Name: Chris Singleton
Rank: 205
Position: CF
Years With White Sox: 1999-2001
Chris Singleton joined the White Sox after a December, 1998 trade with the Yankees for a player to be named later. He made the big league club during spring training of 1999 and made his major league debut on April 10, pinch hitting in a White Sox loss to the Royals. Later that season, on July 6, Singleton became the first White Sox player in 15 years to hit for the cycle, again in a loss to the Royals. He finished the year with a .300 average and 17 home runs, which earned him 6th place in Rookie of the Year voting, ahead of teammate Carlos Lee.
Singleton had earned the starting job in center field entering the 2000 season, but, while the team caught fire and went on to win their first division title since 1993, Singleton’s numbers regressed. His average dropped to .254 and he fell to 11 home runs. His struggles intensified during the Division Series loss against the Mariners, as he went 1 for 9 in the 3 games.
2001 saw Singleton’s playing time reduced, although his average rebounded back to .298. He appeared in only 7 fewer games as the year before, but his at bats dropped by over 100. For the second year in a row, his power numbers fell, now down to 7.
A few weeks before spring training was set to begin in 2002, Singleton was dealt to the Orioles, in exchange for Willie Harris. Singleton would rejoin the organization in 2006 as the new color analyst on the radio broadcasts. He lasted for two painful seasons, teamed with fellow color man Ed Farmer, before leaving to become an analyst for ESPN on Baseball Tonight.
Singleton’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:
