Tag / ALDS

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By The Numbers – 33

In 1929, uniform numbers appeared on the back of baseball jerseys for the first time, thanks to the Indians and the Yankees.  By 1937, numbers finally appeared across all uniforms, both home and away, across both major leagues.  Since that time, 81 distinct numbers have been worn by members of the White Sox, while the Cubs boast 76.

Today, we continue our look at those players, picking our favorite, if not the best, player to wear each uniform number for both Chicago teams with #33.  60 different players have donned #33 while playing in Chicago, 22 for the White Sox and 48 for the Cubs, including a World Series champion.

Aaron Rowand joined the White Sox organization in 1998, selected in the first round of the draft.  He earned his first call up to the show on June 15, 2001 and made his major league debut the following day.  He took over as the starting center fielder in 2002 following the mid-season trade of Kenny Lofton.  Rowand switched to #33 in 2003, but earned a return trip to Triple A in 2003 after hitting .133 in his first 60 games.  After a little more than a month, he returned to the big leagues, hitting .387 the rest of the way and ending the season with a .287 average.

2004 was a breakout year for Rowand, becoming a  full time starter for the first time and setting career highs with a .310 average and .905 OPS.  The good times continued in 2005, as he hit .270 with 13 home runs and, defensively, committed only 3 errors in 394 chances.  Rowand went 4 for 10 against the Red Sox in the ALDS, driving in 2 runs and scoring 3 more in the 3 game sweep.  In the ALCS against the Angels, Rowand managed only 3 hits in the 5 game series, all doubles.  He bounced back in the World Series, going 5-17 against the Astros as the White Sox won their first title in 88 years.  Less than a month after the final out of the World Series, Rowand, among others, was traded to the Phillies for Jim Thome.

On the north side of town, a rookie donned #33 when he made his major league debut on July 30th, 1983.  Joe Carter would appear in 23 games for the Cubs that season, hitting .176 without a home run.  He made his biggest mark for the Cubs the following June, when he was packaged, along with Mel Hall, Don Schulze, and Darryl Banks, in a trade with the Indians which netted Ron Hassey, George Frazier and, of course, Rick Sutcliffe.

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Fitbit VII – Week 38

And yet another disappointing week.  Things got off to a decent enough start on Sunday, as Game 3 of the ALDS led me to 5300 steps.  Monday was slightly lower due to rain surpassing 4800 steps.  Game 4, and the end of the White Sox season, came on Tuesday, as I finished with 4700 steps.  Wednesday fell even lower, falling down to 3300 steps.  Thursday saw a slight increase, jumping back up to 4200 steps.  Friday was even better, as I finished only 17 steps shy of 4700.  Saturday was a bust of a day, with only 2500 steps.

Total steps: 29,578

Daily average: 4225.4

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2021 Final Batting Leaders

Another baseball season has come to an end, with the White Sox winning their first division title since 2008 and making the post-season in consecutive seasons for the first time in team history, before losing to the Astros in the ALDS and the Cubs shocking their fanbase with the dismantling of the core that led them to 3 straight NLCSs and a world championship in 2016.  Let’s take a look back at the offensive leaders for the 58 games that I attended this season, with lower capacity crowds in the spring to full capacity at the end:

Home Runs

Name Total
Jose Abreu 9
Yasmani Grandal 8
Patrick Wisdom 7
Luis Robert 6
Yoan Moncada 5
Tim Anderson 5

Hits

Name Total
Tim Anderson 55
Jose Abreu 49
Yoan Moncada 49
Luis Robert 29
Andrew Vaughn 26

Runs

Name Total
Tim Anderson 32
Yoan Moncada 27
Continue reading →
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2021 Final Standings

The 2021 season, at least the portion which would see me attending games, has come to an end after the White Sox lost to the Astros in the ALDS 3-1.  After a year without in-person baseball thanks to the corona virus, I ended up attending the most games I’ve seen since 2009 and my 5th highest total of all time.  I also managed to travel to four different stadiums, bringing my total up to 27.  All told, I managed to see 25 of the 30 teams a year after seeing none.

2021 Team Records
Team Name Won Loss Winning Pctg
Tampa Bay Rays 3 0 1.000
New York Yankees 2 0 1.000
Arizona Diamondbacks 1 0 1.000
Washington Nationals 1 0 1.000
Philadelphia Phillies 1 0 1.000
Los Angeles Angels 1 0 1.000
San Francisco Giants 1 0 1.000
Boston Red Sox 1 0 1.000
Seattle Mariners 2 1 0.667
Chicago White Sox 29 20 0.592
Cleveland Indians 3 3 0.500
Kansas City Royals Continue reading →
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Division Series Pitching Leaders

After a disappointing start to their series with the Astros, the White Sox, behind Lucas Giolito, look to even things up by taking Game 2 of the ALDS and come home with a split.  With both NLDS series starting today, we have a full day of baseball on tap, which means it’s time to take a look at the pitching leaders from the 16 division series games I’ve attended since the White Sox won the AL Central in 2000.

Wins

Name Total
16 tied with 1

Losses

Name Total
Matt Clement 2
14 tied with 1

ERA (> 6 IP)

Name Total
Stephen Strasburg 0.00
Jon Lester 0.77
Mark Prior 1.00
Johnny Cueto 1.13
Chad Billingsley 1.35

Strikeouts

Name Total
Jake Arrieta 13
Stephen Strasburg 12
Johnny Cueto 10
Continue reading →
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Division Series Batting Leaders

Both Wild Card games are in the books, with the Red Sox and the Dodgers moving on to their respective DSs, and the White Sox look to kick off their series with the Astros later today.  With that in mind, it’s time to take our first look at the offensive leaders from the 16 Division Series games I have attended since 2000.  So, without further ado, we start off with:

Home Runs

Name Total
B.J. Upton 3
Eric Karros 2
Paul Konerko 2
A.J. Pierzynski 2
Manny Ramirez 2
Chipper Jones 2

Hits

Name Total
Mark DeRosa 7
Manny Ramirez 5
A.J. Pierzynski 5
Jason Heyward 5
Javier Baez 5
Moises Alou 5
Derrek Lee 5
Carlos Pena 5

Runs

Name Total
Paul Konerko 5
Mark DeRosa 4
Manny Ramirez 4
A.J. Pierzynski 4
B.J. Upton 3
Juan Uribe 3
Continue reading →
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All Time Division Series Team Records

We’ve gotten through 162 games and the post-season is set.  The White Sox travel to Houston to take on the Astros in the ALDS.  I seem to remember something good happening the last time these two teams met up in the post-season.

Normally, I would take a renewed view of the team records for the 30 playoff contests I have attended.  Thanks to the corona virus pandemic that kept fans home last season, however, nothing has changed since I looked at those records last year.  Instead, I figured it was worth our while to focus on the Division Series for the first time and see how teams have performed in the 16 games I’ve attended in that first playoff round from 2000, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2015, 2016, and 2017.

Division Series Team Records
Team Name Won Loss Winning Pctg
Seattle Mariners 2 0 1.000
Los Angeles Dodgers 2 0 1.000
Arizona Diamondbacks 1 0 1.000
Washington Nationals 1 1 0.500
Tampa Bay Rays 1 1 0.500
Chicago White Sox 3 3 0.500
Chicago Cubs 5 5 0.500
Atlanta Braves 1 1 0.500
St. Louis Cardinals 0 1 0.000
San Francisco Giants 0 2 0.000
Boston Red Sox 0 2 0.000
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A Central Division Title

For the first time since 2008, the American League Central crown resides in Chicago.  In game one of a twin bill, the White Sox defeated the Indians 7-2 behind home runs from Tim Anderson, Luis Robert, Eloy Jimenez, and Tim Anderson, lowering the magic number to zero.  Astonishingly, this is the first time in franchise history that they have reached the post-season in consecutive seasons.

The White Sox can spend the final week of the regular season preparing for their ALDS opponent, who looks to be the Astros, in a rematch of the 2005 World Series.  Hopefully, now that the pressure of clinching is off, the team can buckle down and get on a good run heading in to the playoffs.

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Return To The Playoffs!

On Tuesday, with the White Sox magic number sitting at 17, the team sent out post-season invoices to their season ticket holders for the first time since 2012.  For the low, low price of $1640, I will receive 2 tickets to a potential Wild Card game (which, if that is needed, something is wrong with this world), 3 potential Division Series games, 1 Championship Series game, and 1 World Series game, along with parking for all games.  My seats are actually better than my normal seats, one section over in the same row and seats better aligned to my needs.

I assume only electronic tickets will be issued.  I would hope commemorative tickets will be sent out should a good run occur late in to October.

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By The Numbers – 43

In 1929, uniform numbers appeared on the back of baseball jerseys for the first time, thanks to the Indians and the Yankees.  By 1937, numbers finally appeared across all uniforms, both home and away, across both major leagues.  Since that time, 81 distinct numbers have been worn by members of the White Sox, while the Cubs boast 76.

Today, we continue our look at those players, picking our favorite, if not the best, player to wear each uniform number for both Chicago teams with #43.  71 different players have donned #43 while playing in Chicago, 23 for the White Sox and 48 for the Cubs.

Dennis Eckersley donned #43 for the Cubs after being acquired on May 25, 1984 from the Red Sox for Bill Buckner.  He went 10-8 with a 3.03 ERA while helping the Cubs into the postseason for the first time since 1945.  He lost Game 3 of the NLCS, giving up 5 runs in 5 1/3 innings pitched in his playoffs debut.  Along with the rest of the Cubs rotation in 1985, Eckersley spent time on the DL, causing the team to drop from a 4-game division lead on June 11 to finishing in 4th place, 23 1/2 games back.  Eckersley returned to full physical strength in 1986, but struggled, going 6-11 with a 4.57 ERA as he battled alcoholism.  After an offseason spent in rehab, Eckersley was traded to the A’s following spring training in 1987, where, he, of course, moved to the bullpen and became a Hall of Famer.

Known as “The Milkman”, Herbert Perry wore #43 when he joined the White Sox on April 21, 2000 after being selected off waivers from the Devil Rays.  Solid defense and a hot bat led to him getting more and more playing time, eventually becoming the everyday third baseman as the White Sox cruised to their first Central Division title.  He finished the year with a .308 average, 12 home runs, and 61 RBIs and was one of the few regulars who continued to hit in the post-season, putting up a .444 average in the ALDS against the Mariners.  Injuries and the acquisition of Royce Clayton limited Perry to 92 games in 2001, as his average dropped to .256 and his home runs fell to 7.  After the season, he was traded to the Rangers for a player to be named later.