In 1929, uniform numbers appeared on the back of baseball jerseys for the first time, thanks to the Indians and the Yankees. By 1937, numbers finally appeared across all uniforms, both home and away, across both major leagues. Since that time, 81 distinct numbers have been worn by members of the White Sox, while the Cubs boast 76.
Today, we continue our look at those players, picking our favorite, if not the best, player to wear each uniform number for both Chicago teams with #29. 85 different players have donned #30 while playing in Chicago, 35 for the White Sox and 50 for the Cubs.
Jack McDowell, selected as the fifth overall pick in the 1987 draft, switched to #29 when, after spending the entire 1989 season in Triple A, he returned to the majors for good in 1990, helping to lead a surprising White Sox team to a 94-68 record and a season long battle with the A’s for the AL West crown. McDowell finished with a 14-9 record and a 3.82 ERA and nearly doubled his strikeout total from 1988 in only about 50 more innings. Expectations were high as the White Sox moved into their new stadium in 1991 and McDowell was up to the challenger, earning his first All Star game selection on his way to a 17-10 record and a 3.41 ERA, good enough for a 9th place finish in Cy Young Award voting.
1992 was even better for McDowell. He earned his second straight All Star Game nod, pitching a scoreless second inning and retiring Fred McGriff, Terry Pendleton, and Andy Van Slyke in order. He ended up with a 20-10 record and a 3.18 ERA, good enough for a 2nd place finish in Cy Young Award voting, behind Dennis Eckersley, and 19th place in MVP voting. Everything came together for the White Sox and McDowell in 1993. As the team ran off to their first division title in a decade, McDowell led the league with 22 victories and 4 shutouts, ending at 22-10 with a 3.37 ERA. He nabbed his 3rd straight All Star selection, earning the victory while throwing a scoreless 5th inning, and finally claimed his first Cy Young Award. He also finished 9th in MVP voting, behind teammate Frank Thomas. McDowell made 2 starts during the ALCS against the Blue Jays, losing both and giving up 10 runs total in 9 innings pitched.
The 1994 season again had high expectations for the White Sox and McDowell. Unfortunately, those expectations would be squashed, not on the field, where the White Sox held first place in the newly formed AL Central division, but in the boardrooms, where the end of the 1994 season and the post season were cancelled due to a work stoppage. In just 25 starts, his fewest since 1987, McDowell went 10-9 with a 3.73 ERA. In December, with the 1995 season in doubt, McDowell was traded to the Yankees, for Keith Heberling and a player to be named later who turned out to be Lyle Mouton.
On the north side of town, the Cubs were surprise contenders in the 2001 season. Looking to improve their chances of making the post-season, they acquired Fred McGriff from the Devil Rays. Wearing #29, the Crime Dog held up his part of the bargain down the stretch, putting up a .942 OPS with 12 home runs in 49 games with the Cubs. Unfortunately, the pitching did not hold up as the Cubs went 23-28 in August and September, finishing five games behind the Astros and Cardinals. At age 38, McGriff returned to the Cubs in 2002, posting a .858 OPS and 125 OPS+ to go along with 30 homers and 103 runs batted in. The rest of the Cubs, however, were butt, going through thee managers and finishing with a 67-95 record. McGriff became a free agent following the season.
Our Throwback Thursday feature continues, as we point the wayback machine back to the 1990s and put our focus on the offensive leaders of that decade. As a reminder, I’ve identified 32 games that I attended during this time period, when I would have been ages 15 through 24.
