Category / Baseball

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All Time Pitching Leaders – Through 2023

White Sox pitchers and catchers are scheduled to have their first workout in camp today, so that means it is time for our annual look at the pitching leaders in the now 1,083 games I’ve attended, and identified, between 1984 and 2023.  Very few changes from last year, but 2023’s performances have updated the ERA leader board.  So, without further ado, let’s get things started with our first category, the always popular:

Wins

Name Total
Mark Buehrle 31
Gavin Floyd 24
Carlos Zambrano 21
Chris Sale 21
John Danks 19

Losses

Name Total
Mark Buehrle 17
Jose Quintana 17
John Danks 16
Carlos Zambrano 15
Gavin Floyd 15

ERA (>= 35 IP)

Name Total
David Robertson 2.13
DJ Carrasco 2.20
Nate Jones Continue reading →
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A New Voice

On Thursday, the White Sox announced that John Schriffen, a 39-year-old from New York, had signed a multi-year deal to become the team’s new television play-by-play announcer.  He replaces Jason Benetti, who, due to growing frustrations with the White Sox front office, left in November to fill the same role with the Tigers after seven years in the White Sox booth.  Schriffen, who is biracial, becomes the second Black television play-by-play announcer in MLB, joining Dave Sims of the Mariners.

This will mark Schriffen’s first play-by-play assignment for a team, he has broadcast Korean baseball for ESPN during the pandemic and has done some MLB work for ESPN Radio.  His other work at ESPN includes college basketball, college football, college baseball, the XFL, NBA preseason, G-League and Summer League.  After multiple interviews, he met with team owner Jerry Reinsdorf and color analyst Steve Stone this past weekend in Arizona for a final audition.  “We hit it off immediately,” Schriffen said. “Everybody knows Steve Stone is the greatest. He has done everything in baseball broadcasting – the dude is a legend.”

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Three Of A Kind

On a cold winter’s day, the attention of the baseball world turns to upstate New York and the hamlet of Cooperstown, where the votes were tallied, and the 2024 Hall of Fame class is now complete.  Adrian Beltre, Todd Helton, and Joe Mauer join Jim Leyland, who was elected by the Veteran’s Committee last month, in obtaining baseball immortality.  Beltre, the former Dodger/Mariner/Ranger, and Mauer, the long-time Twin, make it on their first try.  Helton, the former Rockie first baseman, was on his sixth go-around.

Four others tallied greater than 50% of the vote, led by Billy Wagner, who came just short at 73.8% and seems likely to make it next year, his final year on the ballot.  Gary Sheffield saw a not-insignificant jump in his final election, rising to 63.9%.  Andruw Jones rose to 61.6% with three more years to go.  In his second go-around, Carlos Beltran jumped up to 57.1%.

On the local front, Manny Ramirez, who spent a little more than a month with the White Sox at the tail end of his career, saw a small decrease in support, finishing with 32.5% of the vote thanks to his multiple PED suspensions.  The disgraced Omar Vizquel, accused of both sexual abuse of an autistic teen and spousal abuse since being added to the ballot, dropped again, going down to 17.7%.  Jimmy Rollins, who spent the final 41 games of his career on the south side, picked up 14.8% in his third go-around.  Mark Buehrle fell back again, dropping to 8.3% in his fourth time on the ballot, living to fight another day.  Former White Sox pitchers Bartolo Colon and James Shields nabbed five votes between them.

Eight players will fall off the ballot after failing to score 5% of the vote.

As for the newest Hall of Famers, I’ve seen Mauer play 42 times, Beltre 17 times, and Helton eleven times.  They will get their day in the sun on Sunday, July 21.

Joe Mauer’s numbers in games I’ve attended were:

Continue reading →

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On The Move?

News broke last night that the White Sox are in “serious” discussions with developers and the city of Chicago about the possibility of building a new stadium on the South Loop parcel known as “the 78.”  The lot is located on the corner of Roosevelt Road and Clark Street, about three miles north of the team’s current home on 35th Street.  In a joint statement from Chicago mayor Brandon Johnson and White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf said, “We met to discuss the historic partnership between the team and Chicago and the team’s ideas for remaining competitive in Chicago in perpetuity.”

The team’s current lease at Guaranteed Rate Field runs through 2029.  Last summer, news broke that Reinsdorf was considering selling the team and/or moving them to a new location, either elsewhere in Chicago, the suburbs, or Nashville, Tennessee, when that lease expires.  Will anything come of this?  Potentially.  A new stadium on the river would (or could) provide a spectacular backdrop with views of the downtown skyline and, with the Bears looking to move to Arlington Heights, I can imagine the city would not want to lose another team.  I still believe the most likely outcome is a new lease at Guaranteed Rate Field, but time will tell.

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A Year Of Activities

For the first time in my 49 years, I managed to attend a ticketed event in every month of 2023. Let’s take a look back and see what I had going on this year.
The first quarter of the year is typically the quietest for me.  This year started strong, with a trip to Florida for the Citrus Bowl on January 2nd.  College basketball ruled the day in February, with my first trip to Bloomington, Indiana coming that first weekend.  The Big Ten Tournament rolled into the United Center in March, making me three for three to start out the year.

The second quarter brings the start of baseball season, which easily knocked out the next three months.  I added 19 games over these three months, which included the Orioles against the White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field in April, the Mets battling the Cubs at Wrigley Field in May, and my first-ever visit to T-Mobile Park in June to see the White Sox play the Mariners. Continue reading →

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2024 Hall Of Fame Ballot – The Newcomers

On Monday, the BBWAA released their ballot for the Hall of Fame class of 2023, with the results of the vote are due to be revealed on January 23rd, and induction taking place July 21st.  With Scott Rolen as the sole electee last year, the new ballot contains fourteen holdovers along with twelve newcomers.

Yesterday, we looked at the returning candidates.  Today, it’s time to look at the newcomers and who see may be thankful come January.

Jose Bautista

The long-time Blue Jays slugger will likely get enough consideration to stick around on the ballot, but has no real chance at induction.

Adrián Beltré

Beltré finished his career with 3166 hits, 477 home runs, and 5 Gold Gloves at third base.  He is the closest thing to a shoo-in we’ve seen in years.

Bartolo Colon

The all-time wins leader, with 247, among Latin American pitchers, Colon will end up on the outside looking in, thanks to a 4.12 career ERA and a PED suspension in 2012.

Adrián González

The first overall pick of the 2000 draft, González put together a very fine career.  Just not one that will get him to Cooperstown.

Matt Holliday

Again, Holliday had a very fine career, although he will get dinged for part of that career taking place in Colorado, but I don’t see him getting in.

Victor Martinez

If he spent his entire career playing against the White Sox, he would be a first ballot, all-time great.  Unfortunately, he had to play against the other teams as well, which means he has to “settle” for having a very good career, but not a Hall of Fame career.

Joe Mauer

One MVP award, three Gold Gloves, and three batting titles, as a catcher, make me think Mauer will eventually find his way to Cooperstown, but he may need to wait a while.

Brandon Phillips Continue reading →

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2024 Hall Of Fame Ballot – The Holdovers

Monday, the BBWAA released their ballot for the Hall of Fame class of 2024.  The results of the vote are due to be revealed on January 24th, with induction taking place July 21st.  Scott Rolen was elected in last year’s voting and Jeff Kent fell off the ballot after reaching the ten-year limit, leaving fourteen holdovers along with twelve newcomers.

Let’s take a look at the returning candidates today before moving on to the newcomers tomorrow.

Bobby Abreu
Years on ballot: 4
2023 Percentage: 15.4

After falling off the year before, Abreu starts moving in the right direction again, but has a long way to go.

Carlos Beltran
Years on ballot: 1
2023 Percentage: 46.5

A decent debut for Beltran, which may have been even better had he not been tainted by the Astros cheating scandal.

Mark Buehrle
Years on ballot: 3
2023 Percentage: 10.8

After nearly falling off the ballot in his second go-around, Buehrle bounced back last year but faces an uphill climb if he is to make it to Cooperstown.

Todd Helton
Years on ballot: 5
2023 Percentage: 72.2

After falling just a few votes short last year, Helton should be a lock for election this year.

Torii Hunter
Years on ballot: 3
2023 Percentage: 6.9

Despite a small increase from the previous year, Hunter once again had the lowest percentage of the vote while remaining on the ballot.  Things do not look good for the long-term prospects of the former Twin and Angel.

Andruw Jones
Years on ballot: 6
2023 Percentage: 58.1

If voters were to stick to his first eleven seasons, Jones looks like a shoo-in for the Hall.  His last seven seasons, though, were so bad that it makes it hard to consider him.  After crossing the 50% plateau last year, he is trending in the right direction, but doesn’t have all that much time left.

Andy Pettitte
Years on ballot: 5
2023 Percentage: 17.0

Continue reading →

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That’s A Bummer

The tear down of the disappointing 2023 White Sox continued late last night, when Chris Getz pulled the trigger on his first trade, sending Aaron Bummer to the Braves for Mike Soroka, Jared Shuster, Nicky Lopez, Braden Shewmake, and Riley Gowens.  Bummer, selected by the White Sox in the 19th round of the 2014 draft, debuted with the team in July of 2017.  Since then, he has been a steady presence in the bullpen, appearing in 289 games over the past seven seasons.  He struggled in 2023, posting a career-worst 6.79 ERA.

Mike Soroka, 26, went 2-2 with a 6.40 ERA in seven games for the Braves in 2023 while working his way back from injury.  He suffered a torn Achilles tendon in a 2020 start and then re-tore it again in 2021 while rehabbing from the initial injury, causing him to miss the entire 2022 season as well.

Jared Shuster, a left-handed pitcher, made his major league debut for the Braves in 2023.  He made eleven starts with the big-league club, going 4-3 with a 5.81 ERA.  Nicky Lopez, a local product who attended Naperville Central high school, spent parts of five seasons with the Royals (of course!) before being traded to the Braves last July at the trade deadline.  He is a career .249 hitter with 6 home runs.

Braden Shewmake, a 25-year-old shortstop, was the 15th ranked prospect in the Braves organization.  He made two appearances for the Braves in May during a brief call-up.  Riley Gowens is another local product, a 24-year-old pitcher from Libertyville who played college ball at Illinois.  He made five appearances in the Braves system after being selected in the 2023 draft.

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

Continue reading →

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Heading To Vegas

Earlier today, MLB owners, in a unanimous vote, approved the relocation of the A’s from Oakland to Las Vegas.  Earlier this year, the team signed a binding agreement to purchase 49 acres of land off the strip in Las Vegas, where they now hope to have a stadium built by and ready by the 2028 season.

However, that puts the team in a bit of a bind for the 2025-2027 seasons.  The team’s current lease in Oakland expires after next season.  Nothing has been decided as of yet, but rumors have them splitting time between the existing Triple A stadium in Las Vegas and/or Sacramento, across the bay at Oracle Park, and the Coliseum.  The city of Oakland says they are open to the team continuing to play at the Coliseum, as long as certain conditions are met.  What those conditions are remain to be seen, but, in the past, the mayor has asked that that A’s team name and history remain in Oakland for a future expansion team.

Assuming the team name remains the same, the A’s will become the first franchise to have played in four different municipalities while using the same name, starting in Philadelphia before moving to Kansas City, Oakland, and now Las Vegas.  On a personal note, removing Oakland Coliseum from my active stadium count means I would now have eleven parks to get to in order to finish off the set.  I’ve made two trips to the stadium once known as Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, first in 1999 and again in 2008, seeing the Tigers and Orioles respectively.

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You’ve Gotta Be Bleepin’ Me

Just when you think things can’t get any worse in White Sox Nation, the Tigers announced yesterday that they were poaching play-by-play man Jason Benetti, signing the announcer to a multi-year deal.  Benetti, 40, started with the White Sox in 2016, splitting time with Ken Harrelson until 2019 when he took over full time.

Benetti’s frustration with the White Sox organization has seemingly been growing for some time.  In 2021, he was a loud voice in favor of returning to broadcasting from the road instead of in studio following the pandemic shutdowns of 2020.  Things got testy again this past offseason, when he left ESPN for FOX and took on more national responsibilities, which irked some in the White Sox front office.  To add fuel to that fire, the White Sox refused to negotiate with Benetti’s agent, preferring instead to deal directly with Benetti, which is, frankly, odd behavior.

Whoever replaces Benetti in the broadcast booth will have very large shoes to fill.  They will also need to win over a fan base that has been repeatedly poked in the eye by the ownership and front office of their favorite team for the last two years.