Tag / Alex Fernandez

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Throwback Thursday – Pitching Leaders Of The 1990s

Our Throwback Thursday feature continues, as we once again point the wayback machine back to the 1990s, finally putting our focus on the defensive leaders of that decade.  As a reminder, I’ve identified 32 games that I attended during this time period, when I would have been ages 15 through 24.

Wins

Name Total
Wilson Alvarez 2
Alex Fernandez 2
28 tied with 1

Losses

Name Total
Tony Castillo 2
Jaime Navarro 2
James Baldwin 2
26 tied with 1

ERA (> 6 IP)

Name Total
Terry Adams 0.00
Wilson Alvarez 0.39
Keith Foulke 1.04
Donn Pall 1.08
Angel Miranda 1.13

Strikeouts

Name Total
Jaime Navarro 17
Jon Lieber 14
Jim Parque 14
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Against The Orioles All Time Leaders – Through 2021

oriolesIn the past, we’ve looked at the all time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for all 30 teams. This offseason, we will take our first ever look at those leaders against all 30 clubs. We continue today with the Baltimore Orioles.

The Orioles began life in 1901 as the Milwaukee Brewers, one of the charter members of the American League.  They moved to St. Louis the following year, becoming the Browns, before finally arriving in Baltimore in 1954.  I’ve seen them play 35 times in 6 different stadiums across 4 cities and 2 countries, first in 1985 at the original Comiskey Park and most recently this past May at Guaranteed Rate Field.

Home Runs

Name Total
Paul Konerko 5
7 tied with 2

Hits

Name Total
Paul Konerko 13
Jose Abreu 13
A.J. Pierzynski 12

Runs

Name Total
Paul Konerko 9
Jose Abreu 7
A.J. Pierzynski 6
Tim Anderson 6

RBI

Name Total
Paul Konerko 14
Jose Abreu 7
Yoan Moncada 6

Doubles

Name Total
Jose Abreu 4
Jim Thome 3
9 tied with  2

Triples Continue reading →

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#21 – Alex Fernandez

Name: Alex Fernandez

Rank: 21

Position: P

Years With White Sox: 1990-1996

Selected 4th overall by the White Sox in the 1990 draft, Alex Fernandez started 8 games in the minor leagues before making his major league debut on August 2, getting a no decision despite throwing 7 strong innings against the Brewers at County Stadium.  Over the last 2 months of the season, he made a total of 13 starts for the White Sox, going 5-5 with a 3.80 ERA.

Fernandez struggled in 1991, setting career highs in walks, WHIP, and ERA.  He finished the year 9-13 with a 4.51 ERA.  1992 saw a slight improvement, thanks to a drastic reduction in walks.  While he still had a losing record, at 8-11, his ERA fell to 4.27.

1993 was Fernandez’s breakout season.  He went 18-9 with a 3.13 ERA as the White Sox took home their first division championship in a decade.  He set a career high with over 247 innings and a career low WHIP of 1.164.  Despite giving up only 3 earned runs in 15 innings, he lost 2 games in the ALCS against the Blue Jays.  His season was good enough to earn 4 MVP votes from the BBWAA.

Fernandez was having another strong year in 1994.  He was 11-7 with a 3.86 ERA in 24 starts when the season came to a premature end thanks to the strike.  When baseball resumed in 1995, he picked up where he had left off, going 12-8 with a 3.80 ERA.

1996 was another strong year for Fernandez, his best since 1993.  He went 16-10 with a 3.45 ERA in a career high 35 starts.  He finished 6th in Cy Young Award voting.  Following the season, he became a free agent.

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

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#226 – Scott Ruffcorn

Scott-Ruffcorn

Name: Scott Ruffcorn

Rank: 226

Position: P

Years With White Sox: 1993-1996

Scott Ruffcorn was the White Sox first round draft pick out of Baylor University in 1991.  The previous 4 White Sox first round picks, Jack McDowell, Robin Ventura, Frank Thomas, and Alex Fernandez, were leading the White Sox to their first division title in a decade when Ruffcorn made his major league debut on June 19, 1993 against the Angels, taking the place of an injured Kirk McCaskill.  When Ron Karkovice separated his shoulder during the game, Ruffcorn was sent back to the minors to make room for another catcher on the roster.  He returned to the majors in September and made two additional appearances.

When Scott Sanderson had a tremendous spring in 1994 to force his way in to the starting rotation, it forced Ruffcorn to start the year in Triple A.  As July rolled around, Sanderson had started to struggle and Ruffcorn was called up to take his slot in the rotation.  Sadly, he didn’t last long, giving up seven runs and nine hits over 4 innings.  Manager Gene Lamont said that Ruffcorn “needed to get over his nervousness,” but his next start also did not go well.  Facing the Royals, he gave up 4 runs before being pulled in the third inning.  He was demoted back to Triple A before the strike in August wiped out the remainder of the season.

After an abbreviated spring training in 1995, Ruffcorn broke camp with the White Sox, earning a spot in the bullpen.  He walked six in 1 2/3 innings against the Red Sox in his second appearance of the year, and by mid-May, he was back in Triple A, with reporter Dave Van Dyck writing that Ruffcorn was “ruined forever because the Sox rushed him to judgment.”

Ruffcorn finished his White Sox career in 1996, appearing in 3 final games but getting the same results.  He ended up with 0 wins and a career ERA of 9.68 and the “record” for most consecutive seasons with an ERA over 7.00.  In January of 1997, he was purchased by the Phillies.

Ruffcorn’s numbers in a White Sox uniform were:

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