With the All Star Game on tap for tonight in San Diego, let’s take a look at the first half offensive leaders for the 18 games I attended:
Home Runs
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Todd Frazier | 5 |
| Jose Abreu | 4 |
| Adam Eaton | 2 |
| Tim Anderson | 2 |
| Cheslor Cuthbert | 2 |
| Dioner Navarro | 2 |
| Brett Lawrie | 2 |
| J.B. Shuck | 2 |
| Jeff Francoeur | 2 |
Hits
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Jose Abreu | 21 |
| Melky Cabrera | 18 |
| Brett Lawrie | 15 |
| Todd Frazier | 12 |
| Adam Eaton | 12 |
Runs
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Todd Frazier | 11 |
| Jose Abreu | 8 |
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As the baseball world turns its sights to San Diego for tomorrow night’s All Star Game, it’s time to take a look at the team records for the 18 games I attended in the first half of the baseball season, a mish-mash of excitement, followed by disappointment, giving way to uncertainty about what the second half will hold.
| TeamName | Won | Loss | Winning Pctg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Angels | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Chicago Cubs | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Boston Red Sox | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Kansas City Royals | 3 | 1 | 0.750 |
| Cleveland Indians | 2 | 1 | 0.667 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 1 | 1 | 0.500 |
| Atlanta Braves | 1 | 1 | 0.500 |
| Chicago White Sox | 8 | 9 | 0.471 |
| Texas Rangers | 0 | 2 | 0.000 |
| Minnesota Twins | 0 | 2 | 0.000 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 0 | 1 | 0.000 |
Minutes before today’s game against the Braves, the White Sox announced that Jose Quintana will join fellow starter Chris Sale in San Diego for Tuesday’s All Star game, replacing Danny Salazar, who is suffering with a sore right elbow. Quintana will be making his first All Star appearance, and will be the third Colombian to appear in the Mid Summer Classic.
Third baseman Todd Frazier, who won the home run derby last year as a member of the Reds, will get the chance to defend his title despite not being named to the team.
On the other side of town, Dexter Fowler, voted in to start for the National League, will miss the game due to injury. He is currently on a rehab assignment in Class A and hopes to return in the next 2 weeks.
Name: Julio Franco
Rank: 79
Position: DH
Year With White Sox: 1994
Following the 1993 season, Julio Franco signed with the White Sox as a free agent, as the team looked to head to the playoffs for the second consecutive season. As the White Sox sat atop the newly created AL Central, Franco had one of the best seasons of his career, setting career highs with 20 home runs and 98 RBIs when the season ended prematurely on August 11th due to the strike. After the season was officially cancelled on September 14th, Franco earned 8th place in MVP voting and took home the Silver Slugger award. With the work stoppage spilling in to 1995, Franco signed to play in Japan, ending his tenure with the White Sox.
Franco’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:
Name: Miguel Olivo
Rank: 80
Position: C
Years With White Sox: 2002-2004
Miguel Olivo was acquired by the White Sox as the player to be named later in the deal that sent Chad Bradford to the A’s in December of 2000. He made his major league debut on September 15, 2002, hitting a home run in his first at bat against Andy Pettite in the Yankees 8-4 victory. He appeared in 5 additional games that month, finishing with a .211 average.
Olivo broke camp with the White Sox in 2003, splitting time behind the plate with Sandy Alomar Jr. He upped his average to .237 with 6 home runs but only 27 RBIs. Things were starting to look up in 2004, as Olivo raised his average to .270 and an OPS of .812 in 46 games, before the June 27th trade that sent him, along with Mike Morse and Jeremy Reed, to the Mariners for Ben Davis and Freddy Garcia.
Olivo’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:
Name: Geoff Blum
Rank: 81
Position: 1B/3B
Year With White Sox: 2005
Acquired at the trade deadline from the Padres in 2005, Geoff Blum made little impact for the White Sox during the regular season, hitting an even .200 in 31 games. He went 0-1 during his sole ALDS appearance, pinch hitting in the Game 1 blowout against the Red Sox.
Blum sat on the bench until the 14th inning of Game 3 of the World Series, when he pinch hit for Bobby Jenks. On a 2-0 count, Blum pulled the next pitch from Ezequiel Astacio into the right field stands, giving the White Sox a 6-5 lead. Later that day, the White Sox clinched their first World Series title in 88 years. 4 days later, Blum became a free agent.
Blum’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:
Name: John Cangelosi
Rank: 82
Position: OF
Year With White Sox: 1985-1986
John Cangelosi was selected by the White Sox in the 4th round of the 1982 January draft. He made his major league debut on June 30, 1985, going 0-2 in the White Sox 4-3 loss to the Twins at Comiskey Park. He appeared in 4 more games during the 1985 seasons, earning 1 additional plate appearance.
In 1986, Cangelosi surprised everyone by earning the center fielder job in spring training, beating out Rudy Law and Daryl Boston. He finished the year with a .235 batting average, but set an American League rookie record with 50 stolen bases.
The following spring, Cangelosi did not repeat his impressive performance and, on March 27, he was traded to the Pirates for Jim Winn. He returned to the organization on a minor league deal in 1991, but was traded to the Brewers for Esteban Beltre less than 2 months later.
Cangelosi’s numbers in a White Sox uniform were:
Name: Tom Gordon
Rank: 83
Position: P
Year With White Sox: 2003
Tom Gordon signed with the White Sox as a free agent on January 23, 2003, hoping to shore up a bullpen that was left barren after the trade for Bartolo Colon. Gordon posted a 7-6 record with 12 saves and a 3.16 ERA in 66 relief appearances, leading all White Sox relievers in wins and saves.
He also ranked second among all American League relief pitchers with 91 strikeouts in 74.0 innings pitched. The highlight of his season came on July 12, when he earned his 100th career save against the Indians, becoming just the 14th pitcher in Major League history to record 100 saves and 100 wins in his career. Following the season, Gordon became a free agent, ending his White Sox career.
Gordon’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:
Name: Floyd Bannister
Rank: 84
Position: P
Years With White Sox: 1983-1987
Floyd Bannister signed with the White Sox as a free agent on December 13, 1982, much to the chagrin of Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, who was not used to losing out on free agents that he was interested in. The signing quickly paid dividends for the White Sox and Bannister, who won a career high 16 games as the White Sox ran away with the AL West crown, earning their first post-season berth since 1959. Bannister started and lost game 2 of the ALCS, going 6 innings and giving up all 4 runs in the White Sox 4-0 loss to the Orioles.
Bannister, and the White Sox, faltered somewhat in 1984, with his ERA jumping up to 4.83. 1985 was more of the same, with an ERA at 4.87 and finishing with a losing record of 10-14. Bannister rebounded in 1986, posting a 3.54 ERA in 28 starts despite finishing the year with the same 10-14 record. Bannister tied his career high with 16 wins in 1987, finishing the year with a 3.58 ERA. Following the season, with the White Sox in full rebuilding mode, Bannister and Dave Cochrane were traded to the Royals for Greg Hibbard, Melido Perez, John Davis, and Chuck Mount.
Bannister’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:
Name: Scott Fletcher
Rank: 85
Position: SS/2B
Years With White Sox: 1983-1985, 1989-1991
Scott Fletcher first joined the White Sox on January 25, 1983 when he was acquired from the crosstown Cubs, along with Randy Martz, Pat Tabler, and Dick Tidrow, in exchange for Warren Brusstar and Steve Trout. He split time at shortstop with Jerry Dybzinski for the 1983 squad, who ran away and hid with the Western Division title, their first post-season appearance since the 1959 World Series. Fletcher appeared in 114 games, hitting only .237. During the ALCS against the Orioles, he went hitless in 7 at bats across 3 games.
Fletcher became the primary shortstop in 1984 and saw his numbers improve. His average jumped up to .250 while appearing in 149 games. Despite the improvement, his job became less secure over the offseason, as the White Sox acquired a young shortstop named Ozzie Guillen. When Guillen was named the starting shortstop for 1985 during spring training, Fletcher reacted poorly. “Taking nothing away from the way Ozzie can play,” Fletcher said, “he hasn`t been that great to take the job away from me. He hasn`t just put it on fire and clearly won it.” Despite the reduced playing time, Fletcher once again improved his numbers, with this average rising to .256 in only 301 at bats.
Following the 1985 season, Fletcher, along with Ed Correa and Jose Mota, was traded to the Rangers for Dave Schmidt and Wayne Tolleson. He returned at the trade deadline in 1989, when he, along with Wilson Alvarez and Sammy Sosa, were acquired from the Rangers for Harold Baines and Fred Manrique. With his former nemesis Ozzie Guillen entrenched at shortstop, Fletcher became the team’s starting second baseman. He hit .272 for the White Sox after the trade, despite constant criticism from the fans who were angry at the loss of Baines.
1990 was the final season for the White Sox at Comiskey Park, and Scott Fletcher again manned second base for the suddenly contending team. Ironically, Fletcher put up his worst numbers since 1983, the last time the team contended for a division title. Across the street in the new Comiskey Park, Fletcher again saw diminished playing time as Joey Cora established himself as the everyday second baseman. Appearing in only 90 games, his lowest total since getting cups of coffee with the Cubs in the early 80s, Fletcher’s average dropped to .206. Following the season, he became a free agent.
Fletcher’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were: