By The Numbers – 51

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 #51.  44 different players have donned #51 while playing in Chicago, 20 for the White Sox and 24 for the Cubs.

Juan Cruz, wearing #51, made his big league debut for the Cubs on August 21, 2001, against the Brewers.  He went 3–1 with a 3.22 ERA in his first 8 starts, and recorded his first two major league hits on October 2.  Cruz went 3–11 with a 3.98 ERA in 45 games in 2002, picking up his first career save.  He got off to a good start in 2003, striking out 6 consecutive Mets on Opening Day, becoming only the second Cubs reliever to achieve the feat.  Things went a bit downhill from there, finishing the year 2–7 with a 6.05 ERA while making 6 starts, despite being sent back down to Iowa in June.  He threw one scoreless inning during the NLDS against the Braves.  That would end up being his final Cub appearance, as he was traded to those same Braves the following March.

Dane Dunning was acquired by the White Sox as part of the return for Adam Eaton in 2016.  He made his major league debut in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, going 2-0 in 7 starts with a 3.97 ERA.  He started Game 3 of the Wild Card series against the A’s, getting pulled after 2/3rds of an inning as the White Sox were eliminated.  That was his final White Sox appearance, as he was traded to the Rangers in exchange for Lance Lynn this past December.

Bringing In Reinforcements

Four years and 2 days ago, the White Sox jumpstarted their rebuild by trading Adam Eaton to the Nationals for pitchers Lucas Giolito, Dane Dunning and Reynaldo Lopez.  Yesterday, the White Sox tried to put that rebuild over the top by trading Dunning to the Rangers for Lance Lynn and signing Eaton to a one year deal to fill the hole in right field.

Lynn, who will turn 34 before Opening Day, was linked to the White Sox at the trade deadline last year and should join Lucas Giolito and Dallas Keuchel in giving the team veteran leadership on the mound.  He has finished in the top 10 in Cy Young voting each of the last 2 seasons.  He will be a free agent following the 2021 season.  Dunning, meanwhile, made his major league debut last year, starting 7 games as he worked his way back from Tommy John surgery.  He started the decisive game 3 of the AL Wild Card series against the A’s, going only 2/3 of an inning before getting pulled as the White Sox lost in their first post-season appearance since 2008.

Eaton, 32, was a gold glove finalist in right field for the White Sox in 2015, but things went south the following year when he was a vocal critic of the front office following the Drake LaRoche debacle during spring training.  He blew out his knee in 2017 and missed most of that and the 2018 seasons.  In 2019, he was a key part in the Nationals capturing their first World Series title, putting up an OPS of .993 during the series.

Last week, the White Sox introduced their new coaching staff and the mantra coming out of that was World Series or bust.  While giving up 6 years of control for Dunning for a single year of Lynn is a steep price, he at least should push the team in the right direction.  Eaton, however, seems to be a throwback to the days of buying low and hoping for a breakout season.  With better, but more expensive, options still available, this move does not announce to the world that the White Sox are all in.

The Straw That No Longer Stirs The Drink

adameatonThe White Sox followed up on Tuesday’s big deal that sent Chris Sale to the Red Sox with another big move on Wednesday, sending outfielder Adam Eaton to the Nationals for pitchers Lucas Giolito, Dane Dunning and Reynaldo Lopez.

Eaton joined the White Sox on December 10, 2013 after being acquired from the Diamondbacks in a 3 team trade that sent Hector Santiago to the Angels.  He quickly moved in to the leadoff spot, giving the White Sox their first true leadoff hitter since Juan Pierre in 2011.  He moved to right field in 2015, where he was a gold glove finalist.  Like Sale, he was a vocal critic of the White Sox front office following the Drake LaRoche incident during spring training 2015.  I’m sure it is only a coincidence that those two were the first shipped out of town during this rebuilding effort.

Giolito is the top ranked pitching prospect in baseball, further bolstering the White Sox system.  Lopez, the third ranked prospect in the Nationals system, showed promise during an 11-game stint in the Nationals rotation last year.  Dunning was the first round draft pick of the Nationals last year and had been ranked highly on the White Sox draft board.

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

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