Tag / White Sox

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2026 All Star Break Pitching Leaders

Now that the All-Star Game is behind us and we await tomorrow’s start of the second half of the season, with both the White Sox and the Cubs in contention for the post-season, let’s take a look at the first half leaders on the defensive side of the ball for the 24 games I’ve attended so far this season, beginning with everyone’s favorite pitching stat:

Wins

Name Total
Edward Cabrera 2
Anthony Kay 2
Davis Martin 2
18 tied with 1

Losses

Name Total
Sean Burke 2
22 tied with 1

ERA (> 6 IP)

Name Total
Kyle Harrison 0.00
Shota Imanaga  0.00
Grant Taylor 0.00
Holby Milner 0.00
Sean Newcomb 0.00

Strikeouts

Name Total
Sean Burke 22
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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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150 Years Of Cubs Baseball – Starting Pitchers Part 3

Originally founded in 1869, the Chicago Cubs became a charter member of the National League in 1876.  Over the next 150 seasons, the Cubs have played more than 22,000 games, scored over 103,000 runs and recorded more than 200,000 hits, more than any other team in baseball history.  Nearly 2,300 players have worn a Cubs uniform, earning eight division titles, 17 NL pennants, and three World Series championships.

Fans have witnessed generations of unforgettable players, from historical heroes like Joe Tinker, Gabby Hartnett, Ernie Banks, and Billy Williams to more recent stars like Ryne Sandberg, Derrek Lee, Kerry Wood, and Anthony Rizzo.  The team has called Wrigley Field home for 110 of those 150 seasons.

To celebrate this milestone, the Cubs are holding a fan vote to select the franchise’s anniversary team.  Each week, we will go through the provided options for each position and declare who should, and, if different, who will, win the fan vote.  We start today with the final eight selections for starting pitcher.

Rick Reuschel, a native of central Illinois, spent parts of twelve seasons across two stints with the Cubs, from 1972-1981 and again from 1983-1984.  From 1975-1978, he was teammates with his brother Paul, also a pitcher.  His best season came in 1977, when he won 20 games, made his lone All-Star team as a Cub, and finished third in Cy Young award voting.  After being traded in 1981, he returned to the Cubs in 1983 following a rotator cuff injury.  He is a member of the Cubs Hall of Fame.

Charlie Root spent the majority of his major league career with the Cubs, from 1926-1941.  In 1927, he led the National League with 26 wins, 48 games, 309 innings pitched, and, unfortunately, 117 walks.  In the 1932 World Series, Root was on the mound for Babe Ruth’s infamous called shot home run, though he would dispute the account.  Overall, he appeared in four World Series as a Cub and received some MVP support in five of his sixteen seasons.  He is a member of the team’s Hall of Fame.

Bob Rush debuted with the Cubs in 1948, spending ten seasons on the north side.  A two-time All-Star, he led the NL with 20 losses in 1950.  He was a steady, if unspectacular, mainstay of the Cub rotation during the fallow period following their final World Series appearance of the 20th century in 1945.

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National Mascot Day

In honor of National Mascot Day, I thought it would be a treat to look back at the history of White Sox mascots.  After purchasing the team in 1981, Jerry Reinsdorf and Eddie Einhorn looked to upgrade the team’s marketing and community relations efforts.  One of those moves was to hire the same firm that designed the Phillie Phanatic to come up with modern mascots for the White Sox.  Ribbie, a purple anteater, and Roobarb, whatever he was supposed to be, debuted in September of 1981 and, as with most things involving Jerry Reinsdorf and company, the introduction of the pair was tainted with controversy: the removal of Andy the Clown.

While never an official mascot or team employee, Andy Rozdilsky had been appearing at Comiskey Park in a clown costume since 1960, usually given free admission by the ushers.  He would wander the stands, yelling “Cooooommeeee Onnnnnnn Youuuuuu Whiiiiiiiite Soxxxxxxxxxxx!” and had a nose that would light up whenever a child shook his hand. On the day Ribbie and Roobarb were introduced, Andy the Clown was told he had to pay his own way into the ballpark.  The controversy tainted the new mascots in many fans’ minds, and they were retired following the 1988 season.

In 2004, the team introduced a new mascot, the fuzzy green dude himself, Southpaw.  He has been a fixture on the South Side ever since, and has resonated with fans, young and old alike, in ways his predecessors didn’t, which has enabled him to endure for over 22 seasons.

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iTunes Top 200 Artists: #7

Music.  It is a powerful thing that brings people together, creates memories, and evokes emotions.  It is the universal language that speaks to the soul.  It forms the soundtrack of our lives.

It has now been five years since we last counted down the Top 200 artists in my iTunes library, featuring the songs I have listened to the most since 2007.  It is time to do so again, seeing which performers still resonate and if any newer ones have joined the fray.  So, without further ado, here are my most listened to artists, based on number of plays as of January 1, 2026.

Formed in 1990 after the demise of Mother Love Bone following the death of singer Andrew Wood, Pearl Jam checks in today at #7 as we continue with the top ten.  The new group burst onto the Seattle grunge scene in 1991 and, by the second half of 1992, became a worldwide sensation.

#7: Pearl Jam
iTunes stats: 874 plays
Previous ranking: #8

The grunge godfathers move up one spot thanks to a nearly 34% increase in plays.  Their 874 plays, an increase of 221, come from 42 tracks spread between twelve different albums.  Go, my most listened to of their songs, benefited from being used as the walkup song for White Sox star Paul Konerko’s final seasons and its inclusion on my various victory playlists.

I’ve seen them in concert twice: at Soldier Field back in 1995 and Wrigley Field in 2018.  The first show took place during the tour they put on without using Ticketmaster, which led to a lottery for tickets. Pearl Jam came out and performed an astounding 29 song set, including 2 encores.  My favorite memory of the night was during the performance of Better Man, when my friend Joe, not understanding the meaning of the song, said that all of the girls sang it about him, that they couldn’t find a better man.  Ironically, this was my last visit to old Soldier Field, which would be “renovated” in 2001 and 2002.

The second show, more than 20 years later, came a long time since I had last considered myself a Pearl Jam fan.  The show, while entertaining, certainly dragged for long periods between songs that I knew as the last album that I owned came out prior to the 1995 show.

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150 Years Of Cubs Baseball – Starting Pitchers Part 2

Originally founded in 1869, the Chicago Cubs became a charter member of the National League in 1876.  Over the next 150 seasons, the Cubs have played more than 22,000 games, scored over 103,000 runs and recorded more than 200,000 hits, more than any other team in baseball history.  Nearly 2,300 players have worn a Cubs uniform, earning eight division titles, 17 NL pennants, and three World Series championships.

Fans have witnessed generations of unforgettable players, from historical heroes like Joe Tinker, Gabby Hartnett, Ernie Banks, and Billy Williams to more recent stars like Ryne Sandberg, Derrek Lee, Kerry Wood, and Anthony Rizzo.  The team has called Wrigley Field home for 110 of those 150 seasons.

To celebrate this milestone, the Cubs are holding a fan vote to select the franchise’s anniversary team.  Each week, we will go through the provided options for each position and declare who should, and, if different, who will, win the fan vote.  We continue today with the second eight selections for starting pitcher.

Ken Holtzman was selected by the Cubs in the fourth round of the 1965 draft and made his major league debut that September after just twelve minor league appearances.  He joined the starting rotation the following year, and, serving in the National Guard, was only available to start on weekends in 1967, going 9-0 in his twelve appearances.  He threw two no-hitters, the first in 1969 against the Braves and the second in 1971 against the Reds.  He asked to be traded following the 1971 season.  He is a member of the team’s Hall of Fame.

Bill Hutchison spent seven seasons with the franchise now known as the Cubs, from 1889-1895.  He led the National League in wins from 1890-1892 and strikeouts in 1892.  He still ranks fourth all-time in franchise history in wins, second in innings pitched, sixth in strikeouts, and first in loses, complete games, walks allowed, and wild pitches.

Fergie Jenkins spent ten of his 19 years in the big leagues across two stints with the Cubs, first from 1966-1973 and again from 1982-1983.  A three-time All-Star, he led the National League in victories in 1971, strikeouts in 1969, and earned the Cy Young Award in 1971.  Jenkins was enshrined in the Hall of Fame in 1991 and his number 31, shared with Greg Maddux, was retired by the club in 2009.

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First Place

Three years ago, the White Sox finished the season with their worst record since 1970.  Two years ago, they set the all-time MLB record with 121 losses.  Last year, they “improved” by 19 games but still managed their third straight 100-loss season.  Today, they sit alone in first place in the AL Central, the latest they have done so since winning the division in 2021.

Are they for real?  A large part of me says no.  Heading into last Friday’s series against the Phillies, they had the easiest schedule so far in the entire league.  They are currently in the middle of a gauntlet, facing the Phillies, Braves, Dodgers, and Yankees before their first meeting with the Guardians.  That said, the small piece that believes this might really be happening is growing.  After dropping two of three in Philadelphia, they’ve beaten the Braves, who have the best record in baseball, two straight.  They are 25-14 since Mike Vasil acquired his magic wand and, since the Crosstown Series against the Cubs in mid-May, they have the best record in baseball.

Assuming the weather holds out, they have one more game against the Braves tonight before the Dodgers come to town for the weekend.  If they can head into that Cleveland series with their heads above water, then I might just become a believer.