Name: Scott Fletcher
Rank: 85
Position: SS/2B
Years With White Sox: 1983-1985, 1989-1991
Scott Fletcher first joined the White Sox on January 25, 1983 when he was acquired from the crosstown Cubs, along with Randy Martz, Pat Tabler, and Dick Tidrow, in exchange for Warren Brusstar and Steve Trout. He split time at shortstop with Jerry Dybzinski for the 1983 squad, who ran away and hid with the Western Division title, their first post-season appearance since the 1959 World Series. Fletcher appeared in 114 games, hitting only .237. During the ALCS against the Orioles, he went hitless in 7 at bats across 3 games.
Fletcher became the primary shortstop in 1984 and saw his numbers improve. His average jumped up to .250 while appearing in 149 games. Despite the improvement, his job became less secure over the offseason, as the White Sox acquired a young shortstop named Ozzie Guillen. When Guillen was named the starting shortstop for 1985 during spring training, Fletcher reacted poorly. “Taking nothing away from the way Ozzie can play,” Fletcher said, “he hasn`t been that great to take the job away from me. He hasn`t just put it on fire and clearly won it.” Despite the reduced playing time, Fletcher once again improved his numbers, with this average rising to .256 in only 301 at bats.
Following the 1985 season, Fletcher, along with Ed Correa and Jose Mota, was traded to the Rangers for Dave Schmidt and Wayne Tolleson. He returned at the trade deadline in 1989, when he, along with Wilson Alvarez and Sammy Sosa, were acquired from the Rangers for Harold Baines and Fred Manrique. With his former nemesis Ozzie Guillen entrenched at shortstop, Fletcher became the team’s starting second baseman. He hit .272 for the White Sox after the trade, despite constant criticism from the fans who were angry at the loss of Baines.
1990 was the final season for the White Sox at Comiskey Park, and Scott Fletcher again manned second base for the suddenly contending team. Ironically, Fletcher put up his worst numbers since 1983, the last time the team contended for a division title. Across the street in the new Comiskey Park, Fletcher again saw diminished playing time as Joey Cora established himself as the everyday second baseman. Appearing in only 90 games, his lowest total since getting cups of coffee with the Cubs in the early 80s, Fletcher’s average dropped to .206. Following the season, he became a free agent.
Fletcher’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:
