We finish off the year with 2 shots of Michael from 2 different baseball games in 2 different stadiums. On the left, he is posing with the retro racers of Paul Konerko and Joe Crede on the concourse at US Cellular Field early in the 2015 season. On the right, he is showing off the baseball he got from Tom Ricketts at Wrigley Field during the 2015 post-season.
Tag / Joe Crede
#58 – Pablo Ozuna
Name: Pablo Ozuna
Rank: 58
Position: LF/3B
Years With White Sox: 2005-2008
Pablo Ozuna signed with the White Sox as a free agent in January of 2005. He set career highs with 70 games, 203 at bats, 56 hits, 14 stolen bases, and 11 RBI. Ozuna made two appearances in the 2005 post-season, both in the ALCS against the Angels. In the second, he pinch ran for A.J. Pierzynski after the infamous dropped third strike call in the 9th inning of Game 2. Following a stolen base, Ozuna scored the winning run on Joe Crede’s double, starting the White Sox 8 game winning streak to close out their first World Series title in 88 years.
Ozuna returned to the White Sox in 2006, where he set a new career high in games played with 79. On May 3, he hit his first career home run, a solo shot with 2 outs in the 9th inning to tie the game.
An broken leg suffered in late May limited Ozuna to 27 games in 2007. “Are we going to miss him? Yeah,” manager Ozzie Guillen said. “We’re going to miss him like any of the guys because he’s a big piece in the club.”
Ozuna returned from the injury in 2008 and was performing well, hitting .281 in 32 games. On July 8, with Paul Konerko coming off the disabled list a facing a roster crunch, Ozuna was designated for assignment. On July 16, he was given his release, ending his White Sox career.
Ozuna’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:
World Series Batting Leaders
Last night, the Cubs made their first World Series appearance since 1945 when they squared off against the Indians. To mark the appearance, let’s look at the offensive leaders in the 1 World Series game I have attended, game 2 of the 2005 World Series between the White Sox and the Astros.
Home Runs
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Morgan Ensberg | 1 |
| Scott Podsednik | 1 |
| Paul Konerko | 1 |
Hits
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Willy Taveras | 2 |
| Aaron Rowand | 2 |
| Brad Ausmus | 2 |
| Juan Uribe | 2 |
| Carl Everett | 2 |
Runs
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Willy Tavares | 2 |
| 11 tied with | 1 |
RBI
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Paul Konerko | 4 |
| Lance Berkman | 3 |
| Jose Vizcaino | 2 |
| Joe Crede | 1 |
| Juan Uribe | 1 |
| Scott Podsednik | 1 |
| Morgan Ensberg | 1 |
Doubles
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Juan Uribe | 2 |
| Lance Berkman | 1 |
| Continue reading → |
LCS Batting Leaders
13 years ago tonight, the Cubs were 5 outs away from the World Series before an incident saw their season unravel. 1 year ago, they prepared to return to the NLCS for the first time since, a series they ultimately lost to the Mets. Tomorrow night, they head back for the second straight year, hoping to end a 71 year World Series drought. With the Dodgers coming to town, let’s look at the offensive leaders in the 7 LCS games I’ve attended, games 1, 6, and 7 of the 2003 NLCS, games 1 and 2 of the 2005 ALCS, and those ill-fated games 3 and 4 of the 2015 NLCS.
Home Runs
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Daniel Murphy | 2 |
| Miguel Cabrera | 2 |
| Moises Alou | 2 |
| 15 tied with | 1 |
Hits
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Daniel Murphy | 6 |
| Juan Pierre | 6 |
| Jeff Conine | 5 |
| Luis Castillo | 5 |
| 8 tied with | 4 |
Runs
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Daniel Murphy | 4 |
| Juan Pierre | 4 |
| Miguel Cabrera | 4 |
| Continue reading → |
A Quarter Century Of Memories
To celebrate the 25th anniversary of US Cellular Field, the White Sox are asking fans to vote for the top moment in US Cellular Field history, broken down into 4 brackets: Postseason Perks, Memorable Moments, Records and Milestones, and Honors and More. Today, we shall take a look at the first 2 groupings of these moments and decide which is the best.
The Postseason Peaks region boasts 6 entries from or related to the 2005 World Series champions plus another 2 from the team’s last division winner in 2008. The disappointing post-season appearances from 1993 and 2000 are left out altogether. As an added plus, I attended all of the games in this region.
The first match-up is a no-brainer, with Scott Podsednik’s walk-off home run to win Game 2 of the World Series pitted against Alexei Ramirez’s grand slam against the Tigers to force game 163 against the Twins for the division crown. With all due respect to Alexei, Podsednik takes this with ease.
The next battle is between the aforementioned game 163, the Blackout Game that sent the White Sox to the playoffs, against Joe Crede’s walk-off single against the Angels in Game 2 of the 2005 ALCS. While the Blackout was great fun, it was just a regular season game. Crede’s hit, following the A.J. Pierzynski drama, would have blown the roof off the place, if it had one.
Next, we have the unfair fight of Paul Konerko’s grand slam in Game 2 of the 2005 World Series versus Tadahito Iguchi’s go-ahead home run against the Red Sox in Game 2 of the ALDS. No real contest here.
The final match-up is again from Game 2 of the 2005 ALCS, when Pierzynski struck out and somehow managed to get the umpires to let him take first base, going up against the second game of the 2006 season, when the White Sox received their World Series championship rings. While the ring ceremony was indeed cool, it can’t beat the game action of one of the smartest players in baseball using his wits to outduel the opponent.
We now turn our attention to the Memorable Moments region, a more varied group of games, only 5 of which I managed to attend.
We begin with the second to last day of the 2014 season, when the White Sox honored their retiring captain with a special ceremony, doing battle against the July 7, 1999 contest against the Royals where Chris Singleton hit for the cycle. Once again, I’ll have to give the nod to Konerko.
The next match-up pits Frank Thomas, hitting the first White Sox home run at the then-New Comiskey Park on April 22, 1991 against Bo Jackson’s home run in the division-clinching game on September 27, 1993. You can’t really go wrong with either of these, to be honest.
The next battle is between Mark Buerhle’s kick save followed by a flip between the legs which Paul Konerko barehanded for the putout on Opening Day 2010 and the 10 year reunion of the 2005 champions last summer. I’ll give the nod to Buehrle.
The last match-up features the White Sox game against the Yankees on September 18, 2001, the first game after the tragedy of 9/11 versus Carlos Lee’s 10th inning walk-off grand slam off Courtney Duncan in the June 8, 2001 victory over the Cubs. While Lee’s hit is obviously the better baseball moment, the meaning of the return to the field after the attack on New York and the Pentagon have a greater meaning overall.
Coming out of these brackets, you have either Konerko or Podsednik’s home run from Game 2 of the World Series going up against Buehrle’s play against the Indians on Opening Day 2010. We’ll check out the remaining 2 regions next week.
Upgrading The Hot Corner
The White Sox continued their attempts to upgrade their offense by acquiring third baseman Todd Frazier in a 3 team deal yesterday. Frazier, who hit 11 more home runs last year than White Sox third baseman managed in the past 2 seasons combined, comes to the from the Reds. The Sox send Micah Johnson, Frankie Montas, and Trayce Thompson to the Dodgers, who, in turn, will send Jose Peraza, Brandon Dixon, and Scott Schebler back to the Reds.
With this move, the previously acquired Brett Lawrie will move to second base, filling two long-term holes for the south siders. If Frazier is able to match his production for the Reds over the past few years, he will easily surpass any White Sox third baseman since Joe Crede went down with a back injury in 2008.
Of the 3 prospects going to the Dodgers, the only big loss would appear to be Frankie Montas, a young pitcher acquired in the Jake Peavy deal. Montas put up a 2.97 ERA for AA Birmingham last year while also appearing in 7 games for the White Sox. He likely would have found a spot at the end of the rotation or in the bullpen in 2017. Micah Johnson was the Opening Day second baseman for the White Sox last year, but defensive problems sent him back to the minors and injuries took part of the season away from him. Trayce Thompson also spent time with the big league club in 2015, despite a middling minor league career. He was red hot as a platoon player at first, but cooled down and seemingly looks to be a fourth outfielder at best.
To be fair, the White Sox appeared to be much improved last winter as well, and the 2015 season did not play out as anyone would have anticipated. One can only hope that, with the upgrades at catcher and now second and third base, the 2016 season will turn out much different.
LCS Batting Leaders
The ghosts of 1969 will be in full force this year as the Cubs will battle the Mets in the NLCS. The Cubs will be looking to end 70 years of World Series frustrations against the rival who came from 9 1/2 games back in early August to catch and surpass the Cubs in that fated summer, finishing 8 games ahead as the Cubs en route to their first World Series title. With the series scheduled to kick off tomorrow night in the Big Apple, let’s look at the offensive leaders in the 5 LCS games I’ve attended, games 1, 6, and 7 of the 2003 NLCS and games 1 and 2 of the 2005 ALCS.
Home Runs
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Miguel Cabrera | 2 |
| Moises Alou | 2 |
| Robb Quinlan | 1 |
| Ivan Rodriguez | 1 |
| Mike Lowell | 1 |
| Kerry Wood | 1 |
| Juan Encarnacion | 1 |
| Garret Anderson | 1 |
| Alex Gonzalez | 1 |
| Troy O’Leary | 1 |
| Joe Crede | 1 |
| Sammy Sosa | 1 |
Hits
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Juan Pierre | 6 |
| Jeff Conine | 5 |
| Luis Castillo | 5 |
| Miguel Cabrera | 4 |
| Moises Alou | 4 |
| Sammy Sosa | 4 |
| Ivan Rodriguez | 4 |
| Alex Gonzalez | 4 |
| Mark Grudzielanek | 4 |
Runs
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Juan Pierre | 4 |
| Miguel Cabrera | 4 |
| Continue reading → |
#134 – Josh Fields
Name: Josh Fields
Rank: 134
Position: 3B
Years With White Sox: 2006-2009
Josh Fields joined the White Sox organization as their first round pick in the 2004 draft. He made his major league debut on September 13, 2006 as a defensive replacement in the White Sox 9-0 victory over the Angels. 6 days later, Fields became the third White Sox player, following Carlos Lee and Miguel Olivo, to homer in their first major league at bat.
Fields entered the 2007 season rated as the second-best prospect in the White Sox organization, and got his first chance at extended playing time in the major leagues when Joe Crede went down with a season-ending back injury. Fields appeared to be one of the bright spots on that miserable team, finishing the year with a .244 average and 24 home runs in only 100 games, good enough for one third place Rookie of the Year vote.
With a healthy Crede back in the fold for 2008, Fields returned to Triple A, where he had a disappointing, injury-marred season.
Fields became the starting third baseman in 2009, with Joe Crede moving on to the Twins. Fields appeared in 79 games, but struggled to hit with consistency and was eventually replaced by rookie Gordon Beckham. The highlight of his season came on July 23, when he hit a grand slam and recorded the final putout in Mark Buerhle’s perfect game against the Rays.
Following the season, Fields, along with Chris Getz, was traded to the Royals for Mark Teahen.
Fields’ numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:
Single Game Batting Leaders Revisited
We’ve looked at the single season and career leaders for games I have attended, and I thought it would be interesting to take another look at the single game leaders in those categories, for the first time since 2012.
Home Runs
| Name | Total | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Sammy Sosa | 3 | 6/5/1996 |
| Moises Alou | 3 | 7/4/2003 |
| 103 with | 2 | Most recently on 5/24/2015 |
Hits
| Name | Total | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Scott Rolen | 5 | 4/22/2007 |
| Mike Fontenot | 5 | 6/25/2007 |
| Mark DeRosa | 5 | 9/17/2007 |
| Alfonso Soriano | 5 | 5/17/2008 |
| Derrek Lee | 5 | 6/28/2008 |
| Ryan Braun | 5 | 8/2/2010 |
| Prince Fielder | 5 | 8/2/2010 |
| Danny Santana | 5 | 8/3/2014 |
| Melky Cabrera | 5 | 6/21/2015 |
Runs
| Name | Total | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Chris Burke | 5 | 6/13/2006 |
| Gary Ward | 4 | 8/14/1984 |
| Paul Konerko | 4 | 6/28/2002 |
| Continue reading → |
Single Game Batting Leaders
We’ve looked at the single season and career leaders for games I have attended, and I thought it would be interesting to take a look at the single game leaders.
Home Runs
| Name | Total | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Sammy Sosa | 3 | 6/5/1996 |
| Moises Alou | 3 | 7/4/2003 |
| 97 with | 2 | Most rcently on 8/4/2012 |
Hits
| Name | Total | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Scott Rolen | 5 | 4/22/2007 |
| Mike Fontenot | 5 | 6/25/2007 |
| Mark DeRosa | 5 | 9/17/2007 |
| Alfonso Soriano | 5 | 5/17/2008 |
| Derrek Lee | 5 | 6/28/2008 |
| Ryan Braun | 5 | 8/2/2010 |
| Prince Fielder | 5 | 8/2/2010 |
Runs
| Name | Total | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Chris Burke | 5 | 6/13/2006 |
| Gary Ward | 4 | 8/14/1984 |
| Paul Konerko | 4 | 6/28/2002 |
| Continue reading → |