Tag / Royals

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Hanging Up The Spikes

On Monday, on a call to celebrate the return of the Field of Dreams game, Tim Anderson announced his official retirement from baseball.  Anderson, who was arguably the face of the White Sox franchise earlier this decade, saw his fortunes fall due to injuries and off-the-field issues starting in the second half of 2022.  He last played for the Angels in 2025.

Drafted by the White Sox in the first round in 2013, Tim Anderson made his major league debut on June 10, 2016, going 2-3 in a victory against the Royals at US Cellular Field.  Replacing veteran Jimmy Rollins, who would be released five days later, Anderson played 99 games, hitting .283 with nine home runs, and finished seventh in Rookie of the Year balloting.  Showing that he was still a work in progress, Anderson slashed .257/.276/.402 in 2017, with a 2.1% walk rate, the lowest in the major leagues.  Defensively, he led the major leagues in errors, with 28, as well as fielding errors (16) and throwing errors (12).  He showed slight improvements in 2018, with slight improvements in his OBP and slugging percentage, while reducing his overall errors.

2019 was Anderson’s coming out party.  He led the major leagues with a .335 average while raising his OPS to .865, setting career highs with 167 hits, 32 doubles, and 81 runs.  He still had some issues on defense, leading all major league players with 26 errors, leading to the lowest fielding percentage amongst all shortstops.  His hot bat continued into the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, notching a .322 average and an .886 OPS.  He won his first Silver Slugger award while leading the White Sox to their first post-season appearance since 2008.  He thrived in the Wild Card series against the A’s, going 9-14 in the three-game series.

Anderson continued to prove that he his offensive improvement wasn’t a fluke when baseball returned full time in 2021.  He was named to his first All Star team and, on the game’s biggest stage, he hit a walk-off home run against the Yankees in the inaugural Field of Dreams game in the cornfields of Iowa.  Overall, he hit .309 and posted an .807 OPS while hitting 17 home runs and driving in 61 RBIs.  Continuing where he left off the previous October, Anderson hit .368 in the ALDS against the Astros.

Things started to sour for Anderson in 2022, both on the field and off.  Injuries limited him to just 79 games and left him with his lowest OPS since 2018.  Off the field, an Instagram post by a woman who was not Anderson’s wife insinuated they were in a relationship, and he was the father of her unborn child.  Looking for a fresh start, Anderson played with Team USA in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, earning praise from manager Mark DeRosa and outfielder Mike Trout.  Unfortunately, those good vibes did not spill over to the 2023 season.  After an early injury, Anderson struggled the entire year, his OPS dropped to a career-low .582 and he managed just a single home run.

He signed with the Marlins for 2024. but appeared in just 65 games before being released in July.  Returning the following year with the Angels, he made it into just 31 games before his May 29th release.

The White Sox will be celebrating Anderson’s career next month, bringing back the Southside uniform set for one night.

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

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Looking Ahead To 2027

Returning to their traditional day after the All-Star Game release, Major League Baseball released their tentative 2027 earlier this week, one which hopefully will not be impacted by a prolonged work stoppage.  For the fifth year in a row, MLB is keeping with a balanced schedule, playing 52 games against division opponents, 64 games against non-division opponents in the same league, and 46 interleague games, with series against every team in the opposite league.  With both Chicago teams heading into the second half in line for a postseason appearance for the first time since 2008 and the All-Star Game coming to Wrigley Field in July, the 2027 season looks like it could be an interesting one on both sides of town.  So, for one day, at least, let’s turn our attention to next summer for both teams.

The White Sox open their season on the road in the Midwest on March 25, scheduled to be the earliest North American start in league history, facing the Tigers followed by a series against the Royals.  They open up their home schedule against the Brewers on April 1.

Aside from the Brewers, the interleague schedule sees the White Sox staying home to face the Marlins, Phillies, Cardinals, Diamondbacks, and Padres, while travelling to see the Pirates, Reds, Dodgers, Braves, Mets, Rockies, and Nationals.  The rivalry with their north side foes continues with a three-game weekend series at Wrigley Field coming out of the All-Star break in mid-July followed by three games at Rate Field the first weekend of August.

The White Sox wrap up the 2027 season in September at home, with a final series against the Tigers before ending the year with three against the Padres.

On the north side, the Cubs kick off their season at home against the Guardians and Cardinals before heading out on the road in early April.  Aside from the Guardians, the Cubs will host the Mariners, Orioles, Red Sox, and Royals while travelling to battle the Angels, Twins, A’s, Yankees, Blue Jays, and Tigers.

The Cubs open September with eleven straight against their NL Central rivals, but finish the month, and the season, on the road to face the Phillies and the Mets.

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2026 All Star Break Standings

As we reach the metaphorical, if not quite exact, midpoint of the 2026 baseball season, the Midsummer Classic lands in Philadelphia for the fifth time in celebration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.  If you would have told me back in April that not only would the White Sox head into the break with a winning record, but they would be tied for first place in the AL Central and that both Chicago teams are in position for a post-season appearance for the first time since 2008, I would have called you a crazy person.  Yet here we are.

As the stars of the baseball world gather at Citizens Bank Park for tonight’s showdown, it’s time to take a look at the team records for the 24 games, featuring 50% of the teams in the league, that I attended in the first half of the baseball season.

2026 Team Records

Team Name Won Loss Winning Pctg
Washington Nationals 2 0 1.000
Milwaukee Brewers 2 0 1.000
Los Angeles Dodgers 1 0 1.000
Chicago White Sox 10 6 0.625
Chicago Cubs 6 5 0.545
Seattle Mariners 1 1 0.500
Kansas City Royals 1 1 0.500
Sacramento Athletics 1 2 0.333
San Diego Padres 0 1 0.000
New York Mets 0 1 0.000
Minnesota Twins 0 1 0.000
Los Angeles Angels 0 1 0.000
Detroit Tigers 0 1 0.000
Arizona Diamondbacks 0 1 0.000
Toronto Blue Jays 0 3 0.000
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Driving Them In Again

Last Friday, the White Sox dropped 22 runs on the Royals, setting the high-water mark for the most runs I’ve seen a team score in person.  That record lasted less than a week.  Yesterday, the Cubs bested them by a run in their 23-3 victory against the Padres, thanks to a franchise-record tying eight home runs.  Dansby Swanson carried the day with three home runs and eight RBIs.

A small caveat here is that the Cubs scored the final eight runs against a position player, while the White Sox managed to get all 22 of their runs against actual members of the Royals pitching staff.

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Fitbit 12 – Week 23

Yet another great week, as I pushed past the 40,000-step mark for the second straight week, extended my streak of weeks over 30,000 steps to twenty, and passed the four-month mark at days over 4000 steps with 125.  A rain-soaked Sunday wiped out my Father’s Day plans, leaving me 5 steps shy of 4800 to start the week.  Monday saw a big improvement, falling 30 steps away from 6900.  Tuesday was more of the same, needing just 18 steps to reach 6800.  A busy Wednesday was the low point of the week, missing 4500 steps by 26.  Thursday saw a nice bounce back, jumping back up to 6200 steps.  A 22-1 drubbing of the Royals by the White Sox on Friday pushed me past my daily goal, ending up 25 steps away from 8300.  The week wrapped up on a good note on Saturday, ending with 5000 steps despite a graduation party taking up the afternoon.

Total steps: 42,463

Daily average: 6066.1

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Driving Them In

The White Sox exploded for 22 runs against the Royals last night, tied for the second highest total in franchise history.  It was also the most runs I’ve seen a team score in person.  Which led me to think, what are the highest scoring games I’ve attended?  Here’s the top five.

1) 6/26/2026 – White Sox 22 Royals 1

The White Sox jumped on the Royals with a ten-spot in the third inning and then kept pouring it on the rest of the night, using five home runs to power their high total.

2) 7/3/2012 – White Sox 19 Rangers 2

A nine-run fifth inning knocked out Roy Oswalt and helped propel the White Sox to the lopsided victory.

3) 4/30/2008 – Cubs 19 Brewers 5

Six runs in both the first and eighth innings, powered by two home runs, including a grand slam, from Geovany Soto, put the icing on the Brewers.

4) 8/2/2010 – Brewers 18 Cubs 1

A scoreless tie going into the fourth inning, the Brewers scored every inning for the remainder of the game, including five-spots in both the fourth and fifth innings, to avenge their blowout loss from two years earlier.

5) 8/27/2021 – White Sox 17 Cubs 13

The Cubs ran out to an early lead thanks to a six-run first inning against Dallas Keuchel, but the White Sox roared back with eight in the third to take control, thanks to two three-run homers from Yasmani Grandal.

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Back To .500

After yesterday’s 6-5 victory over the Royals, the White Sox find themselves without a losing record past March for the first time since the conclusion of the 2022 season, when they finished 81-81.  After three consecutive 100-loss seasons, this seems like celebrating.  Now, this doesn’t mean that they are suddenly a “good” team or that they will finish the year above .500, but they do seem to be moving in the right direction and are finally entertaining to watch.

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Historic Games Part Three

Last summer, the White Sox fell victim to Clayton Kershaw’s 3000th career strikeout and I decided to take a look back at the historic games I’ve attended over the years.  Here is part three, featuring another six games where an individual hit a career plateau or a team clinched a pennant.

April 11, 2011 – A’s 2, White Sox 1

In the bottom of the fifth inning of a scoreless tie at US Cellular Field, the slugging Brent Lillibridge, he with the 19 career home runs, launched the first pitch he saw from Dallas Braden into the bleachers for the 10,000th home run in White Sox franchise history.

May 9, 2015 – Reds 10, White Sox 4

With the White Sox trailing the Reds 3-0 in the bottom of the 7th in the first game of a double header, Alexei Ramirez took the first pitch from Johnny Cueto and deposited it into the left field stands for his 100th career home run.

September 5, 2015 – Blue Jays 5, Orioles 1

Filling in for the injured Mark Buehrle, David Price scattered three hits and struck out eight in seven innings to beat the Orioles at Rogers Centre for his 100th career victory.  The win increased Toronto’s lead to 1 1/2 games in the AL East.

October 21, 2015 – Mets 8, Cubs 3

With an 8-3 victory over the Cubs at Wrigley Field, the Mets, in their first post-season appearance in nearly a decade, completed the sweep and won the NL pennant for the first time since 2000.  They would go on to lose the World Series in five games to the Royals.

October 22, 2016 – Cubs 5, Dodgers 0

For the first time since 1945, the Cubs won the National League pennant after defeating the Dodgers 5-0 in game 6 of the NLCS.  Behind a two hitter from Kyle Hendricks, the Cubs put to rest the painful memories of the collapse of 1969, the failure to win one of three in San Diego in 1984, and the Steve Bartman-fueled fiasco of 2003.  They would go on to face the Indians in the World Series, winning their first championship since 1908.

September 9, 2017 – White Sox 13, Giants 1

Jose Abreu hit for the cycle in the White Sox victory over the Giants, going 4-5 with 3 RBIs.  Abreu started with a home run in the first inning and a double in the third against starter Jeff Samardzija.  In the seventh, he singled against Josh Osich and, in the eighth, he finished things off with a triple to the right field corner against Roberto Gómez.  He became the first White Sox player to get the cycle since José Valentín in 2000.

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The First Time

Previously, we’ve looked at the most recent time I’ve seen each of the 30 major league baseball teams play.  Three weeks into the 2026 season, I thought it would be worth going into the wayback machine and see when the first time was that I saw each team live and in person, to the best of my knowledge.  My records only go back to 1984, so anything before that is as yet unidentified.

Breaking it down by decade, we have twelve teams I saw originally during the 80s, eleven in the 90s, and the remaining seven came in the 2000s.  For franchises that have moved, I have lumped them all together.

Earliest Game

Team Name Year
Texas Rangers 8/14/1984
Chicago White Sox 8/14/1984
Toronto Blue Jays 8/30/1984
Boston Red Sox 4/19/1985
San Diego Padres 7/8/1985
Chicago Cubs 7/8/1985
Baltimore Orioles 7/26/1985
New York Mets 8/4/1985
Kansas City Royals 8/20/1985
Cleveland Indians/Guardians 7/16/1987
Seattle Mariners 9/18/1987
California/Anaheim/Los Angeles Angels 7/28/1988
Detroit Tigers 4/20/1991
Milwaukee Brewers 7/18/1993
Pittsburgh Pirates 8/2/1993
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Historic Games Part Two

Last summer, the White Sox fell victim to Clayton Kershaw’s 3000th career strikeout and I decided to take a look back at the historic games I’ve attended over the years.  Here is part two, featuring another six games where an individual hit a career plateau or a team clinched a division title or playoff series.

July 20, 2008 – Royals 8, White Sox 7

Entering the Sunday afternoon skirmish with the Royals, Jim Thome sat two hits away from the 2000-hit plateau.  A first inning RBI single brought him one step closer and, in the seventh inning, he reached the milestone, hitting a double down the left field line.

September 14, 2008 – White Sox 4, Tigers 2

In the first game of a double header, Javier Vazquez took the mound for the White Sox, needing just five strikeouts to reach 2000 for his career.  In the fifth inning, he retired Edgar Renteria swinging to reach the milestone.  He finished the day with eight strikeouts, giving him 2003 for his career total.

October 6, 2008 – Rays 6, White Sox 2

On a seasonably warm Monday afternoon, the White Sox looked to stay alive in the ALDS, trailing the Rays two games to one.  Unfortunately, Gavin Floyd gave up four runs in his three innings of work, giving the Rays more than enough to close out the series, the first postseason series win in franchise history.

May 17, 2009 – Astros 6, Cubs 5

With the score tied at two in the top of the fourth inning at Wrigley Field, Astros catcher Ivan Rodriguez hit a shot off of Rich Harden, barely reaching the basket in left-center field for his 300th career home run.  The blast gave the Astros a two-run lead, which they would not relinquish for the remainder of the afternoon.

August 2, 2009 – Yankees 8, White Sox 5

On a gorgeous Sunday afternoon at US Cellular Field set up to be a pitcher’s duel between aces CC Sabathia and Mark Buehrle, Yankees outfielder Melky Cabrera stole the show, going 4-5 while hitting for the cycle.  In the second inning, Cabrera went deep against Buehrle for a three-run shot, giving the Yankees an early lead.  Leading off the fourth, he doubled to right field.  The following inning, he hit single, driving in two more and ending Buehrle’s afternoon.  Following a groundout in the sixth, Cabrera came up for the final time in the ninth against Scott Linebrink, hitting a triple into the right field corner and cementing his achievement.

July 11, 2010 – White Sox 15, Royals 5

In the final game before the All-Star Break, with the White Sox leading 4-1, Andruw Jones came to the plate with two out to face Anthony Lerew while sitting on 399 home runs.  With a 1-2 count, he deposited the next pitch into the White Sox bullpen for a three-run homer, the 400th of his career.  He was just the 46th player in MLB history to reach this milestone.