Tag / A’s

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#26 – Ray Durham

Name: Ray Durham

Rank: 26

Position: 2B

Years With White Sox: 1995-2002

Selected in the fifth round of the 1990 draft, Ray Durham broke camp with the White Sox in 1995 and made his major league debut on Opening Day, leading off and going 1-4 in the 12-3 loss to the Brewers at County Stadium.  Durham stuck in the leadoff spot and finished the year with a .257 average, 7 home runs, and 51 RBI, good enough for a 6th place finish in Rookie of the Year voting.

Durham saw improvement in 1996, raising his average to .275 and his OBP to .350.  His home run and RBI totals also jumped, going to 10 and 65 respectively.  1997 was another good year for Durham, as he hit .271 with 11 home runs.

In 1998, Durham earned his first All Star nod and finished the year setting career highs with a .285 average, 19 home runs, 67 RBIs, and 36 stolen bases.  Durham improved his average again in 1999, raising it to .296, his career best.  It was also his second of seven straight years with an OPS over .800.

Durham nabbed his second All Star selection in 2000.  When the season came to an end, Durham had a .280 average with 17 home runs and 75 RBIs and the White Sox were atop the AL Central for the first time.  Like the rest of his teammates, Durham struggled during the ALDS, hitting .200 in the three game sweep against the Mariners.

2001 saw Durham’s average drop to .267, his lowest total since his rookie year.  He did manage to set a new career high with 20 home runs as the White Sox failed to repeat.  Durham was hitting .299 with 9 home runs at the trade deadline in 2002 when, facing free agency, he was shipped to the A’s for Jon Adkins.  At the time of the trade, Durham was the club’s all-time leader in leadoff home runs, while placing in the top 10 in franchise history in steals (5th), doubles (7th), extra base hits (7th), and runs (8th).

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

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#30 – Greg Walker

Name: Greg Walker

Rank: 30

Position: 1B

Years With White Sox: 1982-1990

Acquired as a rule 5 selection from the Phillies in 1979, Greg Walker made his major league debut for the White Sox on September 18, 1982, pinch hitting for Marc Hill and getting a hit against Brian Kingman in the White Sox 5-4 loss to the A’s at Comiskey Park.  During his brief cup of coffee with the big league club, Walker took advantage, hitting .412 with 2 home runs in 11 games.

Walker split time with Tom Paciorek in 1983, hitting .270 with 10 home runs and 55 RBIs in 118 games.  He led the American League with 15 pinch hit RBIs.  He appeared in 2 games during the ALCS against the Orioles, going 1-3 with a walk.

In 1984, Walker started to establish himself as the every day first baseman.  In 136 games, he hit 24 home runs while posting a .294 average.  He hit another 24 home runs in 1985 while tying a White Sox record with 163 games played.

1986 saw Walker spend time on the disabled list, limiting him to 78 games and only 13 home runs, with a .277 average.  He bounced back in 1987, appearing in 157 games and setting career highs with 27 home runs and 94 RBIs while hitting a career low .256.

Walker’s 1988 season came to a premature end on July 30, when he suffered a seizure during batting practice while fielding grounders from coach Ed Brinkman.  Four trainers were needed to hold Walker down and pry open his mouth to prevent Walker from swallowing his own tongue.  During the ordeal, Walker bit his tongue and chipped a tooth from biting down on a pair of scissors.  A subsequent seizure the following day kept Walker in the hospital for 11 days.  A third seizure, days after being released from the hospital, left him in a daze for months.

He returned in 1989, unsure if he would be able to continue his career, until a .308 spring average with 7 home runs convinced him, and the White Sox, that he once again could be a productive member of the lineup.  He wasted little time in getting back in the swing of things, participating in an Opening Day brawl against the Angels after Bob McClure hit Ivan Calderon with a pitch in the ninth inning.  The good feelings did not last, though, as he appeared in only 77 games due to a shoulder injury and hit a career low .210 with only 5 home runs.

Walker found himself the odd man out in 1990, appearing in only 2 games before being released on April 30.

Walker rejoined the White Sox organization on May 19, 2003 as hitting coach, a position he would hold until September 28, 2011 in the waning days of Ozzie Guillen’s tenure.

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

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All Time Team Records

baseballs3Yet another exciting baseball season is upon us, and it is time once again to look at the all-time team records for games that I have attended dating back to 1984.  The Cubs begin the season as defending champions for the first time since 1909 while the White Sox finally start their long-overdue rebuilding effort, so both sides of town are pointing in different directions.  Either way, the 2017 season should be an exciting one.

All-Time Team Records
Team Name Won Loss Winning Pctg
California Angels 1 0 1.000
Arizona Diamondbacks 13 2 0.867
Florida Marlins 15 8 0.652
Philadelphia Phillies 10 6 0.625
Toronto Blue Jays 13 9 0.591
New York Yankees 12 9 0.571
Los Angeles Angels 16 13 0.552
Boston Red Sox 14 12 0.538
Colorado Rockies 7 6 0.538
Chicago Cubs 203 179 0.531
Chicago White Sox 267 237 0.530
Cleveland Indians 23 21 0.523
Kansas City Royals Continue reading →
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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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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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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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Team Stats: Strike Outs

With 1 month 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 strike outs.

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, both teams, along with the Brewers, fare the best as well.  The Cubs lead the way with just over 8 strike outs per game.  The California version of the Angels, the Miami iteration of the Marlins, and the Devil Rays bring up the rear with an even 5 strike outs per game.

Strike Outs
Team Name Strike Outs
Chicago White Sox 3851
Chicago Cubs 3075
Kansas City Royals 339
Minnesota Twins 330
Cleveland Indians 292
Milwaukee Brewers 285
Houston Astros 281
Pittsburgh Pirates 257
Detroit Tigers 252
Cincinnati Reds Continue reading →
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Team Stats: Doubles

With 2 months 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 doubles.

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 Diamondbacks, Blue Jays, and the Anaheim version of the Angels are the only teams with 2 doubles or more per game.  The Miami iteration of the Marlins are at the bottom, with 1 double every other game, followed by the California incarnation of the Angels, who went double-less.

Doubles
Team Name Doubles
Chicago White Sox 770
Chicago Cubs 671
Kansas City Royals 81
Houston Astros 78
Minnesota Twins 76
Detroit Tigers 75
Cleveland Indians 69
Milwaukee Brewers 67
Pittsburgh Pirates 64
Texas Rangers Continue reading →
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Team Stats: Bases On Balls

With 2 months 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 bases on balls surrendered.

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, 4 teams are averaging 4 or more walks per game, with the California incarnation of the Angels leading the pack with 5.  The Cubs find themselves, unfortunately, in the top 10 at 3.42 walks per game, while the White Sox are in the bottom half (or top half, depending on your point of view) with 3.19 walks per game.  The Anaheim version of the Angels and the Miami version of the Marlins bring up the rear as the only teams with less than 2 walks per game, at 1.5 a piece.

Walks
Team Name Walks
Chicago White Sox 1610
Chicago Cubs 1308
Cleveland Indians 156
Kansas City Royals 151
Cincinnati Reds 133
Pittsburgh Pirates 128
Milwaukee Brewers 125
Seattle Mariners 120
Detroit Tigers 116
Minnesota Twins Continue reading →
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Team Stats: Triples

With 3 months 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 triples.

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 Brewers lead the way with a little more than 1 triple per every 4 games.  The Anaheim and California iterations of the Angels, the Miami version of the Marlins, and the Expos bring up the rear without a triple between them.

Triples
Team Name Triples
Chicago White Sox 69
Chicago Cubs 67
Cleveland Indians 11
Milwaukee Brewers 10
Detroit Tigers 9
Minnesota Twins 8
Baltimore Orioles 7
Houston Astros 7
Pittsburgh Pirates 6
Seattle Mariners Continue reading →