Name: Juan Uribe
Rank: 38
Position: 2B/SS
Years With White Sox: 2004-2008
Juan Uribe was acquired by the White Sox on December 2, 2003 from the Rockies for Aaron Miles. He split time with Willie Harris at second base, hitting .283 while setting career highs in home runs, with 23, and RBIs, with 74. He fell 1 RBI short of the White Sox single game team record on June 19, when he knocked in 7 runs against the Expos.
With the loss of Jose Valentin and the arrival of Tadahito Iguchi in 2005, Uribe moved to shortstop. His defensive prowess, especially compared to Valentin, helped solidify a team that would go on to win its first division title since 2000. Offensively, Uribe finished the year with a .252 average and 16 home runs. In the ALDS, Uribe hit a robust .400 with 4 RBIs in the 3 game sweep of the Red Sox. He hit .250 in both the ALCS against the Angels and the World Series against the Astros. Defensively, he dove in to the stands to make the penultimate out in Game 4 of the World Series, before fielding the soft grounder hit by Orlando Palmeiro and throwing over to Paul Konerko to give the White Sox their first title in 88 years.
As the White Sox tried to defend their title, Uribe saw his average fall further in 2006. He ended the year with a .235 average, though he did put up 21 home runs and 71 RBIs despite being limited to 132 games due to injuries.
2007 was a continuation of the poor offensive contributions from Uribe. However, as the rest of the White Sox cratered, his holes became more noticeable. He ended up with a .234 average, 20 home runs, and 68 RBIs. The White Sox declined his option for 2008, but signed him to a new one year deal for the 2008 season.
After acquiring Orlando Cabrera, Uribe shifted back to second base to start 2008. Unfortunately, an injury in May led to Alexei Ramirez cementing his place in the starting lineup. Uribe saw action at third base after a back injury took down Joe Crede in late July. Appearing in only 110 games, his lowest total since 2003, he finished the year with .247 average, 7 home runs, and 40 RBIs as the White Sox won their second AL Central title in his tenure. Uribe fell in to a funk during the ALDS, hitting only .167 in the 4 game loss to the Rays. After the season, Uribe became a free agent.
Uribe’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:
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With baseball shut down because of the corona virus, I thought it would be an interesting time to look at the all time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for all 30 teams. We continue today with the Houston Astros.