Category / Baseball

by admin

#277 – Carl Willis

carl_willis_autograph

Name: Carl Willis

Rank: 277

Position: P

Year With White Sox: 1988

Carl Willis was acquired by the White Sox from the Reds for minor leaguer Darrell Pruitt on January 19, 1988.  Willis spent the majority of the 1988 season at Triple A Vancouver.  He did make 6 appearances for the White Sox, but his 8.26 ERA was not very impressive.  Unless you were the California Angels, who selected him in the minor league draft on December 6, ending Willis’ association with the White Sox.

Willis’ numbers in a White Sox uniform were:

Continue reading →

by admin

2013 Final Pitching Leaders

Last week we looked at the leaders in games I attended this year on the offensive side of the ball. Today, let’s take a look at the pitchers.

Wins

Name Total
Chris Sale 2
Jake Peavy 2
24 tied with 1

Losses

Name Total
Chris Sale 3
Jose Quintana 3
23 tied with 1

ERA (> 6 IP)

Name Total
Kevin Correia 0.00
Justin Masterson 0.00
Wade Davis 0.00
Jesse Crain 1.04
Ricky Nolasco 1.17

Strikeouts

Name Total
Chris Sale 44
Continue reading →
by jim

10 Years Ago Today

BartmanGameAfter taking 2 out of 3 games in Florida, the Cubs returned home needing to win 1 game to go to their first World Series in 58 years, and their top two starters, Mark Prior and Kerry Wood, were scheduled to take the bump for games 6 and 7.  Prior was dominant in Game 6, giving up only 3 hits heading in to the 8th inning.  The crowd was starting to anticipate that, after years of futility, their team was about to make it to the promised land.  With only 5 outs standing between the Cubs and the World Series, Luis Castillo came up to bat against Prior and hit a foul ball down the left field line.

That’s when things started to fall apart, and one man’s life was, at least temporarily, destroyed.

Tonight is the 10 year anniversary of what has become known as the Steve Bartman game.  From my vantage point in the upper deck down the left field line, I couldn’t see the play as it happened.  The ball disappeared as the 400 section blocked my view, but, based on the crowd’s reaction, you could tell instantly that something could happen.  The replays quickly showed what we had missed, that a young man, decked out in a goofy sweatshirt, Cubs hat, and bulky Walkman headphones, tried to catch the foul ball, getting in the way of left fielder Moises Alou, who was not exactly hiding his displeasure.  The crowd grew angry and, as we would later learn, Bartman had to be escorted from the stadium for his own safety.

Continue reading →

by admin

Ballpark Tour: Great American Ball Park

GABP

Stadium Name: Great American Ball Park

Location: Cincinnati

Home Team: Reds

Years in Service: 2003 – Present

Visits: 7

After 32 1/2 seasons at Riverfront Stadium, the Reds moved next door to the newly built Great American Ball Park for the 2003 season, opening against the Pittsburgh Pirates.  Bronze statues of former stars Joe Nuxhall, Ernie Lombardi, Ted Kluszewski, and Frank Robinson are located in front of the main entrance.

Less than a month into the stadium’s existence, I made my first trip to the GABP with my friend Scott, who had moved to the Cincinnati area, to see the Reds take on the Padres.  The next season, the Cubs opened their season in Cincinnati against the Reds, so another trip was in order, where Vice President Dick Cheney threw out the first pitch..  In August of 2005, I attended the Reds game against the Diamondbacks, kicking off a string of 3 stadiums in 3 states in 9 days.  In 2006, the Cubs once again opened their season on the road against the Reds and again it constituted a road trip down to see, where this time President George W Bush threw out the first pitch.  I made a return trip that summer for interleague play to see the White Sox battle the Reds.  In 2007, when the Cubs were looking the clinch the division, I made the trip down, but missed it by one day.  The next year, I made my final, to date, trip down to Cincinnati and saw the Rockies defeat the Reds.

Of all the newer stadiums that have opened over the past 20 years, Great American Ball Park does not often illicit the praise that the others get.  However, I like it.  It’s a fine place to see a game and has plenty of the modern amenities that are required here in the 21st century.  I wouldn’t hesitate to return, despite the fact that it has been 5 years since I’ve been there.

by admin

#278 – Jerry Royster

Jerry Royster (1987 White Sox) 2

Name: Jerry Royster

Rank: 278

Position: 3B/LF

Year With White Sox: 1987

Veteran infielder Jerry Royster joined the White Sox as a free agent in January of 1987.  “My biggest concern when I took over the team wasn’t our starters as much as our depth,” said then-Sox general manager Larry Himes. “With the previous acquisitions of Hill and Manrique, Jerry solidifies our infield. We can cover ourselves at all positions for 162 games.”

Royster moved into the starting lineup, platooning with Steve Lyons, in late June when manager Jim Fregosi sent Tim Hulett back to Triple A.  He put up a .240 average in 55 games through late August.

On August 26, his time with the White Sox came to an end when he was traded to the Yankees, along with minor leaguer Mike Soper, in exchange for lefty reliever Ken Patterson and a minor league player to be named later.

Interesting note on career minor leaguer Soper, an infielder who, at the time of this trade, had been part of a White Sox-Yankees trade three times over the previous two years.

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

Continue reading →

by admin

2013 Final Batting Leaders

Another season has come to a disappointing end with both Chicago teams bringing up the bottom of their division.  Let’s take a look back at the offensive leaders for the games I attended this year.

Home Runs

Name Total
Adam Dunn 7
Alex Rios 4
Oswaldo Arcia 2
Jeff Baker 2
Alexei Ramirez 2
Asdrubal Cabrera 2
Jordan Danks 2

Hits

Name Total
Alexei Ramirez 32
Alejandro de Aza 31
Continue reading →
by admin

2013 Predictions Revisited

MLB: Cincinnati Reds at Los Angeles DodgersBack in April, on the eve of the 2013 baseball season, I looked into my crystal ball and tried to predict the outcomes of the division races and the major awards.  Now that the season has come to an end the playoffs are in full swing, let’s take a look back at how things unfolded and how wrong my predictions were.

American League

East: Rays

Nobody really predicted the Red Sox bouncing back from their miserable 2012 campaign and winning the division this year.  The Rays, meanwhile, managed to beat the Rangers in the tie-breaker game and make it as the second wild card.

Central: Tigers

This one was practically a no-brainer, although the Indians did make a race of it.

West: Angels

The Angels once again made a huge splash in the free agency market and then underachieved miserably during the season.  The A’s, despite their precarious stadium and underfunded roster, took the division handily.

Wild Cards: Blue Jays, A’s

Despite totally remaking their roster, the Blue Jays failed to reach the playoffs once again.  The Indians and the Rays were the actual wild card teams.  Overall, for the AL, I managed to get one division winner correct and 3 of the 5 playoff teams correct.

National League

Continue reading →

by admin

Ballpark Tour: The Ballpark In Arlington/Ameriquest Field

Stadium Name: The Ballpark In Arlington/Ameriquest Field

Location: Arlington

Home Team: Rangers

Years in Service: 1994 – Present

Visits: 7

After spending their entire history at nearby Arlington Stadium, the Texas Rangers broke ground on their new stadium on April 2, 1992 and held their first game there nearly two years later, on April 11, 1994 against the Brewers.  The stadium was known by the somewhat clunky moniker of The Ballpark in Arlington until May of 2004, when Ameriquest bought the naming rights.  That deal ended in March of 2007, and the stadium was renamed again, this time to Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.  The stadium also includes a Rangers Hall of Fame, which includes historical artifacts from the team along with visiting collections from Cooperstown.

I made my first trip to the Ballpark on May 22, 1998, to see the Rangers defeat the Royals during a visit to the Dallas area to see my dad.  I returned in 2001 for two games, against the Tigers and 2 days later against the White Sox.  In 2005, on my last trip to the area to date, I took in the entire 4 game series between the Rangers and the eventual World Series champion White Sox.

Having never been to Arlington Stadium, I can’t compare the two, but I would assume that the Ballpark is a vast improvement over its predecessor.  The only downside I noticed in the games I attended was a day game under the hot Texas sun.  There’s not much to be done about that, however, without adding a retractable roof that would likely downgrade the overall stadium experience.

by admin

#279 – David Wells

David Wells #33, Josh Paul #27

Name: David Wells

Rank: 279

Position: P

Year With White Sox: 2001

After the White Sox surprised everyone to win the AL Central title in 2000, new general manager Kenny Williams thought the team was an ace pitcher away from winning the World Series.  To that end, he struck a deal with the Blue Jays to acquire David Wells, along with Matt DeWitt, for Mike Williams, Kevin Beirne, Brian Simmons, and Mike Sirotka.  Wells’ White Sox career began under a cloud of controversy when Sirotka was determined to be injured and ultimately never pitched for the Blue Jays, or anyone else, again.  The Blue Jays asked for the trade to be overturned, but Commissioner Bud Selig ruled for the White Sox.

Things did not work out so well for the White Sox either.  The team, and Wells, struggled and were unable to repeat their performance from the year before.  Wells went 5-7 with a 4.47 ERA in 16 starts before being shut down with back problems.

After the season, Wells became a free agent, ending his brief White Sox career.

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

Continue reading →

by admin

2013 Final Standings

MLB: Cincinnati Reds at Los Angeles DodgersA miserable baseball season in the city of Chicago came to an end last weekend, with the White Sox and the Cubs combining for the most losses in the history of the teams sharing the city.  I saw less than half of the teams in the league this year, and attended on 29 games, the fewest I’ve seen since I started getting Cub season tickets back in 2002.  On the bright side, the White Sox and Cubs will both draft in the top 5 next June, which will hopefully help them both get back to the top of their respective Central divisions sooner rather than later.

That said, here’s our final look at the records in games I attended this past season.

 
TeamCity TeamName Won Loss Winning Pctg
Cleveland Indians 4 0 1
Tampa Bay Rays 2 0 1
Chicago Cubs 2 0 1
Minnesota Twins 4 1 0.8
Kansas City Royals 3 1 0.75
Los Angeles Angels 1 1 0.5
Chicago White Sox 11 16 0.407407407407407
Continue reading →