Category / Baseball

by admin

#222 – Joe Magrane

magrane_staats

Name: Joe Magrane

Rank: 222

Position: P

Year With White Sox: 1996

After spending all of 1995 in the minor leagues while attempting to rehab from elbow injuries, Joe Magrane was sitting at home in February of 1996 when the White Sox offered him a non-roster invite to spring training.  “I’ll give it one last shot,” Magrane said. “I don’t know how it’ll work out.”  After being the most consistent left-hander in the bullpen, Magrane found himself breaking camp with the White Sox.

By early May, manager Terry Bevington had moved Magrane into the 5th starter role.  “Joe’s getting a lot of groundballs lately,” Bevington said, “and I like what he’s done. Of course, nothing is forever, but as of today he’s the No. 5.”  Forever lasted until mid June, when Mike Sirotka was called up and pushed Magrane back to the bullpen.  Five days later, the White Sox designated Magrane for assignment.  “We gave Joe a lot of chances,” general manager Ron Schueler said.  “Unfortuately for Joe, it just didn’t work out.”

Magrane spent the remainder of the season toiling away in Triple A before retiring at the end of the season.

Magrane’s numbers in a White Sox uniform were:

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by admin

Blockbuster

SamardzijaAs we head towards the trade deadline at the end of the month, everyone expected the Cubs to move both Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel.  I don’t think anyone expected them to go as part of the same deal.  Which is exactly what happened Friday night, when word leaked that the Cubs would send both pitchers to the A’s in exchange for Addison Russell, Billy McKinney, Dan Straily, and a player to be named later.

Russell, a shortstop, was the A’s first round draft pick in 2012 and the top prospect in their system.  The 20 year old, who has been compared to Barry Larkin with power by one scout, joins the collection of middle infield prospects the Cubs have assembled, including Javier Baez, 21, and current starter Starlin Castro, who is still only 24.  Assuming everything pans out, the Cubs will have flexibility to use their surplus at shortstop to fill other holes, most likely in the rotation.

McKinney, the A’s first round pick in last year’s draft, is an outfielder who was the 2nd rated prospect in the A’s system.  Straily garnered some support for AL rookie of the year last season, but struggled with Oakland this year and was back pitching in Triple A at the time of the trade.

Samardzija had been with the Cubs since being drafted out of Notre Dame in 2006.  He made his major league debut in 2008, working out of the bullpen for the division champions.  He moved in to the starting rotation in 2012 and has been the ace of the Cub’s staff ever since.  Hammel was signed as a free agent this past winter with the intention of flipping him to a contender, should he have a good first half.  He certainly held up his end of the bargain.

Samardzija’s numbers in a Cubs uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:
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by admin

#223 – Rob Dibble

dibble

Name: Rob Dibble

Rank: 223

Position: P

Year With White Sox: 1995

After rotator cuff surgery forced him to miss the entire 1994 season, Rob Dibble signed with the White Sox as a free agent in late February of 1995.  Dibble got off to a tremendous start with his new team, claiming that replacement players were “going to be labeled like child molesters for the rest of their lives,” which earned him a suspension during spring training.

Once the season got underway, Dibble found other, performance-related reasons to let down his new club.  Unfortunately, the arm injuries robbed him of both his command and his velocity, which left him as a pretty ineffective option out of Gene Lamont’s and Terry Bevington’s bullpen.  His WHIP was well over 2, and the last straw came in mid-July when he was suspended 3 games for throwing at Brewers second baseman Pat Listach’s head.  Before he could serve the suspension, the White Sox waived the troubled reliever, bringing his brief South Side career to an end.

Dibble’s numbers in a White Sox uniform were:

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by admin

#224 – Danny Darwin

DARWIN

Name: Danny Darwin

Rank: 224

Position: P

Year With White Sox: 1997

41-year old Danny Darwin signed with the White Sox for his 20th big league season on February 7, 1997.  Darwin was 4-8 with a 4.13 ERA in 17 starts for a White Sox squad that found itself only 3 1/2 games out of first place in the AL Central on July 31.  Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf did not see a bright future for the team, however, and allowed general manager Ron Schueler to pull the trigger on what would become known as the “White Flag” trade, sending Darwin, along with Wilson Alvarez and Roberto Hernandez, to the Giants in exchange for Keith Foulke, Bob Howry, Lorenzo Barcelo, Ken Vining, Mike Caruso, and Brian Manning.

Darwin called it “one of the most bizarre trades I’ve ever seen” and predicted that future free agents may think twice about joining the South Siders.  “If they need one or two players to get over the hump, it may hurt them in the future,” Darwin said. “I think (the trade) will be in the back of some guys’ minds–`Do I want to go over there?’ You hear (Reinsdorf) say: `You’ve got to be crazy to think we’re going to catch Cleveland.’ Do you want to play for someone like that?”

Darwin’s numbers in a White Sox uniform were:

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by admin

Good Riddance, Scott Downs

Scott DownsAfter a week that saw the White Sox drop 6 out of 7 games, all of which they had an opportunity to win if their bullpen wasn’t made out of swiss cheese, the team started to purge itself of the dead weight by designating Scott Downs for assignment.  Downs, who signed a one year deal for $4 million during the offseason with an option for 2015, displayed no actual pitching talent this season beyond coming in to walk the one left handed batter he was brought in to face.

His last appearance on a mound for the White Sox came Wednesday night, when he sported a giant smirk on his face after being brought in to face Chris Davis and walking him to load the bases before a grand slam tied the game.  He finishes his White Sox career with a 6.08 ERA and 15 walks in 23 2/3 innings, but, because he is left handed, he will likely be given additional chances to blow games for someone else this year.

by admin

#225 – Gene Nelson

genenelson

Name: Gene Nelson

Rank: 225

Position: P

Years With White Sox: 1984-1986

With the White Sox struggling to repeat as AL West Champions in 1984, they swung a deal with the Mariners on June 27 to swap relief pitchers, sending Salome Barojas out west in exchange for Jerry Don Gleaton and Gene Nelson.  Nelson, who had been in Triple A for the Mariners, came to the big leagues with the White Sox and split his time between the rotation and bullpen, starting 9 of his 20 appearances.

In 1985, Nelson was penciled in to work strictly out of the pen.  “It was tough to adjust after starting for so long,” he said.  “It was a matter of learning the mental parts of the game in the bullpen.”  However, an injury to Richard Dotson and the ineffectiveness of Bruce Tanner forced manager Tony LaRussa to move Nelson back in to the rotation in early July.  By year’s end, Nelson had completed his first full big league season with 46 appearances, 18 of them as a starter.

1986 saw Nelson back in the bullpen full time, save one emergency start due to the death of Tom Seaver’s mother.  He appeared in a career-high 54 games and posted his best ERA to date.  In December, the White Sox packaged Nelson with Bruce Tanner and sent him to the A’s in exchange for second baseman Donnie Hill.

Nelson’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were: Continue reading →

by admin

RIP Tony Gwynn

tony-gwynn-padres-rf-1984Former San Diego Padre great Tony Gwynn passed away this morning at the age of 54.  Gwynn had been battling cancer of the salivary glands since 2011, which he ascribed to a lifetime use of chewing tobacco.  After a 20 year career, all with the Padres, that ended with 3141 hits and a lifetime batting average of .338 following the 2001 season, Gwynn was a first ballot Hall of Famer in 2007.

I only saw Gwynn play once in person, during a July 8, 1985 NLCS rematch between the Padres and the Cubs.  Gwynn went 2-5 on the day as the Padres once again bested the North Siders.

Over my nearly-40 years, many of the sporting heroes of my youth have passed away.  For some reason, this one has hit me particularly hard.  Cancer shows itself once again to be a heartless bitch that doesn’t care who you are or what you’ve accomplished.

by admin

#226 – Scott Ruffcorn

Scott-Ruffcorn

Name: Scott Ruffcorn

Rank: 226

Position: P

Years With White Sox: 1993-1996

Scott Ruffcorn was the White Sox first round draft pick out of Baylor University in 1991.  The previous 4 White Sox first round picks, Jack McDowell, Robin Ventura, Frank Thomas, and Alex Fernandez, were leading the White Sox to their first division title in a decade when Ruffcorn made his major league debut on June 19, 1993 against the Angels, taking the place of an injured Kirk McCaskill.  When Ron Karkovice separated his shoulder during the game, Ruffcorn was sent back to the minors to make room for another catcher on the roster.  He returned to the majors in September and made two additional appearances.

When Scott Sanderson had a tremendous spring in 1994 to force his way in to the starting rotation, it forced Ruffcorn to start the year in Triple A.  As July rolled around, Sanderson had started to struggle and Ruffcorn was called up to take his slot in the rotation.  Sadly, he didn’t last long, giving up seven runs and nine hits over 4 innings.  Manager Gene Lamont said that Ruffcorn “needed to get over his nervousness,” but his next start also did not go well.  Facing the Royals, he gave up 4 runs before being pulled in the third inning.  He was demoted back to Triple A before the strike in August wiped out the remainder of the season.

After an abbreviated spring training in 1995, Ruffcorn broke camp with the White Sox, earning a spot in the bullpen.  He walked six in 1 2/3 innings against the Red Sox in his second appearance of the year, and by mid-May, he was back in Triple A, with reporter Dave Van Dyck writing that Ruffcorn was “ruined forever because the Sox rushed him to judgment.”

Ruffcorn finished his White Sox career in 1996, appearing in 3 final games but getting the same results.  He ended up with 0 wins and a career ERA of 9.68 and the “record” for most consecutive seasons with an ERA over 7.00.  In January of 1997, he was purchased by the Phillies.

Ruffcorn’s numbers in a White Sox uniform were:

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by jim

The Boys Of Zimmer

zimFormer Cub manager Don Zimmer passed away Wednesday evening.  A baseball lifer, Zimmer started his career in professional baseball in 1949 and wore a uniform until earlier this year, when he underwent heart surgery and, sadly, never left the hospital.  Zimmer first came to the Cubs as a player in 1960.  He left for the Mets in the expansion draft after the 1961 season.

In 1984, he returned to the North side as third base coach when his high school pal Jim Frey was named manager.  The Cubs surpised everyone by winning their first division title and heading to the post-season for the first time since 1945.  When Frey became the team’s general manager following the 1987 season, he hired Don Zimmer to be his manager.  One year later, the so-called Boys of Zimmer led the Cubs to their second divisional title in 6 seasons.  In 1991, after demanding a contract extension from Tribune executive Donald Grenesko, Zimmer was fired.

After leaving the Cubs, Zimmer bounced around a bit as a coach before teaming up with Joe Torre in New York for their string of 4 World Series titles in 5 seasons starting in 1996.  He left the team in 2003 after, what else, an argument with George Steinbrenner.  He had spent the last decade as a senior advisor for the Tampa Bay Rays.  Starting in 2008, he was the last member of the Brooklyn Dodgers to still hold a field position.

After 66 years in baseball, Don Zimmer leaves behind many friends and admirers.  Nearly everyone involved in the game has a story about Zimmer, and they’ve all been retold over the past few days.  Somewhere, I’m sure Zimmer would enjoy sitting around a clubhouse being part of those retellings.

by admin

#227 – Royce Clayton

royceclayton

Name: Royce Clayton

Rank: 227

Position: SS

Years With White Sox: 2001-2002

Following their division title in 2000, the White Sox looked to improve their defense by moving Jose Valentin to center field and acquiring Royce Clayton from the Rangers in exchange for Aaron Myette and Brian Schmack.  Unfortunately, things went south for both the White Sox and Clayton.  On June 25, when the White Sox reached .500 for the first time since early April, Clayton went 2-4 and managed to raise his average to a season-high .180.  He also decided that was the perfect time to criticize manager Jerry Manuel for not playing him every day.

“If I don’t [hit] I’m on the bench,” Clayton said.  “I know what I’m dealing with now.  Early in the season I really wasn’t aware of it.  Now I am aware of what I have to do in order to play, and I have a problem with it.”  Did I mention he was hitting .180 at the end of June?  Somehow, Clayton managed to raise his average to .263 by the end of the year, but his relationship with Sox fans and management seemed irreparable.

Clayton was back at shortstop in 2002, with Jose Valentin shifted now to third base.  Despite a good spring, Clayton again struggled as the season began, with his average at .198 at the end of May, leading to another benching from Manual.  Again, he did eventually manage to raise his average to .251, but the damage had been done and, with 3 weeks left in the season, he was released.  “It’s for the best,” Clayton said.  “I wasn’t playing here.  A couple weeks left, maybe I’ll go play somewhere else for the remainder of the season and help somebody else.  It’s best to put the situation behind me as soon as possible and go on.”

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

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