Category / Baseball

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Position Players Pitching

In the mid-2010s, putting in a position player to pitch in an effort to save overworked bullpens became more popular than ever before in the history of Major League Baseball.  Starting in 2023, rules changes restricted position players from pitching unless their team is leading by ten or more runs in the 9th inning, their team is losing by eight or more runs at any time, or the game is in extra innings.  This weekend, i saw my tenth eighth position player pitch, so it seemed like a good time to review.

5/6/2017
With a depleted bullpen and down by five against the Yankees, Joe Maddon turned to catcher Miguel Montero to pitch the final inning.  Montero’s inning could generously be called effectively wild, as he walked two and sailed one pitch over Chris Carter’s head but managed to escape without giving up a run.  Maddon’s notion to avoid going back to his bullpen proved prescient, as the following night the two teams went 18 innings, with the Cubs losing by one.

7/6/2017
Exactly two months later, Maddon again turned to his bench rather than his bullpen as the Brewers held a nine-run lead heading into the 9th inning.  This time he turned to veteran outfielder Jon Jay, who gave up just one hit while retiring the Brewers on just 16 pitches.

6/22/2019
Wrigley Field was again the stage for our next installment of position players pitching, as catcher Victor Caratini took the mound for the 9th inning with the Cubs down 10-1 to the Mets.  He did his part, throwing a 1-2-3 inning and giving the Cubs a chance to mount a comeback in the bottom of the 9th.  The rally fell short, however, as the Cubs lost 10-2.

8/17/2021
We move to the South Side for our next occurrence, this time for an opponent.  With the White Sox leading the A’s 9-0, first baseman Mitch Moreland came out to face the White Sox in the bottom of the 8th.  Facing the bottom of the batting order, Moreland gave up a single to Danny Mendick en route to a scoreless outing.

9/16/2021
Nearly a month later, the shoe was on the other foot as the White Sox were losing 9-3 to the Angels at Guaranteed Rate Field.  With two outs in the top of the 9th, Rick Renteria picks Romy Gonzalez to nail down the final out.  With Shohei Ohtani on first base, Gonzalez strikes out Max Stassi on four pitches to end the inning.

7/9/2022
With pitching in his genes, Kody Clemens took the mound for the bottom of the 8th with his Tigers trailing the White Sox 8-0.  Clemens did what none of his fellow Tigers could accomplish that day, giving up no hits and retiring the side on only fourteen pitches.

4/3/2023
The Giants had a big 7-3 lead against the White Sox heading into the 9th inning when Jose Ruiz took the mound looking to hold the line.  Instead, he faced six batters, giving up five runs on two home runs while only getting a single out.  Down by nine, rookie manager Pedro Grifol brought in infielder Hanser Alberto to mop up.  He gave up two hits but wrapped up the inning without giving up a run.

5/1/2025
With the White Sox holding a surprising 8-0 lead over the Brewers, Jake Bauers, who started the game in left field, came in to pitch the bottom of the 8th.  He quickly put down the White Sox, getting a 1-2-3 inning on just ten pitches.

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Connecting The City 2.0

Back in 2021, Nike announced they would be introducing City Connect uniforms to Major League Baseball, reimagining each team’s look to “celebrate[s] the bond between each team and its city.”  The White Sox were one of the first to get a City Connect, the infamous Southside set that was widely recognized as one of, if not the best rendition of the initial go-arounds.  Each City Connect uniform combination was intended to last for three years.

Four years later, the second wave of City Connects are being released and the White Sox will likely find themselves on the bottom of most rankings.  Announced yesterday, the new uniform set is the first collaboration between the MLB and NBA, as the jerseys basically adopt the Chicago Bulls look, with red jerseys with black pinstripes, black sleeves, and Chicago across the chest in a very Bulls-like wordmark.

First, the good: I like the black hat with the winged sock logo and the red brim.  And that’s about it.  The jersey looks like a cheap generic that you would pick up at Walgreens or Osco, not something a major league team would wear.  The black pants have red stripes down the sides with “SOUTHSIDE” repeated in black within the stripe.  Overall, this seems like a lazy, bottom of the barrel idea and I can’t see how this City Connect program will last long-term if they are already down to ideas like this.

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Ballpark Tour: White Sox

With Opening Day in the books, it is time to wrap up our tour of all of the baseball stadiums I’ve been to over the years with the ones I’ve been to the most: the homes of the Chicago White Sox.  Between the two stadiums that have been located at the corners of 35th and Shields, I’ve seen at least 668 games, all but one of which have involved the White Sox.  So, without further ado, let’s take a deeper look at my history with Comiskey Park and the facility currently known as Rate Field.

Stadium Name: Comiskey Park

Years in Service: 1910 – 1990

Visits: 13 (that I’m aware of)

Comiskey Park, the so-called Baseball Palace of the World, was the home of the White Sox from 1910 through the 1990 season.  Built on a former city dump at the corner of 35th Street and Shields Avenue, the stadium opened on July 1, 1910, as the White Sox lost to the St. Louis Browns 2-0.  The final game for the old ballyard occurred on September 30, 1990, a 2-1 victory over the Mariners.

Comiskey Park was the host for four World Series, including three in a row from 1917-1919.  The White Sox won the World Series in 1917 against the New York Giants.  The Cubs, looking for a larger seating capacity, moved their home games in the 1918 series against the Red Sox to Comiskey Park.  The 1919 World Series, of course, was the Black Sox scandal, where the White Sox threw the series against the Reds.  The White Sox returned to the World Series 40 years later in 1959 but fell to the Dodgers.  The final post-season games to be played in Comiskey Park were games 3 and 4 of the 1983 ALCS, which the White Sox lost to the Baltimore Orioles.

Comiskey Park was also the host to three All-Star games.  The first All-Star game, in 1933, was held in conjunction with Century of Progress Exposition being held on Chicago’s lakefront.  The event returned to Chicago’s south side in 1950 and the final All-Star game at Comiskey Park was in 1983, the 50th anniversary of the first game.  Comiskey Park was also the frequent home of the Negro League East-West All-Star Game from 1933 to 1960.

Looking back, I’ve now been able to piece together evidence of 13 games that I attended at Comiskey Park, either from pictures, stadium giveaways, or specific memories.  I know there are more, but I have not been able to pinpoint exact games as of yet.  The most memorable game I can remember would be the final night game, on September 29, 1990, where, after the game, the lights were symbolically turned off for the final time.

Stadium Name: Comiskey Park II/US Cellular Field/Guaranteed Rate Field/Rate Field

Years in Service: 1991 – Present

Visits: 655

On the evening of June 30, 1988, with the clock literally stopped, the Illinois legislature passed a bill that provided the financing for a new stadium for the White Sox, stopping them from moving to St. Petersburg, Florida.  Two and a half years later, on April 18, 1991, Comiskey Park II opened, the first new major facility built in Chicago since the erection of the Chicago Stadium in 1929.  Sadly, the White Sox were embarrassed by the Tigers, losing 16-0 in the opening of their new park.

Unfortunately for the White Sox, the new Comiskey Park was the last stadium to be built prior to the wave of retro ballparks that started with the opening of Camden Yards the following year.  Because of this, there have been numerous renovations to the park, starting in 2001 with the addition of nearly 2000 seats and the relocation of the bullpens.  More extensive renovations began in 2003 in preparation for that season’s All-Star Game and using the money generated from selling the naming rights to US Cellular, and continued through 2007, when the replacement of the blue seats with green seats was completed.  Less extensive renovations have occurred since, replacing the different video boards and creating premium seating areas.

The post-season came to the new Comiskey Park for the first time in 1993, as the White Sox battled the Blue Jays in the ALCS.  The stadium hosted its first World Series games in 2005, the first to be played in the city of Chicago since 1959, as the White Sox went on to sweep the Houston Astros and win their first World Series since 1917.

I attended my first game at the new Comiskey Park on April 20, 1991, the second game in the stadium’s history.  Since then, I’ve been to 654 other games at the stadium, the majority coming from 2005 on, when I became a season ticket holder.  I went to both games of the 2000 ALDS, which the White Sox lost to the Mariners, both games of the 2005 ALDS, which the White Sox won against the Red Sox, both games of the 2005 ALCS, which the White Sox split against the Angels, and game 2 of the 2005 World Series.  I attended game 163 of the 2008 season to break the tie between the White Sox and the Twins. and then the two ALDS games against the Rays, the first time I saw the White Sox actually end a post-season series, either in victory or defeat.

Notable regular season games I’ve seen at what is now known as Guaranteed Rate Field include the September 18, 2001 game against the Yankees as baseball returned following the attacks of 9/11, the April 16, 2005 game where Mark Buehrle defeated the Mariners in 1 hour and 39 minutes, the April 2, 2006 season opener against the Indians when the World Series championship banner was raised, the April 4, 2006 game where the players received their World Series rings, and the September 16, 2007 game where Jim Thome hit his 500th career home run against the Angels.  Not to mention a streak of 24 consecutive home openers.

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All Time Team Records

After a long winter, the North American portion of the 2025 baseball season is set to get underway tomorrow.  To celebrate, it is time once again to look at the all-time team records for games that I have identified as having attended dating back to 1984.  Last year, I posted my lowest total since 2001, a decrease of 16 games from the year before, and managed to see 20 out of the 30 teams, so there should be some nice changes.

The White Sox are coming off the most losses in modern major league history and may be hard-pressed to avoid breaking that record again this year.  On the other side of town, the Cubs made some big moves to get back into playoff contention.  The 2025 season may look completely different on each side of town.

All-Time Team Records

Team Name Won Loss Winning Pctg
California Angels 2 0 1.000
Arizona Diamondbacks 16 4 0.800
Cleveland Guardians 4 2 0.667
Florida Marlins 15 8 0.652
New York Yankees 19 12 0.613
Toronto Blue Jays 18 12 0.600
Philadelphia Phillies 13 9 0.591
Colorado Rockies 11 8 0.579
Boston Red Sox 21 16 0.568
Los Angeles Angels 20 16 0.556
Washington Nationals 7 6 0.538
Detroit Tigers 35 30 0.538
Cleveland Indians 31 27 0.534
Chicago Cubs 238 215 0.525
Houston Astros 26 25 0.510
Chicago White Sox 372 360 0.508
Continue reading →
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2025 Predictions

With the Cubs and Dodgers having already gotten their seasons off to an early start in Tokyo, the North American portion of the 2025 baseball season is scheduled to kick off on Thursday, with a full slate of games featuring all 30 teams.  For the fifteenth consecutive year, I’ve looked into the crystal ball to make my picks for the upcoming season.

American League

East: Red Sox

Central: Guardians

West: Mariners

Wild Cards: Rays, Twins, Orioles

AL Champion: Guardians

Cy Young: Garrett Crochet

MVP: Julio Rodriguez

National League

Continue reading →

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Active Pitching Leaders – Through 2024

Last weekend, we looked at the active leaders in games I’ve attended through 2024 on the offensive side of the ball.  With spring training winding down and Opening Day just a few days away, let’s take a look at the defensive side of the ball and the active pitching leaders.

Wins

Name Total
Chris Sale 21
Lucas Giolito 12
Reynaldo Lopez 10
Jose Quintana 9
Dylan Cease 7
Lance Lynn 7

Losses

Name Total
Jose Quintana 17
Carlos Rodon 13
Chris Sale 12
Lucas Giolito 9
Kyle Hendricks 9

ERA (> 35 IP)

Name Total
David Robertson 2.13
Taijuan Walker 2.25
Liam Hendriks 2.88
Johnny Cueto 2.97
Chris Sale 3.09

ERA (> 70 IP)

Name Total
Johnny Cueto 2.97
Chris Sale 3.09
Dylan Cease 3.15
Aaron Bummer 3.31
Reynaldo Lopez 3.64

Strikeouts

Name Total
Chris Sale 313
Jose Quintana 214
Lucas Giolito 185
Continue reading →
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Ballpark Tour: Cubs

With spring training wrapping up this week and Opening Day just days away, we wind down our tour of all of the different baseball stadiums I’ve been to over the years. This week, we have our penultimate entry from the north side of Chicago. So, without further ado, let’s take a deeper look at my history with Wrigley Field.

Stadium Name: Wrigley Field

Years in Service: 1914 – Present

Visits: 388 (that I’m aware of)

Weeghman Park, home of the Chicago Chifeds of the Federal League, opened on April 23, 1914.  When the Federal League folded in December of 1915, team owner Charles Weeghman was allowed to buy the rival Chicago Cubs and immediately moved them from the dilapidated West Side Park and into his stadium for the 1916 season.  The Cubs played their first game at Weeghman Park on April 20, 1916, besting the Cincinnati Reds 7–6 in eleven innings.

That year, Weeghman sold a minority interest in the Cubs to chewing gum magnate William Wrigley.  As Weeghman’s financial fortunes started to decline, Wrigley acquired an increasing number of shares in the club and took on a growing role in the team’s affairs until November 1918, when Weeghman gave up his remaining interest to Wrigley, resigned as president, and left baseball for good. Wrigley would acquire complete control of the Cubs by 1921, and, prior to the start of the 1927 season, the park was officially renamed Wrigley Field.

William’s son, Philip K. Wrigley, had intended to install lights at Wrigley Field prior to the 1942 season.  However, when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in December of 1941 and the US entered World War II, Wrigley donated the materials for the lights to the war effort.  The Cubs eventually became the only team without lights, continuing to play day games at home exclusively until 1988, when lights were finally installed.  To this day, the Cubs are still limited in the number of night games they may schedule per season, though that number has increased significantly since the late 80s.

As Wrigley Field continues in its second century, renovations to the stadium to make it economically viable for the 21st century are nearly complete.  Expanded clubhouses and new training facilities have been put in place for the players, both home and away.  New scoreboards, rebuilt bleachers, new clubs, and expanded concourses have been put in place for the fans.

I’ve managed to identify 388 games I’ve attended at Wrigley Field, most of them since 2002, when I became a season ticket holder.  After years of futility with the occasional bit of success tossed in, the Cubs saw sustained success for the first time in decades to close out the 2010s but have struggled to repeat it since.

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Active Batting Leaders – Through 2024

Last month, we looked at the overall leaders on both sides of the ball from all of the games I’ve attended between 1984 and 2024.  With the end of spring training in sight, Opening Day is right around the corner.  Let’s take another look at those numbers, limiting it to players that are still active heading into the 2025 season.

Home Runs

Name Total
Jose Abreu 49
Tim Anderson 24
Luis Robert 22
Yoan Moncada 16
Avisail Garcia 15
Andrew Vaughn 15

Hits

Name Total
Jose Abreu 273
Tim Anderson 218
Yoan Moncada 133
Avisail Garcia 101
Eloy Jimenez 98

Runs

Name Total
Jose Abreu 129
Tim Anderson 117
Yoan Moncada 64
Avisail Garcia 58
Luis Robert 56

RBI

Name Total
Jose Abreu 159
Tim Anderson 73
Yoan Moncada Continue reading →
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Ballpark Tour: Brewers

Spring training is in full swing and opening day is about a month away, as we continue our tour of all of the baseball stadiums I’ve been to over the years. The closest city, outside of Chicago, for baseball, contains the homes of the Milwaukee Brewers. Between the two stadiums that have been located in the heart of cheeseland, I’ve seen 8 games. So, without further ado, let’s take a deeper look at my history with County Stadium and Miller Park.

Stadium Name: County Stadium

Years in Service: 1953 – 2000

Visits: 1

Milwaukee County Stadium was built with the intention of drawing a major league baseball team to Milwaukee, and it worked quicker than anybody would have expected, as the Braves announced they would be moving from Boston 3 weeks before the stadium, and the 1953 season, opened.  The Braves would call Milwaukee home for the next 13 seasons before leaving for Atlanta for the 1966 season.

During the 1968 and 1969 seasons, the struggling Chicago White Sox wound up playing 20 home games at County Stadium in an effort to keep the baseball fandom alive in Milwaukee.  In 1970, local businessman Bud Selig purchased the expansion Seattle Pilots out of bankruptcy court and moved them to Milwaukee and rechristened them the Brewers.  The Brewers would call County Stadium home until 2000, when they would move next door in to the newly built Miller Park.

I made one trip up to County Stadium for a White Sox/Brewers tilt on July 18, 1993.  The White Sox were victorious thank to a 2-run single by Bo Jackson in the 9th inning. I remember sitting out in the bleachers, but, beyond that, have no particular memory of the stadium or what amenities, if any, it offered.

Stadium Name: Miller Park/American Family Field

Years in Service: 2003 – Present

Visits: 7

The Brewers broke ground on a new stadium on November 9, 1996, in a parking lot behind County Stadium, with plans to open the park for the 2000 season.  Construction was delayed in 1999 after a crane collapsed while lifting a 400-ton roof section, killing three workers.  This caused the opening to be delayed for a year, and the new Miller Park did not open until April 6, 2001.  In 2007, the stadium hosted an Indians series against the Angels after snowstorms in Cleveland forced the cancellation of the previous series against the Mariners.  The Astros called Miller Park home for two games in 2008 when Hurricane Ike stormed through Houston.  Prior to the 2021 season, the park was renamed American Family Field

I made the first of my seven visits to Miller Park during the inaugural season of 2001.  That May 7th contest had the Cubs squeaking out a 7-6 victory against the hosting Brewers.  My most recent trip up north was this past summer, to once again see the Cubs battle (or destroy) the Brewers.  Miller Park was a vastly superior replacement over County Stadium, and I’ve enjoyed each of my subsequent trips up to Milwaukee to see the local ballclubs.

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Ballpark Tour: Reds

Spring training is in full swing and opening day is coming up in a little less than 3 weeks, as we continue our tour of all of the baseball stadiums I’ve been to over the years.  Now tied for my most visited city, outside of Chicago for baseball contains the homes of the Cincinnati Reds.  Between the two stadiums that have been located on the riverfront of the Ohio River, I’ve seen 8 games.  So, without further ado, let’s take a deeper look at my history with Cinergy Field and Great American Ball Park.

Stadium Name: Riverfront Stadium/Cinergy Field

Years in Service: 1970 – 2002

Visits: 1

Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati’s version of the cookie cutter stadium that popped up in the late 60s and early 70s, opened on June 30, 1970 as the Reds hosted the Atlanta Braves.  In 1996, the stadium was renamed Cinergy Field thanks to a sponsorship deal with the local energy company.  Prior to the 2001 season, after the Bengals moved to their new home down the street, the stadium was reconfigured for baseball-only use, and portions of the outfield stands were removed to make room for the construction of the Reds’ new home, the future Great American Ball Park.  The 2002 season was the final one for the stadium, with the final game played on September 22 and the stadium was imploded on December 29.

In 2000, Ken Griffey Jr. joined the Cincinnati Reds, which put two of the most feared sluggers in the game in the NL Central.  When Sammy Sosa and the Chicago Cubs were scheduled to make an opening week visit to Cincinnati in 2000 to face Griffey for the first time, the idea of a road trip was hatched.  Friday, April 7, 2000 started with Krispy Kreme donuts at the house before heading towards Cincinnati.  Along the way, there was a brief stop at Purdue. because why not, and the trifecta of a KFC/Taco Bell/Pizza Hut seemed like a good place to stop for lunch.  We arrived in Cincinnati well before the stadium opened, so some time was spent walking around the bustling metropolis that was, and continues to be, Cincinnati.

Our tickets were in the upper deck and, to be honest, I have little to no recollection of the game itself.  My one and only memory of the game is losing my balance and tumbling down 5-10 rows, landing on a group of fans below.  Certainly not my proudest moment.  I do recall some of the drive home after the game, which included listening to the White Sox/A’s game where Jose Valentin committed a number of errors for the eventual AL Central champs.

Stadium Name: Great American Ball Park

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 over 16 years since I’ve been there.