Name: Mike Sirotka
Rank: 63
Position: P
Years With White Sox: 1995-2000
Mike Sirotka joined the White Sox organization after being selected in the 15th round of the 1993 draft. He made his major league debut 2 years later on July 19, 1995, going 6 2/3 innings and giving up 11 hits while picking up the loss against the Red Sox at Comiskey Park. He made 5 additional starts in the big leagues, finishing the year 1-2 with a respectable 4.19 ERA.
1996 saw Sirotka splitting time between Chicago and Triple A Nashville. His time in the big leagues did not go well, as he worked mostly out of the bullpen and finished the year with 7.18 ERA in 15 appearances.
Sirotka again split time between Triple A and Chicago in 1997, but saw markedly better results. In 7 games with the White Sox, he went 3-0 with a sparkling 2.25 ERA.
Sirotka earned a spot in the White Sox rotation coming out of spring training in 1998. He started 33 games, going 14-15 with an elevated 5.06 ERA.
1999 saw improvement in Sirotka’s numbers, as he lowered his ERA by over a run to 4.00 while finishing the year with an 11-13 record.
Sirotka got off to an inauspicious start in 2000, giving up a hit to country singer Garth Brooks, who was playing with the Padres, in spring training. Once the games counted for real, though, Sirotka put up the best season of his young career, going 15-10 with a 3.79 ERA as the White Sox won their first AL Central crown. Sirotka started, and lost, game 2 of the ALDS against the Mariners at Comiskey Park.
The following January, Sirotka, along with Mike Williams, Kevin Beirne, and Brian Simmons, was traded to the Blue Jays for David Wells and Matt DeWitt. When Sirotka was found to have a shoulder injury, Blue Jays GM Gord Ash accused Kenny Williams of withholding information and labeling Sirotka as “damaged goods”. Ash appealed to Commissioner Bud Selig, who refused to overturn the trade. Sirotka never pitched in the major leagues again.
Sirotka’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were: