Tag / Roland Hemond

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Book 19 (of 52) – Chili Dog MVP

Chili Dog MVP: Dick Allen, The ’72 White Sox and a Transforming Chicago – John Owens and David J. Fletcher

The early 70s were a time of change on the south side of Chicago.  As the ballclub that called Comiskey Park home recovered from the then-worst season in franchise history in 1970 and threats to move the club out of the city they’d called home for seven decades, the demographics of the surrounding neighborhoods started to shift and noted White Sox fan Richard J. Daley, longtime mayor of the city, started to lose his vice-like grip on the Democratic party.  Those changes crystalized in 1972, with the arrival of Dick Allen, a baseball superstar whose reputation was perhaps less than stellar.  But, taking a young ballclub under his wing, he led the upstart White Sox to their best season in five years, challenging the budding dynasty in Oakland for the AL West title.

Chili Dog MVP: Dick Allen, The ’72 White Sox and a Transforming Chicago, by authors John Owens and David J. Fletcher and editor George Castle, tells the tale of that 1972 White Sox team, while also touching on the things going on around it, both physically and temporally.  They cover the ownership transfers from Arthur Allyn to his brother John in 1970 and then again to Bill Veeck in 1975.  The interconnected revival of Harry Caray’s career announcing for the White Sox with the rise of young organist Nancy Faust, who would spend 40 years with the franchise.  The arrival of Roland Hemond and Chuck Tanner in late 1970, who helped turn the franchise around and were instrumental in the acquisition of Allen and convincing him to come play in Chicago.  And, of course, the career of Dick Allen, especially his three years in Chicago, from the promising beginning to the bitter end, when he quit on the team and temporarily retired towards the end of the 1974 season.

The 1972 White Sox were just a little before my time, so this was a nice glimpse into the franchise just a few years before I was born.  If I have one complaint about its composition, it is that it is treated, and edited, more a collection of one-off essays rather than as a comprehensive story, so details and characters are re-introduced and re-described numerous times.  That small change could have streamlined the tale and probably cut a good ten pages or so from the tome.

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RIP Julio Cruz

Former White Sox second baseman Julio Cruz passed away yesterday at age 67 following a bout with cancer.  He joined the White Sox in 1983 and gave the team the spark they were looking for, helping them go on a 72-31 run to finish the season and go from 6 1/2 games back to 20 games ahead.  Cruz famously scored the winning run on a Harold Baines sacrifice fly against his former team, the Mariners, on September 17, clinching the first division title in White Sox history.  A toe injury in 1984 sapped his speed and basically ended his career, as he struggled in 1985 and 1986 and was finally released at the end of spring training in 1987.  He is survived by his wife, three sons, and their families.

Cruz is the third person associated with that 1983 Winning Ugly team to die within the last five months.  Pitcher LaMarr Hoyt also died of cancer last November and General Manager Roland Hemond, who put the team together, died in mid-December at the age of 92.

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By The Numbers – 67

In 1929, uniform numbers appeared on the back of baseball jerseys for the first time, thanks to the Indians and the Yankees.  By 1937, numbers finally appeared across all uniforms, both home and away, across both major leagues.  Since that time, 81 distinct numbers have been worn by members of the White Sox, while the Cubs boast 76.

Today, we continue our look at those players, picking our favorite, if not the best, player to wear each uniform number for both Chicago teams with #67.  9 players have donned #67 while playing in Chicago, 8 for the White Sox and 1 for the Cubs.

Jim Kern joined the White Sox in a August 1982 trade with the Reds, becoming the first player in Chicago baseball history to wear #67.  He did not pitch particularly well for the South Siders down the stretch, putting up a 5.14 ERA in 13 games.  He was expected back in the bullpen in 1983, but he blew out his elbow in the second game of the season and missed the rest of the year.  When he was released towards the end of spring training in 1984, he accused the team of “destroying my arm and then shucking me off like last year’s shotgun shells.”  GM Roland Hemond claimed it was strictly a business decision, as the team saved nearly $300,000 by releasing Kern.

Tsuyoshi Wada, who appeared in 13 games and went 4-4 for the 2014 Cubs, is the only Cub to ever don #67.  He switched to #18 the following year, appeared in only 8 games, and never played in the big leagues again.

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#270 – Jim Kern

jim-kernName: Jim Kern

Rank: 270

Position: P

Years With White Sox: 1982-1983

Jim Kern joined the White Sox in a August 1982 trade with the Reds in exchange for Wade Rowdon and Leo Garcia.  He did not pitch particularly well for the South Siders down the stretch, putting up a 5.14 ERA in 13 games.

He was expected back in the bullpen in 1983, but he blew out his elbow after appearing in the second game of the season, leaving him out for the year.  The following spring, he was released towards the end of spring training, ending his brief time with the White Sox.  Kern, however, was not willing to leave quietly.

After begging then General Manager Roland Hemond to send him to Triple A prior to his release, Kern accussed the team of “destroying my arm and then shucking me off like last year’s shotgun shells.”  Hemond claimed it was a business decision, as the team saved nearly $300,000 by releasing Kern.

Kern’s numbers in a White Sox uniform were:

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