Throwback Thursday – Batting Leaders Of The 1980s

Our Throwback Thursday feature continues, as we point the wayback machine back to the 1980s and put our focus on the offensive leaders of that decade.  As a reminder, I’ve identified 14 games that I attended during this time period, when I would have been ages 5 through 14.

Home Runs

Name Total
Carlton Fisk 3
Greg Walker 2
Harold Baines 2
Eddie Murray 2
Brian Downing 2
Daryl Boston 2

Hits

Name Total
Carlton Fisk 14
Harold Baines 14
Greg Walker 12
7 tied with  5

Runs

Name Total
Harold Baines 8
Greg Walker 6
Gary Ward 5
Daryl Boston 4
9 tied with 3

RBI

Name Total
Carlton Fisk 11
Greg Walker 8
Harold Baines Continue reading →

#56 – Daryl Boston

bostonName: Daryl Boston

Rank: 56

Position: CF

Years With White Sox: 1984-1990

Daryl Boston was selected by the White Sox as the 7th pick in the 1st round of the 1981 draft.  He made his major league debut on May 13, 1984 in the White Sox 8-1 victory against the Rangers, going 3-5 with 2 RBIs and a stolen base while leading off and playing center field.  He ended up appearing in 35 games for a White Sox team that failed to follow up on their success of the previous year, hitting an anemic .169.

Boston split the 1985 season between Triple A Buffalo and Chicago, appearing in 95 games for the White Sox.  He managed to improve his average to .228 with the increased playing time.

1986 again saw Boston splitting time between Triple A and the big leagues.  On October 4th, he hit the 50th and final home run given up by Bert Blyleven during the season, setting the major league record.  He finished the year with 56 appearances, hitting .266 with 5 home runs.

Boston spent the majority of the 1987 season in Chicago, hitting .258 with 10 home runs in 337 at bats.  1988 was his first full season in the major leagues, but he struggled, hitting only .217 but setting a career high with 15 home runs.

Boston rebounded in 1989, raising his average to .252, but hitting only 5 home runs in 101 appearances.  1990 saw his White Sox career come to an end, appearing in 5 games and getting only one at bat before being placed on waivers towards the end of April and being selected by the Mets.

Boston rejoined the White Sox organization in 2001 as a roving minor league instructor.  In 2013, he became the first base coach for new manager Robin Ventura, a role he remains in to this day.

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

Continue reading →

#82 – John Cangelosi

cangelosiName: 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:

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