Name: Bartolo Colon
Rank: 183
Position: P
Years With White Sox: 2003, 2009
After trying, and failing, to solidify the pitching staff each of the following 2 off-seasons, GM Kenny Williams went for broke again on January 15, 2003, agreeing to a 3 team deal that sent Rocky Biddle, Jeff Liefer, and Orlando Hernandez to the Expos, Antonio Osuna and minor-league pitcher Delvis Lantigua to the Yankees, and brought Bartolo Colon and minor-league infielder Jorge Nunez to the White Sox. Colon was expected to do what David Wells and Todd Ritchie could not: lead the White Sox back to the post-season.
Colon did his part, setting career highs in innings pitched and complete games, en route to a 15-13 record with a 3.87 ERA. Unfortunately, that was not enough, as the White Sox finished in second place, four games behind the Twins. Following the season, Colon filed for free agency and left the White Sox.
6 years later, nearly to the day he was first acquired, Colon rejoined the White Sox as a free agent, joining the rotation as a reclamation project after injuries had limited him to just 36 appearances over the previous 3 seasons. To say things did not go as expected would be an understatement. First, Colon went on the disabled list with a knee injury and, when he was scheduled to make a rehab start in Triple A Charlotte, he went AWOL. “Efforts to contact his agent have been successful,” Williams said at the time. “Their efforts to contact their client have not been so successful.
After he was found, Colon went down with another injury, this time swelling in his right elbow. Again, the right-hander disappeared and, eventually, the White Sox had enough. They requested waivers on September 16 for the purpose of giving Colon his unconditional release. His second tour of duty on the south side ended with a 3-6 record and a 4.19 ERA in only 12 starts.
Colon’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:
