Category / Baseball

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#74 – Brent Lillibridge

lillibridgeName: Brent Lillibridge

Rank: 74

Position: 2B/OF

Years With White Sox: 2009-2012

Brent Lillibridge was acquired by the White Sox, along with Tyler Flowers and 2 minor leaguers, from the Braves in exchange for Javier Vazquez and Boone Logan on December 4, 2008.  He split the 2009 season between Triple A Charlotte and Chicago, hitting an anemic .158 in 95 at bats spread across 46 games.

Lillibridge stuck with the White Sox in 2010, improving his average to .224 in only 64 games.  2011 was his best season, setting career highs in home runs, RBIs, batting average, and OPS.  On April 11, he hit the 10,000th home run in White Sox history off Dallas Braden and the A’s.

Lillibridge struggled again in 2012, with his average dropping down to .175 before the June 24th trade that sent him, along with Zach Stewart, to the Red Sox for Kevin Youkilis.

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

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Playoffs!

2016playoffs

For the second consecutive year, a Chicago team is in position to start selling playoff tickets to their season ticket holders.  The Cubs are running away with the National League Central title and are looking for their first World Series appearance since 1945.

Thanks to a randomly selected combination assignment, I would end up with tickets to a home Wild Card game, should the Cubs collapse like its 1969, all Division Series home games, the home games 1 and 3 of the Championship series, and, due to the AL winning the All Star Game, games 4 and 5 of the World Series.  Unlike past playoff appearances, it seems I would have my normal tickets for the first two rounds, before moving much closer to home plate but 7 rows up for the World Series.

The Cubs have little left to prove in the regular season and will need to exorcise some post-season demons after getting swept out in their last 3 appearances as the organization starts to reap the benefits of the years of work starting with the hiring of Theo Epstein in 2011.

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#75 – Donn Pall

thepopeName: Donn Pall

Rank: 75

Position: P

Years With White Sox: 1988-1993

Chicago native Donn Pall joined the White Sox organization via the 23rd round of the draft in 1985.  He made his major league debut 3 years later, throwing a mop-up inning of relief at the end of the Sox 10-2 loss to the A’s on August 1 at Comiskey Park.  Pall appeared in 16 additional games down the stretch for a miserable White Sox squad, finishing the year with a respectable 3.45 ERA.

Pall returned to the White Sox bullpen in 1989, earning his first career win on April 27 in a 16 inning victory over the Red Sox.  He finished the year 4-5 with a 3.31 ERA and 6 saves in 53 appearances for the last place White Sox.

The surprising White Sox found themselves in a pennant race in 1990 as they said goodbye to Comiskey Park.  Pall continued to be a mainstay in the bullpen, going 3-5 with a 3.32 ERA in 56 appearances, including one appearance during the final weekend at the park he grew up attending.

Pall and the White Sox moved across the street for the 1991 season, where Pall put up the best numbers of his career.  He finished the year 7-2 with a sparkling 2.41 ERA in 51 appearances, including a scoreless inning of relief in the first game at new Comiskey Park.  Pall struggled in 1992, seeing his ERA jump to 4.93 and his appearances drop to 39 despite a 5-2 record.

In 1993, as the White Sox headed towards their first division title since 1983, Pall bounced back to put up 3.22 ERA in 39 appearances heading into September.  However, he found himself in a roster crunch and, to make room for the re-acquired Ivan Calderon, he was traded to the Phillies on August 31 for a player to be named later.  Pall, along with Carlton Fisk, who had been released earlier in the year, came to Comiskey Park before game 1 of the ALCS to wish their former teammates well.  Sadly, they were both turned away, souring Fisk’s relationship with the organization for years.

Pall returned to the White Sox organization in 1995, spending the entire year in Triple A before leaving at the end of the year as a free agent.

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

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It’s The End Of The World As They Knew It

Over the last week, 3 perennial All Stars announced their retirement, either due to diminished skills, an upcoming outright release, or injury.  Yankee first baseman Mark Teixeira got things started last Friday when he held a press conference announcing he would retire at the end of the season.  The 36-year old, in the final year of his contract, has struggled this year after suffering numerous injuries over the past few seasons.  Teixeira started his career with the Rangers in 2003, before moving to the Braves and Angels before his long term deal with the Yankees, whom he helped lead to the 2009 World Series title.

2 days later, the Yankees held another press conference, this time announcing that Alex Rodriguez would play his final game tomorrow, after which he will be released.  The 41 year old was at one time considered to be the best player in the game, and perhaps of all time, but PED confessions, and a year long suspension that cost him the 2014 season, had left him as mostly a pariah.  As he struggled this year in limited playing time, the Yankees decided it was finally time to cut their loses.  Rodriguez came up with the Mariners in 1994, before signing record-setting deals with Texas and, finally, the Yankees.

Finally, Ranger first baseman Prince Fielder announced that he would no longer be able to play following his second spinal fusion surgery.  Fielder missed most of the 2014 season following his first surgery, but worked his way back to win the Comeback Player of the Year award last year.  This year did not fare as well for the slugger.  After debuting with the Brewers, Fielder also spent time with the Tigers before finishing his run with the Rangers.

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#76 – Gavin Floyd

MLB: APR 05 White Sox v TigersName: Gavin Floyd

Rank: 76

Position: P

Years With White Sox: 2007-2013

The White Sox acquired Gavin Floyd following the 2006 season in a trade with the Phillies for Freddy Garcia.  After an inauspicious debut with the White Sox during the ill-fated 2007 campaign, Floyd busted out of the gate in 2008, finishing with a 17-8 record and helping to lead the White Sox to the Central Division title.  Ever since, though, Floyd has become increasingly worse, never finishing above .500 again until last season’s 12-11 mark.  The 2013 season had been his worst to date, as he had lost 4 of his 5 starts and the White Sox had dropped all 5.  The maddening thing about Floyd over the past 4+ seasons is that he always had the stuff to succeed, but always seemed unable to string together a run of quality appearances.  Every time you thought he had turned the corner, he imploded again and went into another funk.

After 7 years of up and down service, Gavin Floyd has likely thrown his last pitch as a member of the White Sox, thanks to a tear in his flexor muscle near his right elbow, which has caused an unstable ulnar collateral ligament.

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

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#77 – Mike Squires

squiresName: Mike Squires

Rank: 77

Position: 1B

Years With White Sox: 1975, 1977-1985

Mike Squires joined the White Sox organization as their 18th round draft pick in 1973.  He made his major league debut on September 1, 1975, going 2-3 in the White Sox loss to the Royals at Comiskey Park.  He appeared in 19 additional games down the stretch, hitting .231 in 74 plate appearances.

After spending all of 1976 back in Triple A, Squires returned to the South Side for 3 games in 1977, going hitless in 3 at bats.  He was up in the big leagues to stay in 1978, appearing in 46 games and hitting .280 in 150 at bats.

1979 saw Squires getting his most extensive playing time to date, appearing in 122 games and hitting a modest .264, including his first major league home run.  1980 was more of the same for Squires, hitting a career-high .283 in 131 games.  He also became the first left-handed catcher in the major leagues since 1961 when he replaced Bruce Kimm in the 9th inning of an 11-1 loss to the Brewers on May 4.

During the strike-shortened season of 1981, Squires hit .265 in 92 games, failing to homer for the first time since 1978 and earning the Gold Glove award for first basemen.  1982 was more of the same for Squires, as he put up a .267 average in only 195 at bats, his lowest total since 1978.  As the White Sox ran away with the division title in 1983, Squires set a career high in games played with 143, but garnered only 153 at bats, hitting a meek .222.  He became the first left handed third baseman in at least 50 years when he replaced Vance Law in the 8th inning of a 10-2 loss to the Royals.  He went 0-4 in the ALCS against the Orioles, appearing in all 4 games.

1984 was the beginning of the end for Squires, as his average slipped to a career low .183 in only 82 at bats.  He was released during spring training in 1985, before being re-signed in September, appearing in 2 games without a plate appearance.  Following the season, his career came to an end.

Squires’ numbers in a White Sox uniform were:

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Hall Of Fame Pitching Leaders

baseballhofSunday, the Hall of Fame class of 2016 was inducted in Cooperstown and we looked at the offensive leaders amongst Hall of Famers in games I have attended between 1984 and 2016.  Today, we finish up with the pitchers, which seemed like a much better idea before I saw there are only 5 Hall of Fame pitchers I’ve seen live.  Oh well.

Wins

Name Total
Greg Maddux 9
Tom Glavine 1
Rich Gossage 1

Losses

Name Total
Greg Maddux 12
Tom Glavine 2
Tom Seaver 2
Rich Gossage 1

ERA

Name Total
Rich Gossage 3.86
Greg Maddux 4.17
Tom Seaver 4.21
John Smoltz 4.50
Tom Glavine 7.62

Strikeouts

Name Total
Greg Maddux 92
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Hall Of Fame Batting Leaders

baseballhofgriffeyToday, former White Sox outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. takes his place in Cooperstown, alongside Mike Piazza.  It has been 2 years since we last looked at the overall leaders amongst Hall of Famers, so let’s check back in with the inclusion of 2 classes worth of Hall of Famers on both sides of the ball for all of the games I’ve attended between 1984 and 2016, starting with the offense.

Home Runs

Name Total
Frank Thomas 15
Carlton Fisk 2
Craig Biggio 2
Mike Piazza 2
Ken Griffey Jr 2
Eddie Murray 2

Hits

Name Total
Frank Thomas 54
Ken Griffey Jr 32
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#78 – Cal Eldred

caleldredName: Cal Eldred

Rank: 78

Position: P

Years With White Sox: 2000-2001

Acquired by the White Sox in January of 2000, along with Jose Valentin, from the Brewers for Jaime Navarro and John Snyder, Cal Eldred joined the rotation and immediately put up strong results.  As the White Sox found themselves a surprise contender in the AL Central, Eldred settled in to his spot in the rotation until mid-July, when he suffered a stress fracture in his elbow, the third straight year he had the same injury.  After having surgery to insert a screw to hold the elbow together, he tried to make a late season comeback, but it was not to be.  He finished the year with a 10-2 record, missing the postseason altogether.

Eldred re-signed with the White Sox for 2001 and entered the season as the team’s number 2 starter.  After making two starts, he went on the disabled list with elbow soreness, with general manager Kenny Williams declaring him lost for the season in late June.  He became a free agent at the end of the season, ending his White Sox career.

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

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2016 All Star Break Pitching Leaders

MLB: Cincinnati Reds at Los Angeles DodgersNow that the All Star Game is behind us and we await the start of the second half of the season, let’s take a look at the first half leaders on the defensive side of the ball for the 18 games I attended:

Wins

Name Total
Chris Sale 3
Mat Latos 2
13 tied with 1

Losses

Name Total
Carlos Rodon 3
Miguel Gonzalez 2
13 tied with 1

ERA (> 6 IP)

Name Total
Matt Albers 0.00
Danny Duffy 0.00
Mike Foltynewicz 0.00
Hector Santiago 0.00
Dan Jennings 0.87

Strikeouts

Name Total
Chris Sale 29
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