Category / Baseball

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Team Stats: Home Run

With 1 week until baseball in Chicago returns, I thought it would be interesting to look at the all time rankings in both offensive and defensive categories for all iterations of the current 30 teams for the 833 games I’ve identified that I have attended. We finish up today on the offensive side of the ball with home runs.

As you might expect by this point, the White Sox and Cubs, based on the raw numbers, are far and away the leaders in this category, as they are the teams I’ve seen the most.  When you adjust the numbers per game, the California incarnation of the Angels and the Diamondbacks are the only teams at or above 2 home runs per game.  The Nationals and the Anaheim version of the Angels are the only teams with less than a home run every other game.

Home Runs
Team Name Home Runs
Chicago White Sox 605
Chicago Cubs 437
Cleveland Indians 53
Kansas City Royals 48
Detroit Tigers 45
Minnesota Twins 44
Houston Astros 40
Texas Rangers 40
Milwaukee Brewers 39
Seattle Mariners Continue reading →
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#35 – Jose Valentin

Name: Jose Valentin

Rank: 35

Position: SS/3B

Years With White Sox: 2000-2004

Jose Valentin was acquired by the White Sox, along with Cal Eldred, on January 12, 2000 from the Brewers in exchange for Jaime Navarro and John Snyder.  Valentin replaced Mike Caruso at shortstop, and provided an offensive punch that had been missing.  On April 27, against the Orioles, he hit for a natural cycle, becoming just the fifth, and the most recent, White Sox player to hit for the cycle.  While Valentin provided an offensive spark, hitting .273 with 25 home runs and 92 RBI, he was a butcher in the field.  He led the American League with 36 errors.  Despite this, Valentin helped lead the White Sox to their first division title since 1993.  He hit .300 in the ALDS against the Mariners, where the White Sox were swept out of the playoffs.

To help improve their defense, the White Sox acquired Royce Clayton to play shortstop for 2001, forcing Valentin to move around the field in order to keep his bat in the lineup.  He split most of his time between center field and third base, before moving back to shortstop when Clayton failed to hit at all.  Valentin’s average dropped down to .258, but he set a career high with 28 home runs.  He still managed to place second in the AL with 22 errors, despite only appearing in 124 games.

With Clayton getting another shot in 2002, Valentin shifted back over to third base, which is where he spent the majority of the year.  When Clayton struggled offensively again, Valentin again spent time back at shortstop, starting 47 games.  He ended the year with a .249 average and 25 home runs.

After Royce Clayton left as a free agent, Valentin again became the everyday shortstop in 2003.  While he continued to struggle defensively, finishing 3rd in the AL with 20 errors, he started to struggle offensively as well.  Despite tying his career high with 28 home runs, his average dropped to .237, his lowest total as a member of the White Sox.

In 2004, Valentin’s offense continued to slip.  His average dropped to .216, a career low, but he did manage to set a new career high with 30 home runs in only 450 at bats.  Following the season, he became a free agent and his White Sox career drew to a close.

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

Continue reading →

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Active Batting Leaders – Through 2016

baseballs2Last month, we looked at the overall leaders on both sides of the ball from all of the games I’ve attended between 1984 and 2015.  Now that Opening Day is right around the corner, let’s take another look at those numbers, limiting it to players that are still active heading in to the 2016 season.  A few notable retirements, chief among them Carlos Quentin, will add some new names to this list.

Home Runs

Name Total
Alexei Ramirez 34
Alex Rios 24
A.J. Pierzynski 20
Jose Abreu 17
Juan Uribe 16

Hits

Name Total
Alexei Ramirez 300
A.J. Pierzynski 239
Alex Rios 153
Gordon Beckham 144
Adam Eaton 102

Runs

Name Total
Alexei Ramirez 134
A.J. Pierzynski 106
Alex Rios 86
Gordon Beckham 83
Alejandro de Aza 57

RBI

Name Total
Alexei Ramirez 140
A.J. Pierzynski 98
Alex Rios Continue reading →
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25 Million Dollar Man

Fresh off an exciting rookie season and expected to be one of the cornerstones of the rebuild on the south side, Tim Anderson signed a long term deal that will potentially keep him as a member of the White Sox through the 2024 season.  The 6 year, $25 million deal also includes two option years, which could boost the overall value of the deal over $50 million.

Anderson’s deal is the largest for a player with less than one year of major league experience, besting Chris Archer’s 2014 deal with the Rays.  He hit .283 with 9 home runs and 30 RBIs in 99 games last year after getting recalled from Triple A, good enough for seventh place in American League Rookie of the Year voting.  The White Sox are betting that he can improve on that production and help return the team to glory.

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Team Stats: Earned Run Average

With 2 weeks until baseball in Chicago returns, I thought it would be interesting to look at the all time rankings in both offensive and defensive categories for all iterations of the current 30 teams for the 833 games I’ve identified that I have attended. We continue today on the defensive side of the ball with earned run average.

Both the White Sox and Cubs are in the top half for team ERA, at 4.10 and 3.97 respectively.  The Anaheim iteration of the Angels lead the way at just under 2.60.  Their earlier counterparts from California are on the opposite end of the spectrum, clocking in at an even 6.00.

Earned Run Average
Team Name ERA
Anaheim Angels 2.59620377314948
Arizona Diamondbacks 2.77443609022556
San Francisco Giants 2.91412259138847
Montreal Expos 3.4000755572346
Los Angeles Angels 3.58378597800244
Philadelphia Phillies 3.69343107010444
Washington Nationals 3.74644733442425
Boston Red Sox 3.87378352436825
Miami Marlins 3.9375
Oakland Athletics Continue reading →
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#36 – Jose Contreras

Name: Jose Contreras

Rank: 36

Position: P

Years With White Sox: 2004-2009

Acquired at the trade deadline in 2004 from the Yankees in exchange for Esteban Loaiza, Jose Contreras joined the White Sox rotation for the remainder of the season, pitching inconsistently.  He finished the year 5-4 for the White Sox, with a 5.30 ERA in 13 starts.

Contreras got off to a slow start in 2005, entering the All Star break with a 4-3 record.  Thanks to an improved arm angle, Contreras caught fire in the second half, becoming one of the most dominating pitchers in the league.  He finished the year with a 15-7 record with a 3.61 ERA as the White Sox won their first AL Central title in 5 years.  Contreras got the nod in game 1 of the ALDS against the Red Sox, giving up 2 runs in 7 2/3 innings as the White Sox blew out the defending champions 14-2.  Contreras made two appearances in the ALCS, losing game 1 to the Angels before bouncing back and throwing the team’s fourth straight complete game in game 5, earning the victory and sending the White Sox to their first World Series since 1959.  He was back on the mound for game 1 of the Series, getting the victory as the White Sox defeated the Astros 5-3.

2006 saw Contreras continue his hot ways.  He started the season 9-0, breaking the team record for consecutive regular season victories previously held by LaMarr Hoyt and Wilson Alvarez.  He managed to extend his streak to 17 games, before losing to the Yankees on July 14.  After the All Star break, Contreras started to come back down to Earth, due in part to the extra workload from the previous post-season.  He posted a 5.40 ERA in the second half and finished the year 13-9 with a 4.27 ERA.

2007 was a down year for both the White Sox and Contreras.  His ERA jumped to 5.57 and finished the year 10-17.  2008 was starting to look a little better for Contreras, before a ruptured Achilles tendon ended his season on August 9th, causing him to miss the post-season.  He ended up with a 7-6 record and a 4.54 ERA.

Contreras started the 2009 season 0-5, earning himself a trip to Triple A Charlotte on May 10.  A month later, he was recalled to start the first game of a doubleheader against the Tigers, earning his first victory of the year.  He managed to improve his record to 5-13 with a 5.42 ERA by August 31, when he was traded to the Rockies.

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

Continue reading →

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2017 Tickets – Northside Edition

After a 108 year wait, the Cubs finally broke through and won the World Series last season.  To commemorate, the team has classed up their season ticket package for 2017, celebrating their spot on top of the baseball world.  We start, as usual, with the box, which highlights the Commissioner’s Trophy they took home last November.

Inside the box, aside from the tickets themselves, were a few goodies as has been the custom the last few years. The highlight is a collection of replica lineup cards from all 7 games of the World Series.  In addition to that, there was a commemorative World Series champion pin, a Sports Illustrated commemorative edition, a season ticket holder World Series champion hat, and some new ticket lanyards.

Finally, the tickets themselves. The Cubs have continued with the action shots of players and a World Series champion stamp for this years tickets, but have switched back the ticket orientation from landscape to portrait, a move in the wrong direction (in my opinion). Continue reading →

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Team Stats: Runs Batted In

With 3 weeks until baseball in Chicago returns, I thought it would be interesting to look at the all time rankings in both offensive and defensive categories for all iterations of the current 30 teams for the 833 games I’ve identified that I have attended. We continue today on the offensive side of the ball with runs batted in.

Based on the raw numbers, the White Sox and Cubs are far and away the leaders in this category, as they are the teams I’ve seen the most.  When you adjust the numbers per game, the California iteration of the Angels and the Devil Rays lead the way as the only teams over 6.  The Nationals and the Miami incarnation of the Marlins are the only teams that failed to average 3 runs batted in per game.

Runs Batted In
Team Name RBIs
Chicago White Sox 2209
Chicago Cubs 1677
Cleveland Indians 227
Minnesota Twins 184
Detroit Tigers 182
Kansas City Royals 178
Houston Astros 175
Milwaukee Brewers 170
Cincinnati Reds 168
Pittsburgh Pirates Continue reading →
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#37 – Rudy Law

Name: Rudy Law

Rank: 37

Position: CF

Years With White Sox: 1982-1985

Rudy Law was acquired by the White Sox from the Dodgers at the end of spring training in 1982 for Cecil Espy and Bert Geiger.  Law split center field duties with veteran Ron Leflore, appearing in 91 games in the middle of the outfield.  He hit .318 with a .361 OBP, stealing 36 bases along the way.

Law took over as the everyday center fielder in 1983, helping the White Sox claim their first division title.  His 77 stolen bases remain a team record, and he finished the year with a .283 average.  During the ALCS against the Orioles, he led the White Sox with a .389 average.  His season was good enough to earn him 2 votes for MVP, tied for 21st place.

1984 saw Law, and the White Sox, fail to repeat their performance from the previous year.  While he set a career high with 6 home runs, his average dropped to .251 and his stolen base total cratered to 29.  Sadly, he also set a career high with 17 caught stealings, 5 more than 1983 despite nearly half as many attempts.

Law’s 1985 production was more of the same, but, having moved to left field, fell noticeably short of expectations.  His average raised slightly to .259 and again he only managed 29 stolen bases with 31 extra base hits.

A hot spring training showing by John Cangelosi in 1986 left Law as the odd man out in the outfield, and he was released on April 1, ending his White Sox career.

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

Continue reading →