcher in the expansion draft.  They didn’t, so Hough signed elsewhere, ironically with the Marlins, ending his White Sox career.

Hough’s numbers in a White Sox uniform were:

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by admin

Franchise Four – NL Central

Major League Baseball is asking its fans to vote for the four most impactful players who best represent the history of each franchise.  The winners will be announced in July at the All Star Game in Cincinnati.  Today, I will give my Franchise Four picks for the National League Central, minus the Cubs.

F4Reds5 Hall of Famers should make this an easy choice, but the permanent exclusion of the all-time hit king adds a slight wrinkle to the proceedings for the Reds.  Let’s say that Johnny Bench and Frank Robinson hold down two of the spots.  That leaves Joe Morgan, Tony Perez, Barry Larkin, and Pete Rose for the final two slots.  I’m going to go with the exiled Rose and Morgan.

F4Brewers

For a franchise that dates back to 1969, the Brewers, once you get past Robin Yount and Paul Molitor, don’t have much to choose from.  Ryan Braun, despite his association with PEDs, get my third slot.  I guess I’d give the final position to Rollie Fingers.

F4Pirates Continue reading →

by admin

#150 – Reid Nichols

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Name: Reid Nichols

Rank: 150

Position: OF

Year With White Sox: 1985-1986

Reid Nichols joined the White Sox via a July 11, 1985 trade that sent Tim Lollar to the Red Sox.  His biggest moment with the White Sox came a little under a month later when, playing left field in Yankee Stadium, he caught the final out of Tom Seaver’s 300th career victory.  Nichols appeared in 51 games down the stretch, hitting .297 and driving in 15.

1986 was a different beast for Nichols, and the White Sox as a whole.  Caught up in the whirlwind that was the Hawk Harrelson era, Nichols saw his playing time reduced and his batting average drop.

He returned to the White Sox for spring training in 1987, but a rebuilding White Sox team, having just acquired outfielder Gary Redus from the Reds, decided to go in a different direction and, at the end of March, Nichols was released.

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

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by admin

Franchise Four – AL East

Major League Baseball is asking its fans to vote for the four most impactful players who best represent the history of each franchise.  The winners will be announced in July at the All Star Game in Cincinnati.  Today, I will give my Franchise Four picks for the American League East.

F4OriolesAt first glance, my picks for the Orioles were easy.  Upon further review, though, I find myself with 5 players for only 4 slots.  Cal Ripken Jr., Frank Robinson, and Jim Palmer take my first 3 slots.  The last one comes down to Brooks Robinson and Eddie Murray.  While Murray was by far the better offensive weapon, Robinson was quite possibly the best defensive third baseman of all time.  I’m going to stick with my initial gut feeling and go with Robinson.

F4RedSoxPlenty of Hall of Famers to choose from for the Red Sox, as 6 of the 8 have been elected to Cooperstown.  The first two slots have to go to Cy Young and Ted Williams, both of whom would be in the conversation for a league wide contest.  The final two slots would have to go to Carl Yastrzemski and newly elected Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez.  Conspicuous by his absence is Roger Clemens.

F4Yankees

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