Tag / Tim Lollar

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Throwback Thursday – Pitching Leaders Of The 1980s

Our Throwback Thursday feature continues, as we once again point the wayback machine back to the 1980s, finally putting our focus on the defensive leaders of that decade.  As a reminder, I’ve identified a mere 14 games that I attended during this time period, when I would have been ages 5 through 14.

Wins

Name Total
14 tied with 1

Losses

Name Total
Tom Seaver 2
12 tied with 1

ERA (> 6 IP)

Name Total
Floyd Bannister 0.00
Mark Langston 0.00
Dwight Gooden 0.00
Scott McGregpr 1.00
Bud Black 1.23

Strikeouts

Name Total
Britt Burns 12
Tom Seaver 10
Tim Lollar 9
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#10 – Ozzie Guillen

Name: Ozzie Guillen

Rank: 10

Position: SS

Years With White Sox: 1985-1997

Acquired by the White Sox, along with Tim Lollar, Bill Long, and Luis Salazar, on December 6, 1984 from the Padres for Kevin Kristan, Todd Simmons, and LaMarr Hoyt, Ozzie Guillen made his major league debut on Opening Day 1985, leading off against the Brewers and going 1-5 in the 4-2 victory at County Stadium.  Settling in as the everyday shortstop, Guillen finished the year with a .273 average, 21 doubles, and 9 triples.  Those totals were good enough to score Guillen the 1985 AL Rookie of the Year trophy.

Guillen saw a slight drop off in his sophomore season.  His average dropped to .250 and he managed 19 doubles and 4 triples.  Defensively, he led the American League in Defensive WAR.

1987 was a nice bounce back for Guillen.  He raised his average back up to .279 with a .656 OPS.  For the second straight year, he led the AL, and all of baseball, in Defensive WAR.

Guillen earned his first All Star nod in 1988, though he didn’t get in to the game.  By the end of the season, he once again led all of baseball in Defensive WAR, while seeing his average drop to .261 with 7 triples, the fifth highest total in the AL.

1989 was a tough year for Guillen.  He posted his worst offensive numbers since 1986 and, on the base paths, he fell victim to the hidden ball trick.  Twice. On June 23, against the Brewers, first baseman Greg Brock held the ball after a pickoff attempt and when Guillen took his hand off the base to stand up, Brock tagged him out.  Less than 2 months later, on August 5 against the Tigers, Dave Bergman made the same play.  He finished the year with .253 average and, despite his adventures on pick off attempts, a career high 36 stolen bases.

As the surprising White Sox challenged for the AL West title while saying goodbye to Comiskey Park, Guillen put in one of the finest seasons of his career.  He was named to his second All Star team, going 0-2, finished in 17th place in MVP voting, and earned his first, and only, Gold Glove.  He raised his average back up to .279 and knocked in a career high 58 RBIs.

Expectations were high for the White Sox as they moved across the street to the new Comiskey Park in 1991.  Guillen earned his third, and final, All Star nod, getting a sacrifice in his only plate appearance.  He ended the year with a .273 average and set a career high with 3 home runs.

Guillen’s 1992 season came to an early end when, on April 21 during a loss against the Yankees, a collision with outfielder Tim Raines ended in a severe knee injury.  Appearing in only 20 games, he hit a career low .200 in only 40 at bats.

Guillen recovered in 1993, though he appeared in only 134 games, his lowest total to date.  However, it was his most productive season offensively, posting a .280 batting average, and career highs with 4 home runs and a .666 OPS, as the White Sox won their first division title in a decade.  He hit .273 and scored 4 runs in a losing effort, as the White Sox were defeated in 6 games by the Blue Jays in the ALCS.

1994 looked to be the year that the White Sox finally broke through.  Guillen was up to the challenge, hitting a career high .288 with a .659 OPS.  Unfortunately, the year ended early when players went on strike on August 12 with the White Sox in first place in the newly created AL Central.

The 1995 season got off to a late start and had an abbreviated schedule due to the long work stoppage.  The success of the White Sox, and for Guillen himself, didn’t survive the long layoff.  Guillen saw his average drop to .248, his lowest over a “full” season in his career to this point.  His OPS dropped to its lowest total, excepting 1992, since 1989.

1996 saw a slight improvement for Guillen.  He appeared in 150 games, his highest total since his knee injury in 1992.  He raised his average back to .263 and tied his career high with 4 home runs.

1997 was easily the worst season of Guillen’s White Sox career.  He had the lowest average of his career, coming in at .245, though he did once again tie his career high with 4 home runs.  Following the season, Guillen became a free agent and his playing career with the White Sox came to an end.

Guillen returned to the White Sox organization for the 2004 season as manager.  In 2005, he led the team to their first American League pennant since 1959 and their first World Series title in 88 years.  Ongoing personal difficulties with General Manager Kenny Williams led to his leaving with 2 games left in the 2011 season as the third winningest manager in franchise history.

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

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#24 – LaMarr Hoyt

Name: LaMarr Hoyt

Rank: 24

Position: P

Years With White Sox: 1979-1984

Acquired by the White Sox, along with Robert Polinsky and Oscar Gamble, from the Yankees for Bucky Dent days before the start of the 1977 season, LaMarr Hoyt made his major league debut two years later, on September 14, 1979, against the A’s, throwing an inning of scoreless relief at Comiskey Park.  He appeared in one other game, ending the year with 3 innings pitched without giving up a run.

Hoyt split the 1980 season between Triple A and Chicago.  With the White Sox, he went back and forth between the bullpen and the rotation, ending the season with a 9-3 record and a 4.57 ERA.

Hoyt worked almost exclusively out of the bullpen in 1981.  He earned 10 saves while posting another 9-3 record, while lowering his ERA to 3.57.  He moved in to the rotation full time in 1982 and tied a club record by winning his first 9 decisions.  He ended up leading the American League in wins, posting a 19-15 record, while walking a minuscule 48 batters in nearly 240 innings.

A slow start, for both Hoyt and the White Sox, in 1983 gave way to a tremendous run that ended with Hoyt leading all of baseball with 24 wins against only 10 losses, good enough for a Cy Young award and some MVP consideration.  He lowered his walk total to 31 while upping his innings pitched to nearly 261.  In the ALCS against the Orioles, he threw a complete game in the first game of the series, giving up only one run in the only White Sox victory.

Hoyt, and the White Sox, faltered in 1984, failing to live up to expectations following the successes of 1983.  Never a thin man, Hoyt’s weight became an issue in 1984, as battery mate Carlton Fisk described the pitcher as having “everything it takes, including a lot of stomach.”  Hoyt finished the year 13-18, leading the league in losses after leading in victories for the past 2 years.  His ERA jumped to 4.47, his worse total since 1980.

Following the season, Hoyt, along with 2 minor leaguers, was traded to the Padres for Ozzie Guillen, Tim Lollar, Bill Long, and Luis Salazar.  Hoyt rejoined the White Sox organization on July 1, 1987, hoping to work his way back from a shredded shoulder and drug addictions, but a fourth drug arrest in December brought his career to an end.

Hoyt’s numbers in a White Sox uniform were:

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#97 – Luis Salazar

lsalazar

Name: Luis Salazar

Rank: 97

Position: 3B/OF

Years With White Sox: 1985-1986

Luis Salazar came to the White Sox, along with Tim Lollar, Bill Long, and Ozzie Guillen, in the December 6, 1984 trade that sent LaMarr Hoyt to the Padres.  Salazar split time between third base and the outfield for the 1985 White Sox, posting a .245 average with 10 home runs and 45 RBIs.  His season came to a premature end when, on September 23, he tore his PCL against the Angels.

After off-season surgery, Salazar spent most of 1986 rehabbing his knee.  He was activated off the disabled list on August 8, but went back on the DL on the 16th, appearing in just 4 games.  That December, he was released by the White Sox.

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

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#150 – Reid Nichols

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Name: Reid Nichols

Rank: 150

Position: OF

Year With White Sox: 1985-1986

Reid Nichols joined the White Sox via a July 11, 1985 trade that sent Tim Lollar to the Red Sox.  His biggest moment with the White Sox came a little under a month later when, playing left field in Yankee Stadium, he caught the final out of Tom Seaver’s 300th career victory.  Nichols appeared in 51 games down the stretch, hitting .297 and driving in 15.

1986 was a different beast for Nichols, and the White Sox as a whole.  Caught up in the whirlwind that was the Hawk Harrelson era, Nichols saw his playing time reduced and his batting average drop.

He returned to the White Sox for spring training in 1987, but a rebuilding White Sox team, having just acquired outfielder Gary Redus from the Reds, decided to go in a different direction and, at the end of March, Nichols was released.

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

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#299 – Bill Long

billlongName: Bill Long

Rank: 299

Position: P

Years With White Sox: 1985, 1987-1990

Bill Long was acquired by the White Sox along with Ozzie Guillen, Tim Lollar, and Luis Salazar from the Padres in exchange for LaMarr Hoyt in December of 1984.  Long made his major league debut that July against the Indians, going 5 innings and getting a no decision in the White Sox loss.  Long finished the year with a disappointing 10.29 ERA in 4 games with the big league club.

That performance helped keep Long at Triple A for the entire 1986 season, but he bounced back in 1987, making 23 starts for a White Sox team that finished in 5th place.  1988 saw Long spend more time in the bullpen, finishing the season with a career high in appearances.  The next year was even better, as Long put up a career best 3.92 ERA in only 30 games.

April of 1990 saw Long appear in 4 games, giving up 5 runs in less than 6 innings before GM Larry Himes decided it was time for Long to move on.  As the month drew to a close, Long was traded across town to the Cubs in exchange for a minor league pitcher.

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

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#305 – Tim Lollar

timlollarName: Tim Lollar

Rank: 305

Position: P

Year With White Sox: 1985

Tim Lollar was acquired by the White Sox in December of 1984 from the Padres along with Bill Long, Luis Salazar, and a minor league shortstop named Ozzie Guillen in exchange for 2 minor leaguers and former Cy Young award winner LaMarr Hoyt.  Lollar started the 1985 campaign in the rotation for the South Siders, but by late May, his spot was getting skipped and he started getting work out of the bullpen.  It seemed that his time with the White Sox would be short.

Trade rumors around Lollar started swirling in June, with the Red Sox looking like a likely landing spot.  Initial reports had Boston offering Wade Boggs, Bruce Hurst and Mark Clear in exchange for Richard Dotson and Luis Salazar.  The White Sox countered with Lollar, Salazar and a relief pitcher for Boggs.  While a blockbuster involving the future Hall of Famer obviously never materialized, the two Soxes eventually came to a meeting of the minds on Lollar, with him heading to Boston in early June in exchange for outfielder Reid Nichols.

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