#48 – Joey Cora

Name: Joey Cora

Rank: 48

Position: 2B

Years With White Sox: 1991-1994

Joey Cora was acquired by the White Sox from the Padres, along with Warren Newson, for Adam Peterson and Steve Rosenberg on March 31, 1991.  Cora appeared in 100 games for the White Sox, splitting time at second base with Scott Fletcher.  He hit .241 with only 18 RBIs.

With the acquisition of Steve Sax prior to the 1992 season, Cora was pushed to the bench, starting only 21 games at second base.  Again, his production was meager, hitting .246 with no home runs and only 9 RBIs.

Cora became the everyday second baseman in 1993, taking over for Sax.  He set a career high with 153 games played, he hit .268 with a career high 20 stolen bases as the White Sox won their final AL West crown.  Cora struggled in the ALCS, hitting an anemic .136 as the White Sox fell in 6 games to the Blue Jays.

In 1994, Cora continued to improve.  He raised his average again to .276 and had 2 home runs and 30 RBIs when the season came to a premature end due to the player’s strike.

When baseball resumed in 1995, Cora became a free agent and his White Sox playing career came to an end.  He rejoined the organization as third base coach for the 2004 season, when Ozzie Guillen was hired as manager.  Following the 2006 season, he became the bench coach.  Cora was initially named interim manager after Guillen was relieved with 2 games left in the 2011 season, but was fired by text message by GM Kenny Williams before he could assume the role.

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

Continue reading →

#50 – Warren Newson

Name: Warren Newson

Rank: 50

Position: RF/LF

Years With White Sox: 1991-1995

Warren Newson was acquired by the White Sox from the Padres, along with Joey Cora, for Adam Peterson and Steve Rosenberg on March 31, 1991.  After starting the year in Triple A and putting up an OBP over .500, Newson made his major league debut on May 29, pinch hitting for Sammy Sosa in the 8-4 loss to the Angels at the new Comiskey Park.  Despite hitting .295 for the season with a .843 OPS, Newson was limited to only 132 at bats.

Newson returned to the bench for the 1992 season, getting an extended look when Dan Pasqua went down with an injury in June.  Newson hit .286 with a .756 OPS during Pasqua’s absence, but was relegated back to the bench when Pasqua returned, despite his superior stats.  For the year, Newson hit a disappointing .221, but still managed a .387 OBP.

1993 was a difficult season for Newson.  While the White Sox were putting together their first divisional title in a decade, Newson missed months to look after his wife following a life-threatening car accident.  He only appeared in 26 games during the regular season, getting only 40 at bats.  He did manage to hit .300 with an .879 OPS.  Newson went 1-5 with a home run in 2 appearances during the ALCS against the Blue Jays.

Newson returned to the White Sox full time in 1994, but again was relegated to backup and pinch hitting duties.  He appeared in 63 games before the season was cut short due to the strike.  Newson finished the shortened year hitting .255 with a .345 OBP in 102 at bats.

When baseball resumed in 1995, Newson’s average suffered, dropping to .235, but his OBP was a very healthy .404.  Despite this, he only managed 85 at bats in 51 games.  On July 18, he was traded to the Mariners for a player to be named later, who eventually became Jeff Darwin.

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

Continue reading →

#59 – Dan Pasqua

pasquaName: Dan Pasqua

Rank: 59

Position: OF/1B/DH

Years With White Sox: 1988-1994

Following the 1987 season, Dan Pasqua, along with Steve Rosenberg and Mark Salas, was acquired by the White Sox from the Yankees for Richard Dotson and Scott Nielsen.

His first season with the White Sox ended with a career high 20 home runs despite a disappointing .227 average.  A broken wrist suffered during the first week of the 1989 season limited Pasqua to just 73 games, where he improved his average to .248, but only 11 home runs.

Pasqua lost his regular slot in the lineup in 1990, as manager Jeff Torborg decided to start Sammy Sosa every day.  He appeared in 112 games, but had only 325 at bats despite a .274 average.  1991 saw Pasqua appear in a career high 134 games, with a .259 average and 18 home runs, his highest total since 1988.

Pasqua saw his playing time reduced again in 1992, thanks in part to a hamstring injury that put him on the shelf for nearly a month.  His average dropped to .211 and he managed only 6 home runs.  With George Bell and Bo Jackson splitting time at DH in 1993, Pasqua again was the odd man out.  He appeared in only 78 games and his average fell again to .205.  He appeared in 2 games of the ALCS against the Blue Jays and went hitless in 6 at bats.

Pasqua’s 1994 season was cut short by arthroscopic knee surgery in May, which limited him to just 11 appearances and only 23 at bats.  When the season was called off due to the strike, he became a free agent and decided to retire.

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

Continue reading →

#67 – Richard Dotson

dotsonName: Richard Dotson

Rank: 67

Position: P

Years With White Sox: 1979-1987, 1989

Richard Dotson joined the White Sox organization, along with Bobby Bonds and Thad Bosley, in a December 5, 1977 trade that sent Brian Downing, Dave Frost, and Chris Knapp to the Angels.  He made his major league debut on September 4, 1979 against those same Angels, going 1 and 1/3 innings and giving up 5 earned runs, leaving him with a 33.75 ERA after 1 start.  He made 4 more starts over the final month of the season, giving up just 5 additional earned runs and finishing with a 2-0 record with a 3.70 ERA.

Dotson moved into the rotation full time for the White Sox in 1980.  He finished second on the team with 12 wins, finishing 12-10 with a 4.27 ERA.  He ended up placing 7th in Rookie of the Year voting, behind winner Joe Charboneau and teammate Britt Burns.

Dotson saw improvement in the strike-shortened 1981 season.  He finished with a 9-8 record and improved his ERA to 3.77 in 24 starts, leading the league with 4 shutouts.

1982 was a disappointing season for Dotson and the White Sox.  He finished with a losing record for the first time and gave up more hits than innings pitched, yet still ended the season with a 3.84 ERA.

Dotson had his breakout season in 1983, as he helped lead the White Sox to their first division title.  He finished the regular season 22-7 with a 3.23 ERA, good enough to place 4th in Cy Young Award voting and 20th in MVP consideration.  Unfortunately, he wasn’t as successful in the ALCS, giving up 6 runs in 5 innings and earning the loss in Game 3 against the Orioles.

1984 was another good year for Dotson, as he earned his first All Star Game nod, throwing 2 scoreless innings in the mid-summer classic at Candlestick Park.  He finished with a losing record for the disappointing White Sox team, going 14-15 with a 3.59 ERA in a career high 245 2/3 innings pitched.

An injury derailed Dotson’s 1985 campaign, as he started only 9 games before undergoing surgery for a career-threatening circulatory problem in his upper chest near the right shoulder.  He returned in 1986 and was the only White Sox starter to not miss a turn in the rotation.  His results, unfortunately, were not as encouraging as he went 10-17 with a 5.48 ERA.

Dotson bounced back a little in 1987.  He went 11-12 with a 4.17 ERA for a White Sox team that finished with a losing record for the second straight year.  Following the season, he was traded, along with Scott Nielson, to the Yankees for Dan Pasqua, Steve Rosenberg, and Mark Salas.

After being released by the Yankees at the end of June in 1989, Dotson rejoined the White Sox for the last 3 months of a season in which they would lose over 90 games.  Appearing in 17 games, Dotson went 3-7 with a respectable 3.88 ERA.  At the end of the season, Dotson became a free agent and left the White Sox for good.  After retiring, Dotson rejoined the White Sox organization as a coach and has spent the last 10 seasons as pitching coach for the Charlotte Knights, the team’s Triple A affiliate.

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

Continue reading →

#137 – Mark Salas

BE2X8rMCEAA1cXO

Name: Mark Salas

Rank: 137

Position: C

Year With White Sox: 1988

Mark Salas came to the White Sox from the Yankees, along with Dan Pasqua and Steve Rosenberg, on November 12, 1987 in exchange for Richard Dotson and Scott Nielsen.  Salas backed up Carlton Fisk during the 1988 season, appearing in 75 games and hitting .250.

In spring training 1989, the White Sox decided that Ron Karkovice was ready to ascend to the big leagues for good, so they cut Salas loose in late March.  Salas returned to the White Sox in 1995 as the bullpen catcher, a position he held through 1999.  He returned again in the same role in 2007 and remains there to this day.

Salas’s numbers in a White Sox uniform were:

Continue reading →

#434 – #443 – The Unknowns Part 5

Name: Chris Howard

Rank: 443

Position: P

Year With White Sox: 1993

Howard went 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA in 3 games for the future AL West champs.

 

Name: Bill Lindsey

Rank: 442

Position: C

Year With White Sox: 1987

Lindsey’s entire major league career was comprised of 16 AB across 9 games.

 

Name: Tom Brennan

Rank: 441

Position: P

Year With White Sox: 1984

Brennan appeared in 4 games for the ’84 squad.

 

Continue reading →