Tag / Chris Young

by admin

Padres All Time Leaders – Through 2025

To paraphrase from a famous movie, the one constant through all the years has been baseball.  As we head into 2026, we continue our look at the all-time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for all 30 teams. Today, we take a deeper dive into the San Diego Padres.

The Padres began life in 1969, joining the National League along with the Montreal Expos.  I’ve seen 197 players wearing the Padres uniform in the 27 of their games that I’ve attended live at five different ballparks, first in 1985 at Wrigley Field and, most recently, this past September at Rate Field.  I had plans to take in the three-game series between them and the White Sox at PETCO Park in 2020, but that kind of fell apart for… reasons.

Home Runs

Name Total
Adrian Gonzalez 2
Ramon Hernandez 2
Mike Cameron 2
Khalil Greene 2

Hits

Name Total
Ryan Klesko 9
Sean Burroughs 9
Brian Giles 8

Runs

Name Total
Adrian Gonzalez 7
Mark Loretta 5
Ramon Hernandez 4
Mike Cameron 4
Fernando Tatis Jr. 4

RBI

Name Total
Khalil Greene 8
Ramon Hernandez 6
Ryan Klesko 6

Doubles

Name Total
Ryan Klesko 3
Adrian Gonzalez 3
Will Venable 3

Triples Continue reading →

by admin

#112 – Orlando Hernandez

elduqueName: Orlando Hernandez

Rank: 112

Position: P

Year With White Sox: 2005

Orlando Hernandez first became a member of the White Sox organization on January 15, 2003, when he was acquired from the Yankees for Antonio Osuna.  Mere moments later, he was shipped to the Expos, along with Rocky Biddle, Jeff Liefer, and cash, in exchange for Bartolo Colon.  Nearly 2 years later, he signed with the White Sox as a free agent.  As the 5th starter, he put up a decent 9-9 record, but with a high 5.12 ERA.

Hernandez moved to the bullpen for the 2005 post-season, where he permanently etched his name in White Sox lore.  With the White Sox looking to win their first post-season series since the 1917 World Series and clinging to a 4-3 lead in the 6th inning of game 3 of the ALDS against the Red Sox, Hernandez entered in relief of Damaso Marte with the bases loaded and nobody out.  He managed to induce pop-outs from both pinch hitter Jason Varitek and Tony Graffanino before getting Johnny Damon to chase a ball out of the strike zone on a 3-2 count to escape unscathed.  2 rounds later, he pitched a scoreless inning in the 14-inning game 3 of the World Series.

Nearly two months later, Hernandez was traded, along with Luis Vizcaino and Chris Young, to the Diamondbacks for Javier Vazquez.

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

Continue reading →

by admin

#178 – Luis Vizcaino

Name: Luis Vizcaino

Rank: 178

Position: P

Year With White Sox: 2005

On December 13, 2004, Luis Vizcaino, along with Scott Podsednik and a player to be named later, was traded to the White Sox from the Brewers in exchange for Carlos Lee.  Vizcaino had a decent year in the bullpen, appearing in 65 games and putting up a 6-5 record with a 3.73 ERA for the AL Central champions.

Vizcaino sat out the ALDS and ALCS, and made one appearance during the World Series.  He pitched 1 inning of scoreless relief during the 14 inning marathon that was Game 3.

Following the season, nearly a year to the day that he was acquired, Vizcaino was packaged along with Orlando Hernandez and Chris Young in a deal with the Diamondbacks for Javier Vazquez.

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

Continue reading →

by jim

Transaction Tree

WhiteSox-rosterA few weeks back, when Corey Kluber won the Cy Young award, a New York time reporter tweeted how the Indians had, through multiple trades, turned Eddie Taubensee’s 1991 roster spot in to Kluber.  The fine folks at Grantland took it a step farther, and looked at the longest such chain for all 30 teams.

The White Sox fall smack dab in the middle of the league, having the 15th longest chain, dating back to the February 8, 1994 signing of amateur free agent Carlos Lee.  Lee made his major league debut on May 7, 1999, and quickly became a mainstay of the White Sox lineup, holding down left field through the 2004 season.  New manager Ozzie Guillen had tired of the station to station team he inherited, and was looking to implement some small ball, so Lee was shipped to the Brewers for a package that included Scott Podsednik and Luis Vizcaino.

Vizcaino spent just the one season with the White Sox, earning a World Series championship ring for his troubles.  With general manager Kenny Williams looking to repeat, he packaged Vizcaino with Orlando Hernandez and outfielder Chris Young in a trade to the Diamondbacks for starting pitcher Javier Vazquez.

Vazquez lasted 3 seasons with the White Sox, up to and including their 2008 AL Central title-winning year.  As the White Sox battled the Twins for the title, Vazquez turned out to be the one weak link in the rotation.  With the season stretching to a 163rd game, Guillen was forced to turn to Vazquez to start the first game of the division series against the Rays.  Vazquez responded to the challenge by giving up 6 runs in 4 1/3 innings, putting his team in an early hole in the best of 5 series.

Feeling that he couldn’t open the 2009 season with Vazquez still on the roster, Kenny Williams moved him, along with Boone Logan, to the Braves for, among others, Brent Lillibridge and Tyler Flowers.  Flowers made his debut in 2009 and became the full time starting catcher in 2013.  His production has been lacking over the course of his major league career, and, should an opportunity to upgrade arise, this chain may come to an end.

by admin

#485 – Javier Vazquez

Name: Javier Vázquez

Rank: 485

Position: P

Years With White Sox: 2006-2008

In 2005, the White Sox defied expectations and won their first World Series championship since 1917.  In an attempt to bolster the rotation for their title defense, Kenny Williams sent playoff hero Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez, Luis Vizcaino, and prospect Chris Young to the Diamondbacks for Javier Vazquez, the former Expos ace who had bounced around the previous few years.  On paper, it seemed like a good move, but it failed to take into account that Javier Vazquez is at his best when he is pitching for either a National League club or a team out of contention.  Neither of these fit in to the White Sox plans for the 2006 season.

Watching him pitch in 2006 was frustrating, to say the least.  He had a propensity for being unhittable for 5 innings, and then completely falling apart in the sixth.  He finished the year 11-12 with a 4.84 ERA in 33 games and, while they won 90 games, the White Sox finished in third place.

2007 was a much better year for Vazquez, going 15-8 with a 3.74 ERA.  Coincidentally, the White Sox finished the year with a 72-90 record, 24 games behind the Indians.  In 2008, as the team rebounded to 89-74, winning the division in a one game playoff versus the Twins.  Vazquez regressed back to a 12-16 record, with a 4.67 ERA.  Thanks to the push down the stretch to win the division, the Sox were forced to start Vazquez in game 1 of the ALDS, where he was battered around by the Rays, giving up 6 runs in 4 1/3 innings.  That December, his tenure on the South Side came to an end when he was moved to the Braves for a package that included Tyler Flowers and Brent Lillibridge.

Vazquez’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were: Continue reading →