Tag / Tigers

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All Time Team Records

After a long lockout and an abbreviated spring training, the 2022 baseball season finally gets underway today, so, to celebrate, it is time once again to look at the all-time team records for games that I have identified as having attended dating back to 1984.  Last year, I tied 2004 for my 5th highest game total of all time and managed to see 25 out of the 30 teams, so there should be some nice changes.  Thanks to a name change, the all-time record of the Cleveland Indians become static moving forward, forever stuck at 4 games over .500.

The White Sox look to once again lead an improving AL Central and move past the ALDS in the post-season, while the Cubs are neither contending nor rebuilding.  The 2022 season should be an interesting one on both sides of town, even more interesting if we are able to see it in person.

All-Time Team Records
Team Name Won Loss Winning Pctg
California Angels 2 0 1.000
Arizona Diamondbacks 14 2 0.875
Florida Marlins 15 8 0.652
Colorado Rockies 10 6 0.625
New York Yankees 17 11 0.607
Boston Red Sox 19 13 0.594
Los Angeles Angels 20 14 0.588
Toronto Blue Jays 15 11 0.577
Philadelphia Phillies 11 9 0.550
Washington Nationals 7 6 0.538
Cleveland Indians 31 27 0.534
Chicago White Sox 335 307 0.522
Chicago Cubs 224 206 0.521
Houston Astros Continue reading →
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Another Disastrous Outcome

A week after Commissioner Rob Manfred, with a telling smile on his face, announced he was cancelling the first two series of the regular season due to the ongoing lockout, the two sides are still without an agreement on a new CBA and MLB released a statement cancelling another two series.  In total, the first two weeks of the regular season have now been wiped out.

Locally, the White Sox will miss a road trip to Detroit to battle the Tigers and a home series against the Mariners at Guaranteed Rate Field.  If nothing else gets canceled, their new Opening Day would be on Friday, April 15 against the Rays.  The Cubs would lose a four-game series at Wrigley Field against the Brewers and a quick tilt against the Pirates in Pittsburgh.

So where do things go from here?  Who knows?  The owners declined to counter to the MLBPA’s last, seemingly reasonable offer about an international draft.  How soon negotiations will start again is unknown at this point.  The longer this goes on, the longer I feel it will go on.

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Against The Tigers All Time Leaders – Through 2021

tigersIn the past, we’ve looked at the all time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for all 30 teams. This offseason, we will take our first ever look at those leaders against all 30 clubs. We continue today with the Detroit Tigers.

The Tigers began life in 1894 as part of the Western League and became a charter franchise of the American League in 1901, making them the oldest one city, one name franchise in the American League.  I’ve seen them play 57 times, including the second game ever, and my first game, at the new Comiskey Park.

Home Runs

Name Total
Paul Konerko 4
Dayan Viciedo 3
Alexei Ramirez 3
Matt Davidson 3

Hits

Name Total
Alexei Ramirez 23
Paul Konerko 22
Jose Abreu 21

Runs

Name Total
Paul Konerko 12
Avisail Garcia 12
Alexei Ramirez 11
Yolmer Sanchez 11

RBI

Name Total
Paul Konerko 17
Yolmer Sanchez 12
Alexei Ramirez 11

Doubles

Name Total
Paul Konerko 7
Jose Abreu 6
Tim Anderson 5

Triples Continue reading →

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By The Numbers – 19

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 #19.  83 different players have donned #19 while playing in Chicago, 32 for the White Sox, one of whom had it retired in his honor, and 51 for the Cubs.

With a new ownership group in place and looking to make a quick splash, the White Sox purchased Greg Luzinski from the Phillies on March 30, 1981.  Coming off a disappointing season, the Chicago-area native, wearing his familiar #19, responded well to the change, hitting .265 with 21 home runs in the strike-shortened season.  He earned Comeback Player of the Year honors, beating out teammate Bill Almon by 5 votes, and finished 23rd in MVP voting.  Luzinski had another strong year in 1982, raising his average to .292, his highest total since 1977, while hitting 18 home runs and driving in 102 runs.

In 1983, Luzinski was a powerful cog in leading the White Sox to their first division title.  He launched the 8th, 9th, and 10th rooftop home runs in Comiskey Park history between June 26 and August 28.  While his average dropped to .255, he hit 32 home runs and drove in 95, good enough to finish 17th in MVP voting.  Like the rest of his teammates, he struggled during the ALCS against the Orioles, hitting only .133 in the 4-game series.  Unfortunately, those struggles carried over in to 1984.  His average dropped again, down to .238, and his power output fell as well, finishing the year with only 13 home runs, his lowest total since 1974, and 58 RBIs.  He did manage to hit his fourth rooftop blast on July 3 against the Tigers.  He became a free agent following the year and decided to retire.

On the north side of town, Matt Murton donned #19 when he made his major league debut for the Cubs on July 8, 2005.  He appeared in 51 games for the Cubs, hitting .321 with a .908 OPS.  That helped earn him the starting nod in left field for 2006, where he managed to post a .297 batting average with 13 home runs and 62 RBIs.  Despite his success, Murton saw his playing time diminish in 2007 after the Cubs signed Cliff Floyd, even getting sent back to Triple A in June.  He returned in late July, and finished the year with a .281 average and a .791 OPS in only 94 games.  His playing time was diminished ever further in 2008, appearing in only 19 games before being traded, 4 years to the day of his major league debut, to the A’s, as part of the haul for Rich Harden.

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By The Numbers – 24

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 #24.  104 different players have donned #24 while playing in Chicago, 49 for the White Sox and 55 for the Cubs.

Joe Crede earned a September call-up from Double A in 2000, and, wearing #24, made his major league debut on September 12, replacing Herbert Perry and going 0-1 in the Tigers 10-3 victory at Comiskey Park.  Crede appeared in 7 games, making the most of his 14 at bats, and finished with a .357 average.  Crede got another cup of coffee with the big league club in September of 2001, earning a little more playing time, but he was less successful, finishing with a .220 average in 50 at bats over 17 games.  Crede returned to the White Sox for good in July of 2002.  On August 12, he hit his first major league home run off of former teammate James Baldwin and he finished with 12 home runs, 35 RBIs, and a .285 average.  Crede established himself as the starting third baseman in 2003.  He appeared in a career high 151 games and launched 19 home runs with 75 RBIs while posting a .261 average.  He struggled in 2004, seeing his average drop to .239 while hitting 21 home runs with 69 RBIs.

In 2005, Crede started to come in to his own.  While he improved his average to .252 and hit 22 home runs with 62 RBIs, he came alive in the second half, culminating with a game winning, and possible season saving, home run in the 10th inning against the Indians on September 20, which pushed the White Sox to a 3.5 game lead and propelled them into the playoffs.  Crede had a rough series in the ALDS against the Red Sox, getting only 1 hit in 9 at bats, but rebounded in the ALCS and World Series, hitting .368 and .294 respectively, with 2 home runs in each series.  2006 was Joe Crede’s breakout season.  He hit .283 with career highs in home runs, with 30, and RBIs, with 94, winning his first, and only, Silver Slugger award.  A back injury in 2007 limited him to 47 games and only 4 home runs.  He returned with a bang in 2008, hitting a grand slam on opening day against the Twins and parlayed a good first half into his first All Star selection, but the back injury recurred and kept him out for most of the second half of the season, including the playoffs, thus ending his White Sox career.

On the north side of town, Dexter Fowler joined Cubs via trade prior to the 2015 season.  Donning #24, he ended the year with a .250 average, 102 runs scored, 46 RBIs, 17 home runs, and 20 stolen bases as the Cubs made a surprise run for the NL Wild Card.  Fowler helped propel the Cubs to the NLDS, putting up three hits, three runs scored, a home run, and a stolen base in defeating the Pirates.  In nine postseason games, Fowler batted .396 with two home runs and three RBIs, as the Cubs made it to the NLCS against the Mets.

Fowler became a free agent after the season and was unsigned into the start of spring training.  Despite reportedly agreeing to a three-year contract with the Orioles, Fowler arrived in Cubs camp and signed a one year deal.  And what a year it was.  Fowler finished the year with a .276 average, 13 home runs, 48 RBIs, and 84 runs scored as the Cubs won the NL Central.  Fowler’s .333 average with 4 RBI helped the Cubs win the NLCS against the Dodgers, advancing to the World Series for the first time since 1945.  On October 25, 2016, Dexter Fowler became the first African-American to appear and to bat for the Cubs in a World Series game.  Fowler led off Game 7 of the World Series with a home run, becoming the first player in history to do so, and helping the Cubs win 8–7 in 10 innings, giving the team their first championship in 108 years.

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2021 Final Standings

The 2021 season, at least the portion which would see me attending games, has come to an end after the White Sox lost to the Astros in the ALDS 3-1.  After a year without in-person baseball thanks to the corona virus, I ended up attending the most games I’ve seen since 2009 and my 5th highest total of all time.  I also managed to travel to four different stadiums, bringing my total up to 27.  All told, I managed to see 25 of the 30 teams a year after seeing none.

2021 Team Records
Team Name Won Loss Winning Pctg
Tampa Bay Rays 3 0 1.000
New York Yankees 2 0 1.000
Arizona Diamondbacks 1 0 1.000
Washington Nationals 1 0 1.000
Philadelphia Phillies 1 0 1.000
Los Angeles Angels 1 0 1.000
San Francisco Giants 1 0 1.000
Boston Red Sox 1 0 1.000
Seattle Mariners 2 1 0.667
Chicago White Sox 29 20 0.592
Cleveland Indians 3 3 0.500
Kansas City Royals Continue reading →
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2 To Go

After jumping out to an early 3-0 lead, the White Sox saw their defense and their bats go cold as they dropped their game against the Tigers 4-3.  Thankfully, though, the Royals swept a double header in Cleveland, winning by scores of 7-2 and 4-2, which lowers the magic number to 2.  The White Sox can clinch the division tomorrow with a victory combined with a Cleveland loss, but weather may get in the way of both of those games.

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Whittling It Down To 4

After a disappointing loss last night, the White Sox rebounded this afternoon, defeating the Rangers 7-2 to take the series and lower their magic number to 4.  Cleveland, on the other hand, brought it to the Yankees, chasing Gerrit Cole early en route to an 11-1 victory over the Yankees, which, to be honest, I’m ok with.

The White Sox head to Detroit to start a 3 game series against the Tigers tomorrow night, while Cleveland battles the Royals in a double header, meaning it is possible for the White Sox to clinch as early as Tuesday.

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2021 All Star Break Standings

For the first time in two years, the American League takes on the National League in the Midsummer Classic.  As the baseball world turns its sights to AtlantaColorado for tonight’s All Star Game, it’s time to take a look at the team records for the 32 games I attended in the first half of the baseball season, a pretty healthy amount after the pandemic-related strangeness that was 2020.

2021 Team Records
Team Name Won Loss Winning Pctg
Tampa Bay Rays 1 0 1.000
Philadelphia Phillies 1 0 1.000
Washington Nationals 1 0 1.000
Chicago Cubs 4 2 0.667
Seattle Mariners 2 1 0.667
Chicago White Sox 16 10 0.615
Kansas City Royals 3 3 0.500
Cleveland Indians 2 2 0.500
St. Louis Cardinals 1 1 0.500
Detroit Tigers 1 1 0.500
Continue reading →
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By The Numbers – 47

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 #47.  73 players have donned #47 while playing in Chicago, 38 for the White Sox and 35 for the Cubs.

The somewhat unfortunately named Rusty Kuntz spent parts of 5 seasons with the White Sox, wearing #47 the entire time.  He was selected by the White Sox in the 11th round of the 1977 draft and made his major league debut 2 years later as a September call-up in 1979, starting in left field and going 0-3 in a 4-3 victory over the Tigers en route to 5 appearances and an anemic .091 average.  Kuntz split time between Triple A Iowa and Chicago in 1980, with slightly better results, before spending the entire strike-shortened 1981 season with the White Sox, appearing in 67 games and batting .255 in a mere 55 at bats.  Both 1982 and 1983 saw Kuntz back splitting time between Triple A and Chicago, until he was finally traded to the Twins for a minor leaguer.

Catcher Miguel Montero wore #47 during his 2 1/2 years on the North side.  He had a few highlights, including his Game One grand slam in the 2016 NLCS against the Dodgers to give the Cubs the win.  His tenure with the Cubs came to an abrupt end the following June when, after the Nationals stole 7 bases in one game to leave him at 0-31 at nabbing would-be base stealers for the season, he placed the blame on the pitching staff.  The next day, he was designated for assignment.