Tag / Larry Himes

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#256 – Ricky Horton

51TAName: Ricky Horton

Rank: 256

Position: P

Year With White Sox: 1988

After months of rumors and speculation, the White Sox and Cardinals finally consummated the trade that sent Ricky Horton and Lance Johnson to the south side in exchange for Jose DeLeon on February 9, 1988.  GM Larry Himes planned on plugging Horton in to the starting rotation, saying, “He was a key pitcher for Cardinals with the way they used him. Now he gets the opportunity to take the ball every five days for us.”  Hopes were so high that manager Jim Fregosi tabbed Horton to take the mound on opening day.

After compiling a 3-6 record in his first nine starts, however, Horton was moved back to the bullpen, where things went from bad to worse for the next two months.  “I tried to think of the season as two halves,” Horton said.  “I put the first half out of my mind and tried to start over fresh in the second half.”  Horton turned his season around, becoming the most consistent lefty in the pen for the White Sox until August 31st, when he was shipped to the Dodgers in exchange for pitcher Shawn Hillegas.

Horton’s numbers in a White Sox uniform were:

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And The Enshrinees Are

greg-maddux 52174766

The BBWAA ballots have been counted and Greg Maddux, Frank Thomas, and Tom Glavine have been elected as to the Hall of Fame. Maddux lead the pack with 97.2% of the vote, followed by his former Braves teammate Glavine with 91.9%. Thomas finished third with 83.7% of the vote. Narrowly missing induction, with 74.8% of the vote (the Hall of Fame does not round up) was Craig Biggio.

Maddux, of course, got his start with the Cubs, whom he helped lead to the 1989 NL East title.  He won the first of his 4 consecutive NL Cy Young awards with the North Siders in 1992 before being allowed to leave as a free agent by GM Larry Himes.  Maddux signed with the Braves, where he continued to dominate and helped lead Atlanta to the 1995 World Series championship.  After 11 seasons, he returned to the Cubs in 2004.  He defeated the Giants in August of that year to win his 300th game and, in July of 2005, he struck out his 3000th batter.  In 2006, with the Cubs far out of contention, he was traded to the Dodgers for their stretch run.  For 2007, Maddux signed with the Padres, where he spent the next year and a half before being traded back to the Dodgers for another stretch run.  After the Dodgers were bounced from the playoffs, Maddux announced his retirement.

Frank Thomas was the first round draft pick of the White Sox in the 1989 draft, and made his debut for the White Sox the following year.  Thomas won the AL MVP award in 1993 while leading the White Sox to their final AL West title.  Thomas repeated as MVP in 1994, putting up a .353 average with 38 homers and 101 RBIs in the strike-shortened season.  In 1997, Thomas won the AL batting title and finished third in the MVP race.  After two substandard seasons, at least for him, Thomas rebounded in 2000, leading the White Sox to the AL Central title and narrowly losing the MVP award to a juiced-up Jason Giambi.  Thomas struggled with injuries after that, appearing in only 20 games in 2001, 74 games in 2004, and 34 games in 2005.  He spent the entire post-season on the disabled list as the White Sox won their first World Series in 88 years.  Following that year, the White Sox cut ties with Thomas and he headed out west to play for the A’s.  In his first game back in Chicago as a visiting player, Thomas homered twice.  Thomas spent 2007 and the start of 2008 with the Blue Jays, before finishing the season, and his career, back with the A’s.

I have been witness to milestones for all 3 enshrined players.  I was at Wrigley Field when Greg Maddux made his first attempt at winning his 300th game against the Phillies, the start before he won it on the road against the GIants.  I was there the next season for the rain delayed night game where he would strike out his 3000th batter, again against the Giants.  I was in Shea Stadium for Tom Glavine’s first appearance as a New York Met, which did not turn out well for him.  4 years later, I was at Wrigley Field for a Sunday night matchup where things worked out better for him as he defeated the Cubs for his 300th victory.

Thomas is now the Hall of Famer I have seen in action more than any other.  I was at his first return appearance as a member of the A’s, where, before the first of his 2 home runs, he was treated to a standing ovation.  An ovation which panned the crowd and found me amongst the masses, which I happened to notice that night on Baseball Tonight and now lives on as part of the White Sox Memories DVD.  I first saw Thomas play in his rookie year of 1990 and caught 66 of his games over the years.  I was there when he threw out the first pitch before the 2005 ALDS Game 1 against the Red Sox and in 2010 when his number 35 was retired.

Maddux, Thomas, and Glavine’s numbers in games I attended were:

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#278 – Jerry Royster

Jerry Royster (1987 White Sox) 2

Name: Jerry Royster

Rank: 278

Position: 3B/LF

Year With White Sox: 1987

Veteran infielder Jerry Royster joined the White Sox as a free agent in January of 1987.  “My biggest concern when I took over the team wasn’t our starters as much as our depth,” said then-Sox general manager Larry Himes. “With the previous acquisitions of Hill and Manrique, Jerry solidifies our infield. We can cover ourselves at all positions for 162 games.”

Royster moved into the starting lineup, platooning with Steve Lyons, in late June when manager Jim Fregosi sent Tim Hulett back to Triple A.  He put up a .240 average in 55 games through late August.

On August 26, his time with the White Sox came to an end when he was traded to the Yankees, along with minor leaguer Mike Soper, in exchange for lefty reliever Ken Patterson and a minor league player to be named later.

Interesting note on career minor leaguer Soper, an infielder who, at the time of this trade, had been part of a White Sox-Yankees trade three times over the previous two years.

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

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#299 – Bill Long

billlongName: Bill Long

Rank: 299

Position: P

Years With White Sox: 1985, 1987-1990

Bill Long was acquired by the White Sox along with Ozzie Guillen, Tim Lollar, and Luis Salazar from the Padres in exchange for LaMarr Hoyt in December of 1984.  Long made his major league debut that July against the Indians, going 5 innings and getting a no decision in the White Sox loss.  Long finished the year with a disappointing 10.29 ERA in 4 games with the big league club.

That performance helped keep Long at Triple A for the entire 1986 season, but he bounced back in 1987, making 23 starts for a White Sox team that finished in 5th place.  1988 saw Long spend more time in the bullpen, finishing the season with a career high in appearances.  The next year was even better, as Long put up a career best 3.92 ERA in only 30 games.

April of 1990 saw Long appear in 4 games, giving up 5 runs in less than 6 innings before GM Larry Himes decided it was time for Long to move on.  As the month drew to a close, Long was traded across town to the Cubs in exchange for a minor league pitcher.

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

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#362 – Ray Searage

Name: Ray Searage

Rank: 362

Position: P

Years With White Sox: 1986-1987

Ray Searage was acquired by the White Sox in a deadline deal with the Brewers for Al Jones and a minor leaguer.  He was tremendous for the Sox, appearing in 29 games and finishing with a 0.62 ERA.

His 1987 season, while respectable, was a bit of a letdown after that debut.  He finished the year with a 4.20 ERA.  He was released during a veteran purge by GM Larry Himes towards the end of spring training in 1988, along with Jim Winn and Jerry Hairston.

Today, Searage has returned to the major leagues as the pitching coach for the resurgent Pittsburgh Pirates.

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

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#386 – Sammy Sosa

Name: Sammy Sosa

Rank: 386

Position: RF

Years With White Sox: 1989-1991

Before he and Mark McGwire helped heal the remaining wounds from the ’94 strike by smashing Roger Maris’ home run record, before becoming, again with McGwire, the poster boy for performance enhancing drugs and watching his Hall of Fame chances go up in smoke, Sammy Sosa spent 2 1/2 seasons frustrating the Chicago White Sox.

Acquired with Wilson Alvarez and Scott Fletcher at the trade deadline in 1989 in the deal that sent Harold Baines to Texas, Sosa started off strong, hitting .273 with 3 HR to close out the ’89 season.  In 1990, his first full season in the major leagues, his average slipped to .233 and he finished 4th in the AL with 150 strikeouts.

Following the 1990 season, GM Larry Himes, who engineered the trade with Texas, was fired, leaving Sosa without a guardian in the organization.  Unfortunately for Sosa, his 1991 season was even worse, with his average dropping again to .203 and being sent back to Triple A Vancouver for additional seasoning.  In his “autobiography”, aptly titled Sosa: An Autobiography, Sosa blames hitting coach Walt Hriniak for most of his problems with the White Sox and takes no responsibility for his lack of production.

Following the ’91 season, Himes was hired as the Cubs new GM, and near the end of the following spring training in 1992, Sosa was sent to the Northside along with Ken Patterson for a fading George Bell, where his career skyrocketed and then plummeted back down to Earth. But that is a story for a different time.

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