Tag / Padres

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#175 – Adam Russell

Name: Adam Russell

Rank: 175

Position: P

Year With White Sox: 2008

Adam Russell joined the White Sox as their 6th round draft pick in 2004.  He was called up to the major leagues in early May, 2008, but did not make it into a game before being returned to the minor leagues.  He returned and finally made his major league debut on June 17, pitching a perfect inning in the White Sox 16-5 drubbing of the Pirates.

As the year continued, Russell bounced back and forth between the White Sox bullpen and Triple A.  He finished the year with a 4-0 record and a 5.19 ERA in 22 appearances.  He was left off the playoff roster as the White Sox lost the ALDS to the Rays.

Russell spent all of 2009 in Triple A until July 31, when he was traded, along with Dexter Carter, Aaron Poreda, and Clayton Richard, to the Padres in exchange for Jake Peavy.

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

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#184 – Ross Gload

rossgloadName: Ross Gload

Rank: 184

Position: 1B/RF

Years With White Sox: 2004-2006

As spring training wound down in 2003, the White Sox acquired Ross Gload from the Rockies in exchange for minor league pitcher Wade Parrish.  Gload spent the entire 2003 season in Triple A Charlotte, but made the White Sox roster out of spring training in 2004, backing up Paul Konerko and, prior to his season ending injury, Magglio Ordonez.  Gload made it into 110 games and finished the year with a .321 batting average.  Despite the limited playing time, he finished 7th in voting for AL Rookie of the Year.

In 2005, Gload missed time due to shoulder inflammation, which kept him either on the disabled list on in Triple A Charlotte between April 25 and July 22.  When Frank Thomas went down with a foot injury, Gload was recalled to take his roster spot.  A little more than a week later, Gload was sent back down when Geoff Blum was acquired from the Padres.  He rejoined the team when rosters expanded on September 1.  Gload was left off the playoff roster for all three rounds.

With his shoulder fully healed, Gload returned to the White Sox full time in 2006.  While his playing time was again limited, he did manage to put up .327 average.  Following the season, Gload was traded to the Royals in exchange for relief pitcher Andy Sisco.

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

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2014 Final Standings

MLB: Cincinnati Reds at Los Angeles Dodgers

The 2014 baseball season came to an end this past Sunday.  I made it to 35 games this year, in 4 stadiums across 3 states.  Here are the final standings for those games, and the 17 different teams that I saw in person.

Team Won Loss Winning Pctg
New York Yankees 2 0 1.000
San Francisco Giants 1 0 1.000
Pittsburgh Pirates 1 0 1.000
Cleveland Indians 1 0 1.000
Arizona Diamondbacks 1 0 1.000
Kansas City Royals 3 1 0.750
Chicago Cubs 3 2 0.600
San Diego Padres 1 1 0.500
Toronto Blue Jays 1 1 0.500
Houston Astros 1 1 0.500
Detroit Tigers 1 1 0.500
Chicago White Sox 14 17 0.452
Minnesota Twins Continue reading →
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2014 All Star Break Standings

As we head in to the All Star break, it’s time to take a look at the team records for the 17 games I attended in the first half of the baseball season.

2014 Team Records

Team Won Loss Winning Pctg
New York Yankees 2 0 1.000
Kansas City Royals 2 0 1.000
San Francisco Giants 1 0 1.000
Cleveland Indians 1 0 1.000
Arizona Diamondbacks 1 0 1.000
Tampa Bay Rays 1 1 0.500
San Diego Padres 1 1 0.500
Chicago Cubs 1 1 0.500
Chicago White Sox 6 10 0.375
Seattle Mariners Continue reading →
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RIP Tony Gwynn

tony-gwynn-padres-rf-1984Former San Diego Padre great Tony Gwynn passed away this morning at the age of 54.  Gwynn had been battling cancer of the salivary glands since 2011, which he ascribed to a lifetime use of chewing tobacco.  After a 20 year career, all with the Padres, that ended with 3141 hits and a lifetime batting average of .338 following the 2001 season, Gwynn was a first ballot Hall of Famer in 2007.

I only saw Gwynn play once in person, during a July 8, 1985 NLCS rematch between the Padres and the Cubs.  Gwynn went 2-5 on the day as the Padres once again bested the North Siders.

Over my nearly-40 years, many of the sporting heroes of my youth have passed away.  For some reason, this one has hit me particularly hard.  Cancer shows itself once again to be a heartless bitch that doesn’t care who you are or what you’ve accomplished.

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#232 – Charlie Haeger

Haegerpg-verticalName: Charlie Haeger

Rank: 232

Position: P

Years With White Sox: 2006-2007

Charlie Haeger was selected by the White Sox in the 25th round of the 2001 draft.  He retired after the 2002 season to pursue a career in golf, but returned to baseball and the White Sox organization in 2004.  He finally made his way to the major leagues in 2006, making his debut against the Angels in a 12-5 loss after Jose Contreras went down with a back issue.  After the start, he was quickly returned to Charlotte, but he eventually returned, appearing in 6 other games, all in relief, for the White Sox that year, finishing with a 3.44 ERA.

Haeger competed for the fifth starters spot during spring training in 2007, but was sent back to Charlotte again when the newly arrived John Danks won the competition.  As the 2007 season went south, Haeger was recalled in mid-July, and, like the rest of the team that year, did poorly.  He appeared in 8 games, giving up 9 earned runs in 11 1/3 innings.

Haeger spent most of 2008 at Triple A Charlotte, until he was designated for assignment and claimed by the Padres in September, ending his time in the White Sox organization.

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

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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 →
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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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California Dreamin’

SanDiegoLast year, the new CIO at my company started a new program where the top point recipients from our internal employee recognition tool were rewarded with a trip to Disney World.  Last week, they announced this year’s winners will be heading to San Diego next spring and today, the list of winners was released.  Surprisingly, my name was on the list, so, come next April, I will be headed on an all-expense paid trip to SoCal for, well, something.  Details will be provided in January, so who knows what the itinerary will be or how much free time we will have to traverse one of my favorite cities in this country.

Of course, my first reaction after finding out about the trip was “I wonder if the Padres are in town.”  Sadly, the answer is no.  My second thought was that after a winter that is already hitting single digits, a trip to the warm embrace of California will be very welcome.

by jim

Ending With A Whimper

2591590_large7 seasons after his last major league appearance, former Cub phenom Mark Prior called it a career on Monday.  The second overall pick in the 2001 draft, Prior quickly rose to the major leagues, making his debut on May 22, 2002, earning the victory against the Pirates.  He excelled the following year, as a surprising Cubs team won their division and came within 5 outs of making their first World Series since 1945.  Prior finished the year 18-6, was named to the All Star team, finished third in Cy Young award voting and was ninth in voting for the MVP award.

2003 was also the start of Prior’s injury issues.  He hit the disabled list after colliding with Marcus Giles in a game in early July.  Thanks to the All Star break, he only missed 3 starts, but he never pitched a full season after that point.  He missed the first 2 months of the 2004 season due to an achilles injury.  In 2005, he again started the season on the disabled list and went back on after suffering a broken elbow after getting hit by a line drive off the bat of Brad Hawpe.  2006 marked the third straight season that Prior would start the season on the DL, where he would stay until June 18.  Less than a month later, he would return to the DL with a strained oblique suffered during batting practice.  On August 10, Prior made his final start of the season, going 3 innings and picking up the loss to the Brewers.  Four days later, he was placed on the DL for the third and final time that season, due to tendinitis.  He would never pitch in the major leagues again.

Prior left the Cubs following the 2007 season, and, since then, he has attempted comebacks with the Padres, Rangers, Yankees, Red Sox, and, most recently, the Reds, where he had to be shut down as a result of continuing shoulder problems after just 7 relief appearances in Triple A.  You couldn’t help but feel for him, a once in a lifetime stud pitcher who should have led the Cubs rotation for years and, instead, flamed out after 5 seasons.  Entire books could be written on what might have been, and now Mark Prior will have his summers free to read them.

Prior’s numbers in a Cub uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were: Continue reading →