Tag / Mets

by admin

#200 – Corky Miller

corkymillerName: Corky Miller

Rank: 200

Position: C

Year With White Sox: 2009

Journeyman catcher Corky Miller signed a minor league deal with the White Sox following the 2008 season, with an invite to spring training.  Miller impressed during the spring and earned a job with the big league club as backup to starter A.J. Pierzynski.

Miller went 2-4 with 2 RBI in his first game of the season, but struggled offensively after that.  In 14 games, he hit just .205 with 5 RBI and had thrown out just 1 of the 9 runners attempting to steal against him.

On May 31, Miller was designated for assignment after the White Sox acquired catcher Ramon Castro in a trade with the Mets.  “Corky Miller was outstanding from the first day of Spring Training to today,” manager Ozzie Guillen said at the time.  “Corky did a tremendous job for us and I was very happy with him, but we made a decision that we had to get better there.”  Miller was assigned to Triple A, where he appeared in 4 games before the June 26 trade that sent him back to the Reds in exchange for Norris Hopper.

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

Continue reading →

by admin

#212 – J.J. Putz

J.J. PutzName: J. J. Putz

Rank: 212

Position: P

Year With White Sox: 2010

J.J. Putz joined the White Sox as a free agent on December 11, 2009.  Following a disappointing year with the Mets, Putz was looking to rebuild his worth.  As part of a rebuilt bullpen, Putz helped the White Sox to a second place finish in the AL Central.  He set a franchise record on July 20 with his 25th consecutive scoreless outing.  He finished the year with a 2.83 ERA in 60 appearances.

Following the year, Putz became a free agent and signed with the Diamondbacks, bringing his White Sox career to an end.

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

Continue reading →

by admin

#219 – Dave Cochrane

dcochrane

Name: Dave Cochrane

Rank: 219

Position: 3B

Year With White Sox: 1986

Dave Cochrane joined the White Sox organization on July 16, 1985, when he was acquired from the Mets in exchange for Tom Paciorek.  The following year, he was a September callup for the White Sox, making his major league debut on September 2, 1986 against the Royals.  Cochrane appeared in 19 games for the White Sox down the stretch in a season that saw the team lose 90 games.

Despite hitting .271 with 15 home runs for Triple A Hawaii in 1987, Cochrane did not get a chance to return to the major leagues.  On February 3, 1988, he was packaged along with Floyd Bannister in a trade with the Royals that brought back John Davis, Greg Hibbard, and Melido Perez.

Cochrane’s numbers in a White Sox uniform were:

Continue reading →

by jim

The Boys Of Zimmer

zimFormer Cub manager Don Zimmer passed away Wednesday evening.  A baseball lifer, Zimmer started his career in professional baseball in 1949 and wore a uniform until earlier this year, when he underwent heart surgery and, sadly, never left the hospital.  Zimmer first came to the Cubs as a player in 1960.  He left for the Mets in the expansion draft after the 1961 season.

In 1984, he returned to the North side as third base coach when his high school pal Jim Frey was named manager.  The Cubs surpised everyone by winning their first division title and heading to the post-season for the first time since 1945.  When Frey became the team’s general manager following the 1987 season, he hired Don Zimmer to be his manager.  One year later, the so-called Boys of Zimmer led the Cubs to their second divisional title in 6 seasons.  In 1991, after demanding a contract extension from Tribune executive Donald Grenesko, Zimmer was fired.

After leaving the Cubs, Zimmer bounced around a bit as a coach before teaming up with Joe Torre in New York for their string of 4 World Series titles in 5 seasons starting in 1996.  He left the team in 2003 after, what else, an argument with George Steinbrenner.  He had spent the last decade as a senior advisor for the Tampa Bay Rays.  Starting in 2008, he was the last member of the Brooklyn Dodgers to still hold a field position.

After 66 years in baseball, Don Zimmer leaves behind many friends and admirers.  Nearly everyone involved in the game has a story about Zimmer, and they’ve all been retold over the past few days.  Somewhere, I’m sure Zimmer would enjoy sitting around a clubhouse being part of those retellings.

by admin

All Time Team Records

MLB: Cincinnati Reds at Los Angeles DodgersAnother exciting baseball season is upon us, and it is time once again to look at the all-time team records for games that I have attended.  Some changes from last year:

– A horrible 2013 dropped the winning percentage for the White Sox 9 points.

– The Miami Marlins join the roster of teams I have seen in person

All-Time Team Records

TeamName Won Loss Winning Pctg
California Angels 1 0 1.000
Arizona Diamondbacks 12 2 0.857
Florida Marlins 15 8 0.652
Philadelphia Phillies 10 6 0.625
Toronto Blue Jays 9 6 0.600
Chicago White Sox 220 187 0.541
Tampa Bay Rays 7 6 0.538
Colorado Rockies 7 6 0.538
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 15 13 0.536
New York Yankees 9 8 0.529
Chicgao Cubs 191 170 0.529
Continue reading →
by admin

#254 – Wilson Valdez

wilson_valdez_autographName: Wilson Valdez

Rank: 254

Position: SS

Year With White Sox: 2004

On June 17, 2004, the White Sox finally found a sucker, namely the Marlins, to take Billy Koch off their hands, in exchange for Wilson Valdez.  Valdez was assigned to Triple A Charlotte, where he earned himself a September call-up.  He made his major league debut on September 7th, going 0 for 3 in the White Sox 10-3 loss to the Rangers.

Out of options, he was placed on waivers following spring training in 2005, but was claimed by the Mets, ending his time with the South Siders.

Valdez’s numbers in a White Sox uniform were:

Continue reading →

by admin

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:

Continue reading →

by admin

#269 – Matt Ginter

1628-156FrName: Matt Ginter

Rank: 269

Position: P

Years With White Sox: 2000-2003

Matt Ginter was selected by the White Sox in the first round of the 1999 draft and made his major league debut the following September, throwing a scoreless inning and picking up the victory in the White Sox 9-8 win against the Angels.  The rest of his September call-up did not go as well, as he finished with a 13.50 ERA in 7 games.

Ginter split the next 3 seasons between Triple A Charlotte and Chicago, always performing much better in the minor leagues than in the majors.  In 2003, he put up a “nice” bookend to his White Sox career, matching the 13.50 ERA he put up in his rookie season of 2000.

As spring training of 2004 was winding down, Ginter was shipped to the Mets in exchange for Timo Perez.

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

Continue reading →

by admin

Ballpark Tour: Shea Stadium

SheaBoard

Stadium Name: Shea Stadium

Location: New York

Home Team: Mets, Yankees

Years in Service: 1964 – 2008

Visits: 1

After a delay caused by labor woes and an exceptionally harsh winter, Shea Stadium, home of the expansion New York Mets, opened on April 17, 1964, with the Pittsburgh Pirates beating the Mets 4–3 before a crowd of 50,312. It continued to be the home of the Mets until September 28, 2008, when the Mets lost to the Florida Marlins. Along the way, the stadium was also the home of the Yankees for 2 seasons while Yankee Stadium was being renovated and, for the 1975 season, it served as the home of both New York MLB teams and both New York NFL teams, the first time a stadium has had that many main major tenants at one time.

My one trip to Shea Stadium was for opening day in 2003 to see the Chicago Cub take on the NYMet.  The last day of March was Tom Glavine’s first appearance with the Mets after coming over from the Braves via free agency.  His grace period with the Mets faithful did not last long, as he was booed after throwing a ball on the second pitch.  The baseball gods were not on the Mets side that day, as the Cubs, behind 2 Corey Patterson home runs, routed the Mets 15-2.  I remember the stadium itself being pretty decent, though we did have some of the best seats in the house, which may have tainted my impression somewhat.

by admin

30 For 30 – Take One Ultimate Road Trip

SheaBoardThe fine folks at away.com have come up with a list of 30 Things Every Traveler Must Do Before They’re 30.  Of those 30, I’ve managed to accomplish 12 of them, or roughly 40% of them, some of which was even before I turned 30.  Today we look at #12 on their list, take one Ultimate Road Trip.  In the year 2003, the Chicago Cubs were scheduled to open their season on Monday, March 31 in Queens against the New York Mets.  What better way to celebrate than with a road trip to New York to take in the festivities?

The trip sort of started out Friday afternoon with a quick jaunt out to the Budget rental facility near O’Hare airport.  They were the one rental agency that didn’t seem to mind that we were taking the car out of state.  It for real started the next morning at 2 AM as we headed out on I-80 heading east.  Very little of interest happened throughout Indiana and Ohio.  Eventually, we stopped for lunch at an Arbys in Pennsylvania.  This particular Arbys happened to have a breakfast buffet, which was weird.  The customers of this Arbys seemed to be more at home in the hills of Appalachia then in Pennsylvania.  One in particular was wearing overalls with no shirt underneath (at least that’s how I remember it) and was waiting patiently for a new batch of bacon to be brought out to the buffet.  Once it was, this hill person got up, emptied the whole tray onto his plate, and returned to his seat to chow down.

After finishing our processed meat sandwiches, we continued on to our final destination: a Howard Johnson hotel in Newark, New Jersey.  From my recollection, the whole trip lasted a little more than 12 hours.  After a brief nap and a few episodes of the Chappelle Show, our plans for the evening required a train ride to Manhattan, which should have been a piece of cake.  There was a train at the airport and an airport shuttle should have come to the hotel every 15-20 minutes.  After waiting for an hour, the shuttle finally showed up, taking us to the Newark airport where we were finally able to take the train into New York City!

Continue reading →