Tag / Gary Glover

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By The Numbers – 10

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 #10.  65 different players have donned #16 while playing in Chicago, 26 for the White Sox and 22 for the Cubs, who retired the number in 2003.

Alexei Ramirez signed with the White Sox on December 21, 2007 after defecting from Cuba.  He made his major league debut the following March 31, wearing #10 while going 0-4 against the Indians while playing center field.  When Juan Uribe went down with an injury in May, Ramirez settled in at second base.  On September 19, Ramirez hit his 3rd grand slam of the year, tying the major league rookie record.  10 days later, he grabbed the record for himself, hitting his 4th slam against Gary Glover to push the White Sox to an 8-2 victory and the tiebreaking game 163.  He finished the regular season with .290 average and a career high 21 home runs.  During the ALDS, he hit .250 in the 4 game series against the Rays, with 2 RBI.  Once the season came to an end, Ramirez placed second in Rookie of the Year voting, behind Evan Longoria.

With Orlando Cabrera gone, Ramirez shifted over to shortstop for the 2009 season.  On July 23, he fielded the final out in Mark Buehrle’s perfect game.  He ended the year with a .277 average, 15 home runs, and 68 RBI.  2010 saw Ramirez earn his first Silver Slugger award, thanks to 18 home runs, 70 RBI, and a .282 average.  In 2011, his average dropped somewhat, but he remained consistent, hitting .269 with 15 home runs and 70 RBI.  Ramirez saw his power numbers slip in 2012, dropping to 9 home runs, but the rest of his game remained consistent with a .265 average and 73 RBIs, though he did set a new career high with 20 stolen bases.  His power fell off even further in 2013, finishing with only 6 home runs and 48 RBI, but he logged his highest average, .284, since his rookie year.  He also set a new career high with 30 stolen bases.

2014 may have been the finest season of his career.  On May 5, he notched his 1000th career hit, off Justin Grimm and the Cubs.  In July, he earned his first All Star selection and, after the season, his second Silver Slugger award.  He finished with a .273 average, 15 home runs, and 74 RBIs.  Ramirez struggled for much of the first half in 2015.  He rebounded in the second half, but still finished the year with the lowest batting average, .249, and OPS, .642, of his career.  Following the season, the White Sox declined his option for 2016, making him a free agent.

Ron Santo spent 14 of his 15 big league seasons with the Cubs, switching to #10 during his rookie season of 1960.  He earned 9 All Star game appearances and 5 Gold Gloves and followed his playing career with a long broadcasting stint with the team.   The Cubs retired number 10 in his honor in 2003 and he was posthumously elected to the Hall of Fame in 2012.

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#16 – Alexei Ramirez

alexeiName: Alexei Ramirez

Rank: 16

Position: SS

Years With White Sox: 2008-2015

Alexei Ramirez signed with the White Sox on December 21, 2007 after defecting from Cuba.  He made his major league debut the following March 31, going 0-4 against the Indians while playing center field.  When Juan Uribe went down with an injury in May, Ramirez settled in at second base.  On September 19, Ramirez hit his 3rd grand slam of the year, tying the major league rookie record.  10 days later, he grabbed the record for himself, hitting his 4th slam against Gary Glover to push the White Sox to an 8-2 victory and the tiebreaking game 163.  He finished the regular season with .290 average and a career high 21 home runs.

During the ALDS, he hit .250 in the 4 game series against the Rays, with 2 RBI.  Once the season came to an end, Ramirez placed second in Rookie of the Year voting, behind Evan Longoria.

With Orlando Cabrera gone, Ramirez shifted over to shortstop for the 2009 season.  On July 23, he fielded the final out in Mark Buehrle’s perfect game.  He ended the year with a .277 average, 15 home runs, and 68 RBI.

2010 saw Ramirez earn his first Silver Slugger award, thanks to 18 home runs, 70 RBI, and a .282 average.  In 2011, his average dropped somewhat, but he remained consistent, hitting .269 with 15 home runs and 70 RBI.

Ramirez saw his power numbers slip in 2012, dropping to 9 home runs, but the rest of his game remained consistent with a .265 average and 73 RBIs, though he did set a new career high with 20 stolen bases.  His power fell off even further in 2013, finishing with only 6 home runs and 48 RBI, but he logged his highest average, .284, since his rookie year.  He also set a new career high with 30 stolen bases.

2014 may have been the finest season of his career.  On May 5, he notched his 1000th career hit, off Justin Grimm and the Cubs.  In July, he earned his first All Star selection and, after the season, his second Silver Slugger award.  He finished with a .273 average, 15 home runs, and 74 RBIs.

Ramirez struggled for much of the first half in 2015.  He rebounded in the second half, but still finished the year with the lowest batting average, .249, and OPS, .642, of his career.  Following the season, the White Sox declined his option for 2016, making him a free agent.

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

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#233 – Scott Eyre

scott_eyre_autographName: Scott Eyre

Rank: 233

Position: P

Years With White Sox: 1997-2000

Scott Eyre joined the White Sox organization in a 1994 trade that sent Esteban Beltre to the Rangers.  He made his way to the major leagues on August 1, 1997, lasting 4 1/3 innings in a losing start against the Angels.  He would start 10 more games over the final two months of the season, finishing with a 4-4 record but with a 5.04 ERA.

Eyre split the 1998 season between the rotation and the bullpen.  His record dropped to 3-8 and his ERA rose to 5.38.  His struggles continued in 1999, where he started for Triple A Charlotte but worked exclusively in relief for the big league club.  His ERA ballooned up to 7.56, giving up 21 runs in his 21 games.

In 2000, he stuck to the bullpen, both in Triple A and, for the most part, for the White Sox.  He did manage to lower his ERA down to 6.63, but it wasn’t enough to make the playoff roster for the Central Division champions.

Following the season, Eyre was traded to the Blue Jays for fellow pitcher Gary Glover.

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

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#253 – Scott Schoeneweis

Gn7OSHL5Name: Scott Schoeneweis

Rank: 253

Position: P

Years With White Sox: 2003-2004

With the White Sox in contention for a division crown at the trade deadline in 2003, they swung a deal with the Angels to bolster their bullpen, getting Scott Schoeneweis, along with Doug Nickle, in exchange for Tim Bittner, Scott Dunn, and Gary Glover.  Schoeneweis appeared in 20 games for the White Sox down the stretch, putting up a 4.50 ERA as the team faltered.

In 2004, he moved into the starting rotation, but success was hard to find.  In 20 appearances, 19 of them starts, his ERA jumped to 5.59.  After the season, he was allowed to leave as a free agent.

In 2007, Schoeneweis found himself in the Mitchell Report, with claims that he received six shipments of steroids at US Cellular Field while a member of the White Sox.  He denied the allegations and the commissioner’s office decided not to suspend him.

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

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#274 – Gary Glover

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Name: Gary Glover

Rank: 274

Position: P

Years With White Sox: 2001-2003

Gary Glover joined the White Sox on November 7, 2000 after being acquired from the Blue Jays in exchange for Scott Eyre.  Glover split the year between Chicago and Charlotte, and between the bullpen and the rotation.  He finished the year with a 5–5 record and a 4.93 ERA in 46 appearances, including 11 starts.

Glover spent the entire 2002 season with the White Sox, but again split his time between the rotation, where he was not very successful, and the bullpen, where he was.  In mid-September, manager Jerry Manuel announced that Glover would stay in the bullpen for the rest of 2002 and in 2003.

In 2003, Glover became the forgotten man in the White Sox bullpen.  Going as many as 19 days between appearances, Glover made his way in to only 24 games by the end of July, when he was moved along with two minor leaguers to the Angels for for veteran pitcher Scott Schoeneweis.

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

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