Tag / Ken Harrelson

by jim

2018 Games Of Interest

Due to some ill-conceived (in my opinion) changes to my ticket plan by the White Sox, there are a smaller number of games this year.

Fireworks Night

April 20
August 17 (Elvis Night)
September 7

Other Fun Stuff

April 7 – White Sox Winter Hat
May 5 – Los White Sox Soccer Jersey
May 19 – Star Wars Night and Hawk Solo Bobblehead
June 2 – 1983 Replica Road Jersey
June 6 – Wrigley Field Scoreboard Clock
June 16 – Hawaiian Floppy Hat
June 18 – Jason Heyward Bobblehead
July 23 – Javy Baez Bobblehead
August 11 – Jim Thome Bobblehead

by admin

He Gone

On Wednesday, the White Sox announced that broadcaster Ken Harrelson, who cut back to working road trips only in 2016, would return in 2018 for a final season, with a schedule of primarily Sunday home games.  Jason Benetti, who had been working home games for the last year and a half, signed a multi-year extension to become the full time play by play voice for the team.

Harrelson, who first joined the White Sox booth in 1982, has had numerous health problems in recent years, including vision problems that caused him to miss time in 2015.  Those problems have caused the occasional gaffe, as he mostly relies on a monitor to see the action on the field.  While I’m glad he gets to leave on his own terms, it is clear that the time to pass the torch is here.  Benetti, who grew up a White Sox fan, has proven to be a worthy successor.

by admin

2017 Games Of Interest

Fireworks Night

May 13 (Hawk Harrelson Alarm Clock)
August 26 (Star Wars Night)

Family Day

April 9
April 23
May 14
May 28
June 25 (Southpaw birthday bobblehead)
July 2
July 16
July 30
August 13
August 27
September 3
September 10
September 24

Other Fun Stuff

April 8 – White Sox Winter Hat
April 10 – Championship Banner Raising/Home Opener
April 12 – Ring Ceremony/Replica Championship Banner
April 15 – Replica World Series Trophy
April 22 – White Sox Hooded Sweatshirt
May 20 – Final Out Bobblehead
May 27 – White Sox Photo Book
June 8 – World Series MVP Bobblehead
June 24 – Mark Buehrle Day
July 1 – White Sox Hawaiian Shirt
July 15 – White Sox Cap
July 29 – 1917 Jersey
September 23 – Soccer Style Jersey

 

by admin

#88 – Steve Lyons

stevelyons

Name: Steve Lyons

Rank: 88

Position: 3B/OF

Years With White Sox: 1986-1990

Steve Lyons was acquired by the White Sox at the end of June in 1986 in the deal that sent Tom Seaver to the Red Sox.  “I’ve liked him since he came into professional baseball,” GM Ken Harrelson said.  “The only reason we were able to get him is that Boston is in a divisional race.”  Lyons appeared in 42 games for the White Sox following the trade, starting 35 of them, and hit a disappointing .203 while finding his way into manager Jim Fregosi’s doghouse.

Lyons saw his average improve in 1987, though it didn’t necessarily add up to additional playing time.  Splitting time between Hawaii and Chicago, he appeared in only 76 games and saw a mere 193 at bats.

With an improved relationship with Fregosi in 1988, Lyons stepped in to become the regular third baseman after the Kenny Williams experiment came to an end in May.  While his offense was serviceable enough, he struggled defensively, finishing the year with 25 errors.  “It’s a huge embarrassment,” Lyons conceded.  “I’m just not doing the job. I hate to think that our pitchers are scared of me playing third base, but that would be a natural thought.”

1989 saw Lyons move primarily to second base.  The biggest moment of his season came at Yankee Stadium in June when a woman ran onto the field and accosted Lyons in the on-deck circle, giving him a big kiss.  He finished the year hitting .264 with a career high 50 RBI.

With the White Sox returning to contention in 1990, Lyons saw himself out of a starting job.  He clashed with new manager Jeff Torborg over his diminished playing time, due to the arrival of Robin Ventura at third base and the commitment to Scott Fletcher at second base.  He managed some late-inning duty at first base, until Frank Thomas joined the big league club in August.  In his new role, his average dropped to .192.  The most famous, or infamous, moment of his career came on July 16 against the Tigers, when, after sliding into first base for a bunt single, he lost track of where he was and dropped his pants to remove the dirt from his slide.  He quickly raised them back up, but the damage was done and a legend was born.

Despite his clashes with Torborg, Lyons managed to break camp with the White Sox in 1991, but lasted 4 games into the season, without getting in to any of them, before being released to make room for Charlie Hough, who was coming off the disabled list.  “I started seeing there wasn’t an opportunity for me to get on the field anywhere,” said Lyons.  “They had other guys to do the same kind of things that I was going to do.”

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

Continue reading →

by admin

#89 – Darrin Jackson

djName: Darrin Jackson

Rank: 89

Position: RF

Years With White Sox: 1994, 1999

Darrin Jackson signed with the White Sox as a free agent prior to the 1994 season.  He set career highs with a .312 batting average and a .817 OPS during the strike-shortened season, thanks in part to two separate 8 game hitting streaks.  With uncertainty about the state of MLB heading in to the 1995 season, Jackson moved on to the Japanese leagues.

He returned to the White Sox in January, 1999, again signing as a free agent.  He appeared in 73 games, getting only 149 at bats and ended the year hitting .275.  He retired following the year and joined the White Sox broadcast booth, replacing Tom Paciorek as the color analyst on television along side Hawk Harrelson.  In 2009, he moved over to the radio side, where he remains to this day.

Jackson’s numbers in a White Sox uniform were:

Continue reading →

by admin

He (Nearly) Gone

Ken-HarrelsonBack in October, the White Sox announced that Ken Harrelson, the play by play man for White Sox television broadcasts since 1990, will be cutting back his role this year, working road games, the home opener, and the Cubs series.  The 74 year old Harrelson, who has a 100 mile commute each way from his home in Indiana to US Cellular Field, had hinted at reducing his schedule prior to last season, but changed his mind after the team’s off-season moves offered the promise of an exciting summer.

Yesterday, the White Sox made the move official and announced the hiring of Jason Benetti, a 32-year old Homewood native who cut his professional broadcasting teeth with the Syracuse Chiefs, the Triple A affiliate of the Nationals.  Benetti becomes the first actual broadcaster hired by the White Sox since John Rooney in 1988.  The White Sox also announced that Harrelson and Steve Stone have signed multi-year extensions, settling the television booth for years to come.

I’ve never heard Benetti’s work (he also does college basketball on ESPN), but am looking forward to a younger and competent voice joining the broadcast booth.  An improved team and an improved broadcast booth should lead to an enjoyable summer.

by admin

#146 – Joel Skinner

joelskinnerName: Joel Skinner

Rank: 146

Position: C

Years With White Sox: 1983-1986

Acquired in 1982 by the White Sox as a free agent compensation pick from the Pirates organization, Joel Skinner made his major league debut on June 12, 1983 in a victory over the A’s.  He appeard in only 6 games for the eventual AL West champions, garnering 3 hits in 11 at bats.

Skinner again split time between the minor leagues and the major leagues in 1984, though he had more of a lasting impact at the big league level than the year before.  He appeared in 43 games for the White Sox, struggling at the plate and hitting only .213.

Skinner got another opportunity with the White Sox in 1985, when backup catcher Marc Hill went down with a hip contusion.  He appeared in 22 games and hit a surprising .341.  This convinced incoming general manager Ken Harrelson that he was ready to take over behind the plate in 1986.

To accomodate Skinner, Harrelson had manager Tony LaRussa move Carlton Fisk to left field.  The White Sox stumbled out of the gate and Skinner struggled to hit.  On May 9, with Skinner hitting in the .150s and LaRussa’s job on the line, he moved Fisk back behind the plate and the White Sox proceeded to win 10 of their next 13 games.  Skinner got another chance behind the plate in July when a virus knocked Fisk out of the lineup, but his days with the team were numbered.

As the trade deadline approached at the end of July, Skinner, along with Ron Kittle and Wayne Tolleson, were sent to the Yankees in exchange for Ron Hassey, Carlos Martinez, and a player to be named later, who eventually became Bill Lindsey.

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

Continue reading →

by admin

#150 – Reid Nichols

105-574Fr

Name: Reid Nichols

Rank: 150

Position: OF

Year With White Sox: 1985-1986

Reid Nichols joined the White Sox via a July 11, 1985 trade that sent Tim Lollar to the Red Sox.  His biggest moment with the White Sox came a little under a month later when, playing left field in Yankee Stadium, he caught the final out of Tom Seaver’s 300th career victory.  Nichols appeared in 51 games down the stretch, hitting .297 and driving in 15.

1986 was a different beast for Nichols, and the White Sox as a whole.  Caught up in the whirlwind that was the Hawk Harrelson era, Nichols saw his playing time reduced and his batting average drop.

He returned to the White Sox for spring training in 1987, but a rebuilding White Sox team, having just acquired outfielder Gary Redus from the Reds, decided to go in a different direction and, at the end of March, Nichols was released.

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

Continue reading →

by jim

6 In A Row

SoxWin-smallThanks to a stellar pitching performance from Chris Sale and a clutch 10th inning game winning hit by Carlos Sanchez, the White Sox won their 6th game in a row tonight, their longest winning streak since August of 2013.  The victory also pulled the team above .500 for the first time since June 4, 2014.

As Hawk Harrelson is known to say, don’t stop now boys.

by admin

#153 – Bobby Bonilla

$_35Name: Bobby Bonilla

Rank: 153

Position: LF/1B

Year With White Sox: 1986

After breaking his leg and missing most of the 1985 season, Bobby Bonilla was left off the Pirates 40 man roster and was selected by the White Sox in the Rule 5 draft in December.  He opened the 1986 season with the White Sox, making his major league debut on April 9, going 0-1 as a pinch hitter in the Sox loss to the Brewers.

With the chaos of Hawk Harrelson’s lone season as GM swirling around him, Bonilla put together a pretty decent rookie campaign, especially since he was making the jump from A ball.  He was hitting .269 with 2 home runs in 75 games when, with the trade deadline approaching, Harrelson decided to blow up the team and sent Bonilla back to the Pirates, in exchange for pitcher Jose DeLeon.

Bonilla’s numbers in a White Sox uniform were:

Continue reading →