Tag / Terry Bevington

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#91 – Dave Martinez

dave_martinez

Name: Dave Martinez

Rank: 91

Position: OF/1B

Years With White Sox: 1995-1997

Following the resolution of the strike that prematurely ended the 1994 season and delayed the start of the 1995 season, Dave Martinez signed with the White Sox as a free agent.  Martinez saw little playing time early in the season, until manager Gene Lamont was fired and replaced by Terry Bevington.  He split time between the outfield and first base, finishing the year with a .307 average and setting a career high with an .806 OPS.

Martinez returned to the White Sox in 1996, serving as the fourth outfielder and again backing up at first base.  He set a career high with 146 games played, a .318 batting average, an .861 OPS and 53 RBIs.  1997 was another good year for Martinez, where he set career highs in home runs and RBIs.  Following the season, Martinez became a free agent and his White Sox career came to an end.

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

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#124 – Darren Lewis

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Name: Darren Lewis

Rank: 124

Position: OF

Years With White Sox: 1996-1997

Following the 1995 season, Darren Lewis signed with the White Sox as a free agent.  He became the team’s primary center fielder for 1996, but struggled.  He finished the year with a career-worst .228 batting average.

Lewis looked to bounce back in 1997, but it was not to be.  Manager Terry Bevington named Dave Martinez the starter prior to the first spring training game, and the emergence of rookie Mike Cameron pushed him further back on the bench, used mostly late in games for defensive purposes.  By August 26, he had started only 19 games all season, and his average had barely improved over the year before, to .234.  The next day, Lewis was traded to the Dodgers for a player to be named later, who would turn out to be Chad Fonville.

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

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#154 – John Kruk

John KrukName: John Kruk

Rank: 154

Position: DH

Year With White Sox: 1995

Following the lockout that delayed the beginning of the 1995 season, John Kruk decided to unretire and was signed by the White Sox on May 13, joining the team 12 days later.  The Sox has attempted to sign Kruk during spring training, but the slugger wasn’t interested.  “I got a call saying he was interested in playing again,” GM Ron Schueler said. “Other people he used to play with–his friends–had him thinking.”

Kruk joined the White Sox at the end of May, replacing Chris Sabo as the team’s primary designated hitter.  He was batting .308 with 2 home runs through July 30, when, after singling at Camden Yards in a game against the Orioles, Kruk took himself out of the game and retired again, this time for good.  “He wanted to go out with a hit,” manager Terry Bevington said.  “If he wouldn’t have gotten a hit today, he would have waited until he got a hit.”

Kruk’s numbers in a White Sox uniform were:

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#204 – Dave Righetti

Dave Righetti4Name: Dave Righetti

Rank: 204

Position: P

Year With White Sox: 1995

Veteran pitcher Dave Righetti came to spring training with the White Sox in 1995 as a non-roster invitee and was unable to earn a spot with the big league club, but general manager Ron Schueler offered him a chance to go to Triple A Nashville and try to prove that he could still pitch effectively.  In 2 1/2 months with the Sounds, Righetti made 15 starts, putting up the third lowest ERA in the league, and strengthened his arm.

With the White Sox needing pitching help, Righetti was called up and made his season debut in New York against the Yankees, his home for 11 seasons.  “Anybody who pays the price, you’re happy to see him succeed,” manager Terry Bevington said. “He paid his dues. It’s the American way.”  Righetti ended up appearing in 10 games for the White Sox, starting 9 of them, finishing with a 3-2 record with a 4.20 ERA.

Following the season, Righetti became a free agent and, finding that no team was interested in his services, he decided to retire.

Righetti’s numbers in a White Sox uniform were:

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#217 – Kirk McCaskill

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Name: Kirk McCaskill

Rank: 217

Position: P

Years With White Sox: 1992-1996

Kirk McCaskill signed with the White Sox as a free agent heading in to the 1992 season.  He entered the starting rotation and put up a respectable 12-13 record with a 4.18 ERA.

While things went better for the White Sox in 1993, as they finally broke through and won their first division title in a decade, the same could not be said for McCaskill.  He lost his spot in the starting rotation in June after going winless in 7 starts.  “I like to think Kirk can get it back together as a starter, but I’d like to say it won’t happen this year because if it does, that means something happened to our rotation,” manager Gene Lamont said.  McCaskill finished the year in the bullpen, even recording his first save.  During the post-season, he made 3 appearances in the 6 game ALCS against the eventual World Champion Blue Jays, pitching 3 2/3 scoreless innings.

In 1994, McCaskill posted his best season as a member of the White Sox, working entirely out of the bullpen.  He appeared in 40 games, racked up a career high 3 saves, and posted a 3.42 ERA.  Unfortunately for McCaskill and the White Sox, the season came to a premature end thanks to the players strike that wiped out the last month and a half of the season and the post-season.

When the work stoppage finally ended and the 1995 season got underway, things went south, for both McCaskill and the White Sox.  His ERA jumped by nearly a run and a half as the White Sox fell to third place.

1996 did not go any better.  McCaskill appeared in 29 games through the end of July and saw his ERA jump to nearly 7.00.  After giving up 4 hits and 2 runs in 1 inning of work against the Royals on July 20th, McCaskill was released by the White Sox.  “I don’t think you’re ever prepared for it,” McCaskill said.  “I’ve had a long career and it happens to a lot of people.”  Manager Terry Bevington said “It’s always tough to let someone go.  You don’t like seeing someone lose his job.  Kirk has had a good career with the White Sox.”  Thus endeth the major league career of Kirk McCaskill.

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

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#222 – Joe Magrane

magrane_staats

Name: Joe Magrane

Rank: 222

Position: P

Year With White Sox: 1996

After spending all of 1995 in the minor leagues while attempting to rehab from elbow injuries, Joe Magrane was sitting at home in February of 1996 when the White Sox offered him a non-roster invite to spring training.  “I’ll give it one last shot,” Magrane said. “I don’t know how it’ll work out.”  After being the most consistent left-hander in the bullpen, Magrane found himself breaking camp with the White Sox.

By early May, manager Terry Bevington had moved Magrane into the 5th starter role.  “Joe’s getting a lot of groundballs lately,” Bevington said, “and I like what he’s done. Of course, nothing is forever, but as of today he’s the No. 5.”  Forever lasted until mid June, when Mike Sirotka was called up and pushed Magrane back to the bullpen.  Five days later, the White Sox designated Magrane for assignment.  “We gave Joe a lot of chances,” general manager Ron Schueler said.  “Unfortuately for Joe, it just didn’t work out.”

Magrane spent the remainder of the season toiling away in Triple A before retiring at the end of the season.

Magrane’s numbers in a White Sox uniform were:

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#223 – Rob Dibble

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Name: Rob Dibble

Rank: 223

Position: P

Year With White Sox: 1995

After rotator cuff surgery forced him to miss the entire 1994 season, Rob Dibble signed with the White Sox as a free agent in late February of 1995.  Dibble got off to a tremendous start with his new team, claiming that replacement players were “going to be labeled like child molesters for the rest of their lives,” which earned him a suspension during spring training.

Once the season got underway, Dibble found other, performance-related reasons to let down his new club.  Unfortunately, the arm injuries robbed him of both his command and his velocity, which left him as a pretty ineffective option out of Gene Lamont’s and Terry Bevington’s bullpen.  His WHIP was well over 2, and the last straw came in mid-July when he was suspended 3 games for throwing at Brewers second baseman Pat Listach’s head.  Before he could serve the suspension, the White Sox waived the troubled reliever, bringing his brief South Side career to an end.

Dibble’s numbers in a White Sox uniform were:

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#260 – Mike Devereaux

mikedevereauxName: Mike Devereaux

Rank: 260

Position: RF

Year With White Sox: 1995

Following the end of the work stoppage that wiped out the 1994 post season, Mike Devereaux signed a one-year deal with the White Sox during the abbreviated spring training prior to the delayed 1995 season.  He was impressive, putting up a .306 average for the South Siders in 92 games.

On August 26, he was sent to the Braves for prospect Andre King.  “We’re not going to the playoffs likely,” manager Terry Bevington said. “We’d need 20 wins in a row. I’m a guy that doesn’t give up ’til we’re mathematically eliminated, but the odds are very low. So here’s a chance for to go to the playoffs. I’m sorry to lose him, but I’m happy for him.”

Devereaux’s numbers in a White Sox uniform were:

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#263 – Chris Snopek

snopek

Name: Chris Snopek

Rank: 263

Position: 3B

Years With White Sox: 1995-1998

Chris Snopek joined the White Sox organization in 1992 when he was drafted in the 6th round.  He worked his way up through the system and made his major league debut on July 31, 1995, going 2 for 3 in the White Sox 6-4 win over the Royals.  Snopek bounced up and down over the next 2 seasons and had already made the club as a backup infielder in spring training in 1997, when something horrible happened.

On March 21, 1997, in an exhibition contest against the Red Sox, third baseman Robin Ventura broke and dislocated his right ankle in an awkward slide into home.  Suddenly, Chis Snopek found himself as the starting third baseman, at least until Ventura returned sometime after the All Star break.  “We have to find out if Snopek can play,” GM Ron Schueler said at the time. “Our people really like him. This is the time to find out if they’re right.”  However, it took less than three weeks for manager Terry Bevington to begin playing Tony Phillips at third against right-handed pitchers, leaving Snopek to rot on the bench.

Snopek got back in the lineup when Phillips was traded and kept it until Ventura returned in late July, having hit .223 with five home runs and 35 runs batted in and committing 15 errors.  He was sent back to Triple A on August 8th.  “Every day he got a question about replacing Robin, and that was tough on him,” said Schueler. “He was trying to hit home runs like they expected Robin to hit and that frustration carried over to his defense.”

After the season, Snopek went to Venezuela to play winter ball and, hopefully, rediscover his stroke.  After hitting .380, he returned to the White Sox in spring training of 1998 hoping to get another crack at replacing a White Sox legend, this time shortstop Ozzie Guillen.  While he lost out to rookie Mike Caruso for the starting role, Snopek did make the team as a reserve and, despite struggling at the plate once again, he stayed with the big league club until August 31, when he was traded to the Red Sox for a minor leaguer.  “It was a total shock,” Snopek said. “But it’s an opportunity for me to go to Boston and show them what I can do.”

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