Tag / Eloy Jimenez

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Active Batting Leaders – Through 2025

Last month, we looked at the overall leaders on both sides of the ball from all of the games I’ve attended between 1984 and 2025.  With the end of spring training in sight and Opening Day right around the corner, let’s take another look at those numbers, limiting it to players that are still active heading into the 2026 season.

Home Runs

Name Total
Luis Robert 25
Tim Anderson 24
Andrew Vaughn 17
Yoan Moncada 16
Eloy Jimenez 14
Gavin Sheets 14

Hits

Name Total
Tim Anderson 218
Yoan Moncada 133
Luis Robert 111
Andrew Vaughn 102
Eloy Jimenez 98

Runs

Name Total
Tim Anderson 117
Luis Robert 65
Yoan Moncada 64
Andrew Vaughn 50
Andrew Benintendi 50

RBI

Name Total
Tim Anderson 73
Luis Robert 64
Yoan Moncada Continue reading →
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Crossing Sides Of Town

So far in 2025, Brad Keller, Mike Tauchman, Nicky Lopez, and Reese McGuire pushed the total of players I’ve seen take the field in person for both the Cubs and the White Sox to 47.  With the final round of crosstown kicking off tonight at Rate Field, here’s a look at those players, in alphabetical order.

David Aardsma

After posting a decent season with the Cubs in 2006, Aardsma was traded to the White Sox for Neal Cotts.  Aardsma lasted one season with the Sox, where he was unable to duplicate his success from the year before.

Jason Bere

Drafted by the White Sox in the 36th round in 1990, Bere debuted with the big-league club in 1993, finishing 2nd in Rookie of the Year voting.  After an All Star selection in 1994, injuries marred the remainder of his tenure on the South Side, which ended in 1998.  He resurfaced with the Cubs in 2001 and had a decent season, but he went 1-10 in 2002 before being let go.

Emilio Bonifacio

Bonifacio spent back-to-back partial seasons in Chicago, first for the Cubs in 2014 after signing as a free agent, where he played decently enough to be flipped at the trade deadline, along with James Russell, to the Braves for a young catching prospect by the name of Victor Caratini.  He returned to Chicago in 2015, signing with the White Sox, where he he did not do well at all, hitting .167 in 47 games before being released in August.

Welington Castillo

Debuting with the Cubs in 2010, Castillo spent time behind the plate for the Cubs until May of 2015, when, having been replaced in the starting lineup by Miguel Montero, he was flipped to the Mariners.  He returned to Chicago in 2018 after signing with the White Sox as a free agent.  On May 24th of that season, he was suspended 80 games for a violation of the PED policy.  The White Sox then cut bait following the 2019 season, shipping him off to the Rangers.

Neal Cotts

Acquired by the White Sox in the Billy Koch trade, he debuted with the team in 2003.  He was a key contributor in the bullpen during the 2005 championship season and was the only relief pitcher to appear in all 3 rounds of the playoffs that season.  Following the 2006 season, he was traded to the Cubs for David Aardsma, and he spent the next 3 injury filled seasons on the North Side.

Scott Eyre

Joining the White Sox organization in a 1994 trade with the Rangers, he debuted with the big-league team in 1997.  He split the next 4 seasons between the rotation and the bullpen, not to mention between Chicago and Charlotte, before being moved to the Blue Jays following the 2000 ALDS loss to the Mariners.  He joined the Cubs as a free agent for the 2006 season and enjoyed 2 seasons of relative success, before falling apart in 2008, when he was traded to the Phillies.

Clint Frazier

After missing the second half of 2021 with an injury, Frazier was DFA’d by the Yankees.  He signed a deal with the Cubs that offseason, though he notched just 45 plate appearances before being DFA’s once again.  He chose to finish the year in the Cubs system before becoming a free agent following the season.  After failing to catch on with the Rangers, he signed a minor league deal with the White Sox, eventually hitting .197 in 33 games with the big-league club.

Kosuke Fukudome Continue reading →

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Active Batting Leaders – Through 2024

Last month, we looked at the overall leaders on both sides of the ball from all of the games I’ve attended between 1984 and 2024.  With the end of spring training in sight, Opening Day is right around the corner.  Let’s take another look at those numbers, limiting it to players that are still active heading into the 2025 season.

Home Runs

Name Total
Jose Abreu 49
Tim Anderson 24
Luis Robert 22
Yoan Moncada 16
Avisail Garcia 15
Andrew Vaughn 15

Hits

Name Total
Jose Abreu 273
Tim Anderson 218
Yoan Moncada 133
Avisail Garcia 101
Eloy Jimenez 98

Runs

Name Total
Jose Abreu 129
Tim Anderson 117
Yoan Moncada 64
Avisail Garcia 58
Luis Robert 56

RBI

Name Total
Jose Abreu 159
Tim Anderson 73
Yoan Moncada Continue reading →
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Ballpark Tour: Guardians

With the spring training camps opening early next month, we continue our tour of all of the different baseball stadiums I’ve been to over the years. This week, we look at the Cleveland Guardians, the last new stadium I added to my list prior to the lockdown in 2020. So, without further ado, let’s take a deeper look at my one game history with Progressive Field.

Stadium Name: Progressive Field

Years in Service: 1994 – Present

Visits: 2

Cleveland moved into Jacobs Field for the 1994 season after calling Cleveland Stadium home since 1932.  In 1997, the park became one of the few in MLB history to host both the All-Star Game and the World Series in the same season.  2008 saw the naming rights sold to a local insurance company and the stadium was renamed Progressive Field.  Since opening, the park has seen twelve Central Division titles and three trips to the World Series.  It hosted its second All Star Game in 2019.

I almost took my first trip to the park in 2016, for Game 7 of the World Series against the Cubs, but I just couldn’t quite pull the trigger.  A Southwest credit this summer led to me booking a 2-day September trip to Cleveland for $3, so there was no second guessing this time.  I arrived on a Wednesday afternoon, in plenty of time for that evening’s tilt between the White Sox and Cleveland.  A tremendous catch on a smash by Eloy Jimenez saved the game for the then-Tribe.  The matinee performance on Thursday afternoon entailed a nice one-hitter by Reynaldo Lopez, giving the White Sox a quick victory before I had to head back to the airport.

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The Window Slammed Shut

The White Sox closed the door on the Yoan Moncada era last week, declining the $25 million option for 2025 and making the embattled infielder a free agent.  Moncada, who was part of the haul received from the Red Sox in the Chris Sale deal that kicked off the previous rebuild, was ranked as the #1 prospect in all of baseball, but was never able to convert that promise into long-term success at the big-league level.  He only appeared in twelve games for the White Sox in 2024, spending the majority of the year on the IL with a left abductor strain.

Overall, the 2024 season was not a great one for the core of the team that was supposed to lead to long-term, sustained success.  Jose Abreu and Tim Anderson both found themselves looking for work after being DFA’d by their most recent employers.  Eloy Jimenez, traded to the Orioles at the deadline, saw himself demoted to Triple A before the end of the season and did not have his $18 million option picked up.  It would be surprising if any of the four find themselves with a major league deal heading into 2025.

 

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Busted Promise

The White Sox wrapped up the trade deadline action with two final moves: trading Eloy Jimenez and Tanner Banks.  Jimenez, the 27-year-old DH who was one of the centerpieces of the last rebuild, was sent packing to the Orioles, in a move that mostly gives the White Sox salary relief.  The team did receive Trey McGough, a 26-year-old left hander who has split time this season between the Double A and Triple A bullpens for the Orioles.

After a promising start to his career with the White Sox, Jimenez has suffered from repeated injuries and declining output ever since the 2021 season.  This year, he has been hampered by a left adductor strain and a left hamstring and has managed career lows in all three slash numbers.  Rumors abound about his commitment and preparation, or lack thereof, so maybe this will be the kick in the backside he needs to reboot his career.

Tanner Banks, 32, heads to the Phillies.  In return, the White Sox receive William Bergolla, a 19-year-old second baseman known for his strong bat-to-ball skills.  He was ranked as the 10th best prospect in the Phillies system by Baseball America

 

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2024 All Star Break Batting Leaders

With the All-Star Game in the books and a few days of rest before the second half kicks off, let’s take a look at the first half offensive leaders for the 18 games I’ve attended so far this season, starting with:

Home Runs

Name Total
Paul DeJong 4
Luis Robert 2
Andrew Vaughn 2
Gavin Sheets 2
25 tied with  1

Hits

Name Total
Paul DeJong 14
Andrew Vaughn 14
Gavin Sheets 13
Nicky Lopez 10
Luis Robert 8
Eloy Jimenez 8

Runs

Name Total
Andrew Vaughn 8
Gavin Sheets 8
Continue reading →
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Your Latest Crosstown Batting Leaders

The battle for the 2024 Crosstown Cup kicks off tonight at Wrigley Field, with the Cubs looking to take retain possession of the cup after winning it back last year.  The White Sox currently hold a slight edge in the overall series, going 74-68 over the past 27 years.  Let’s take a look at the offensive leaders for the now 89 (out of 142) crosstown games I have attended since the start of interleague play in 1997:

Home Runs

Name Total
Paul Konerko 15
Carlos Lee 9
Aramis Ramirez 8
Sammy Sosa 8
Jermaine Dye 7

Hits

Name Total
Paul Konerko 50
Carlos Lee 41
Jose Abreu 36
Sammy Sosa 29
Derrek Lee 28

Runs

Name Total
Paul Konerko 26
Magglio Ordonez 19
Continue reading →
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End Of The Road?

Five years ago, expectations were high as the fruits of the White Sox rebuild were starting to pay dividends and the team, looking to contend for years to come, inked third baseman Yoan Moncada to a five-year extension.  Through an interpreter, Moncada said, “With all this happening, I can say I’m going to play alongside (left fielder) Eloy (Jimenez) and (center fielder) Luis Robert for a very long time, and that’s going to be a key for the success of this team.”  Since that time, the White Sox have played 557 games.  Jimenez, Robert, and Moncada have played together in just 161 of them.

Eloy Jimenez and Luis Robert were already on the IL with leg injuries when Yoan Moncada came up lame while running to first base during the second inning of Tuesday’s contest against the Guardians.  He was diagnosed with a left abductor strain, which is expected to keep him on the shelf for 3-6 months, likely ending his White Sox career.  That contract extension, signed days before the global pandemic shut down spring training in 2020, is up after this season and the White Sox seem unlikely to exercise the $25 million option for 2025.

Moncada, who was part of the haul received from the Red Sox in the Chris Sale deal that kicked off the last rebuild, was ranked as the #1 prospect in all of baseball.  After some initial struggles, he seemed to turn the corner in 2019, hitting .315 with 25 home runs and 79 RBIs, but that has been the high point of his career.  A bout with COVID knocked his 2020 season off course, and injuries have been a constant concern ever since.  Will he ever take the field in a White Sox uniform again?  If he does, it will be to play out the string in what was going to be a long, arduous season even if everything went right.

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Active Batting Leaders – Through 2023

Last month, we looked at the overall leaders on both sides of the ball from all of the games I’ve attended between 1984 and 2023.  With the end of spring training in sight, Opening Day is right around the corner.  Let’s take another look at those numbers, limiting it to players that are still active heading in to the 2024 season.

Home Runs

Name Total
Jose Abreu 49
Tim Anderson 24
Luis Robert 20
Yoan Moncada 16
Avisail Garcia 15

Hits

Name Total
Jose Abreu 273
Tim Anderson 218
Yoan Moncada 133
Avisail Garcia 101
Yolmer Sanchez 93

Runs

Name Total
Jose Abreu 129
Tim Anderson 117
Yoan Moncada 64
Avisail Garcia 58
Luis Robert 50

RBI

Name Total
Jose Abreu 159
Tim Anderson 73
Yoan Moncada Continue reading →