Tag / Gene Lamont

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#91 – Dave Martinez

dave_martinez

Name: Dave Martinez

Rank: 91

Position: OF/1B

Years With White Sox: 1995-1997

Following the resolution of the strike that prematurely ended the 1994 season and delayed the start of the 1995 season, Dave Martinez signed with the White Sox as a free agent.  Martinez saw little playing time early in the season, until manager Gene Lamont was fired and replaced by Terry Bevington.  He split time between the outfield and first base, finishing the year with a .307 average and setting a career high with an .806 OPS.

Martinez returned to the White Sox in 1996, serving as the fourth outfielder and again backing up at first base.  He set a career high with 146 games played, a .318 batting average, an .861 OPS and 53 RBIs.  1997 was another good year for Martinez, where he set career highs in home runs and RBIs.  Following the season, Martinez became a free agent and his White Sox career came to an end.

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

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#160 – Chris Sabo

saboName: Chris Sabo

Rank: 160

Position: DH

Year With White Sox: 1995

Following the lockout that delayed the beginning of the 1995 season, Chris Sabo signed with the White Sox to replace Julio Franco, who had left for Japan, as the team’s designated hitter.  Sabo didn’t last long with the White Sox, as he was designated for assignment on May 25th to clear a roster spot for the recently un-retired John Kruk.  Manager Gene Lamont said Sabo took the reassignment well.  “Chris did a fine job for us. I spoke to him. He has a great outlook on things. I really wish him well, but John was the man that we wanted,” Lamont said. “Chris wants to play third every day, but obviously that’s not possible with us.”  Unable to find a trade partner, the White Sox released Sabo on June 5th.

Sabo’s numbers in a White Sox uniform were:

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#217 – Kirk McCaskill

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Name: Kirk McCaskill

Rank: 217

Position: P

Years With White Sox: 1992-1996

Kirk McCaskill signed with the White Sox as a free agent heading in to the 1992 season.  He entered the starting rotation and put up a respectable 12-13 record with a 4.18 ERA.

While things went better for the White Sox in 1993, as they finally broke through and won their first division title in a decade, the same could not be said for McCaskill.  He lost his spot in the starting rotation in June after going winless in 7 starts.  “I like to think Kirk can get it back together as a starter, but I’d like to say it won’t happen this year because if it does, that means something happened to our rotation,” manager Gene Lamont said.  McCaskill finished the year in the bullpen, even recording his first save.  During the post-season, he made 3 appearances in the 6 game ALCS against the eventual World Champion Blue Jays, pitching 3 2/3 scoreless innings.

In 1994, McCaskill posted his best season as a member of the White Sox, working entirely out of the bullpen.  He appeared in 40 games, racked up a career high 3 saves, and posted a 3.42 ERA.  Unfortunately for McCaskill and the White Sox, the season came to a premature end thanks to the players strike that wiped out the last month and a half of the season and the post-season.

When the work stoppage finally ended and the 1995 season got underway, things went south, for both McCaskill and the White Sox.  His ERA jumped by nearly a run and a half as the White Sox fell to third place.

1996 did not go any better.  McCaskill appeared in 29 games through the end of July and saw his ERA jump to nearly 7.00.  After giving up 4 hits and 2 runs in 1 inning of work against the Royals on July 20th, McCaskill was released by the White Sox.  “I don’t think you’re ever prepared for it,” McCaskill said.  “I’ve had a long career and it happens to a lot of people.”  Manager Terry Bevington said “It’s always tough to let someone go.  You don’t like seeing someone lose his job.  Kirk has had a good career with the White Sox.”  Thus endeth the major league career of Kirk McCaskill.

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

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#223 – Rob Dibble

dibble

Name: Rob Dibble

Rank: 223

Position: P

Year With White Sox: 1995

After rotator cuff surgery forced him to miss the entire 1994 season, Rob Dibble signed with the White Sox as a free agent in late February of 1995.  Dibble got off to a tremendous start with his new team, claiming that replacement players were “going to be labeled like child molesters for the rest of their lives,” which earned him a suspension during spring training.

Once the season got underway, Dibble found other, performance-related reasons to let down his new club.  Unfortunately, the arm injuries robbed him of both his command and his velocity, which left him as a pretty ineffective option out of Gene Lamont’s and Terry Bevington’s bullpen.  His WHIP was well over 2, and the last straw came in mid-July when he was suspended 3 games for throwing at Brewers second baseman Pat Listach’s head.  Before he could serve the suspension, the White Sox waived the troubled reliever, bringing his brief South Side career to an end.

Dibble’s numbers in a White Sox uniform were:

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#226 – Scott Ruffcorn

Scott-Ruffcorn

Name: Scott Ruffcorn

Rank: 226

Position: P

Years With White Sox: 1993-1996

Scott Ruffcorn was the White Sox first round draft pick out of Baylor University in 1991.  The previous 4 White Sox first round picks, Jack McDowell, Robin Ventura, Frank Thomas, and Alex Fernandez, were leading the White Sox to their first division title in a decade when Ruffcorn made his major league debut on June 19, 1993 against the Angels, taking the place of an injured Kirk McCaskill.  When Ron Karkovice separated his shoulder during the game, Ruffcorn was sent back to the minors to make room for another catcher on the roster.  He returned to the majors in September and made two additional appearances.

When Scott Sanderson had a tremendous spring in 1994 to force his way in to the starting rotation, it forced Ruffcorn to start the year in Triple A.  As July rolled around, Sanderson had started to struggle and Ruffcorn was called up to take his slot in the rotation.  Sadly, he didn’t last long, giving up seven runs and nine hits over 4 innings.  Manager Gene Lamont said that Ruffcorn “needed to get over his nervousness,” but his next start also did not go well.  Facing the Royals, he gave up 4 runs before being pulled in the third inning.  He was demoted back to Triple A before the strike in August wiped out the remainder of the season.

After an abbreviated spring training in 1995, Ruffcorn broke camp with the White Sox, earning a spot in the bullpen.  He walked six in 1 2/3 innings against the Red Sox in his second appearance of the year, and by mid-May, he was back in Triple A, with reporter Dave Van Dyck writing that Ruffcorn was “ruined forever because the Sox rushed him to judgment.”

Ruffcorn finished his White Sox career in 1996, appearing in 3 final games but getting the same results.  He ended up with 0 wins and a career ERA of 9.68 and the “record” for most consecutive seasons with an ERA over 7.00.  In January of 1997, he was purchased by the Phillies.

Ruffcorn’s numbers in a White Sox uniform were:

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#336 – Dennis Cook

Name: Dennis Cook

Rank: 336

Position: P

Year With White Sox: 1994

Coming off a poor 1993 with the Indians where he posted a 5.67 ERA, Dennis Cook signed a minor league deal with the White Sox in January 1994.  Cook impressed Gene Lamont enough in spring training to break camp with the big league club.  The highlight of Cook’s season may have been in July, when his former team accused him of cheating due to his success against them.

Indians manager Mike Hargrove had the home plate umpire check Cook’s glove for pine tar in both the 7th and 8th innings as Cook pitched 2 1/3 innings of one-hit scoreless relief, keeping the Sox within percentage points of the first-place Indians.  Cook’s season ended prematurely, along with the rest of the sport, on August 12th, when the Major League Baseball Players Association went on strike, with the White Sox holding a one game lead in the newly formed AL Central.

Following the lost season, which saw the cancellation of the playoffs and World Series, Cook was selected off waivers by the Indians.

Cook’s numbers in a White Sox uniform were:

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