Tag / Phillies

by admin

2018 All Star Break Standings

As the baseball world turns its sights to Washington for Tuesday night’s All Star Game, it’s time to take a look at the team records for the 20 games I attended in the first half of the baseball season, a mish-mash of excitement, followed by disappointment, giving way to uncertainty about what the second half will hold.

2018 Team Records
Team Name Won Loss Winning Pctg
Detroit Tigers 3 0 1.000
Houston Astros 2 0 1.000
Oakland Athletics 1 0 1.000
Kansas City Royals 1 0 1.000
Colorado Rockies 1 0 1.000
Chicago Cubs 4 2 0.667
Pittsburgh Pirates 1 1 0.500
Minnesota Twins 1 1 0.500
Milwaukee Brewers 1 1 0.500
Chicago White Sox 5 11 0.313
Texas Rangers 0 1 0.000
San Francisco Giants 0 1 0.000
Philadelphia Phillies 0 1 0.000
Baltimore Orioles 0 1 0.000
by admin

All Time Team Records

The 2018 baseball season gets underway today, with an early start brought about due to the last collective bargaining agreement, which added additional off days for each team throughout the year.  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. The Cubs look to avenge last year’s NLCS loss and make it back to the World Series, while the rebuilding White Sox hope to finally start seeing their young talent blossom.  The 2018 season should be an exciting one on both sides of town.

All-Time Team Records
Team Name Won Loss Winning Pctg
California Angels 1 0 1.000
Arizona Diamondbacks 13 2 0.867
Florida Marlins 15 8 0.652
Philadelphia Phillies 10 6 0.625
Toronto Blue Jays 13 9 0.591
New York Yankees 14 10 0.583
Colorado Rockies 8 6 0.571
Los Angeles Angels 16 13 0.552
Boston Red Sox 16 13 0.552
Kansas City Royals 27 24 0.529
Chicago White Sox 284 256 0.526
Chicago Cubs 209 189 0.525
Continue reading →
by admin

2018 Predictions

The 2018 baseball season is scheduled to kick off tomorrow, the earliest date in history (not counting special series outside of North America) with a full slate of games featuring all 30 teams.  For the eighth consecutive year, I’ve looked into the crystal ball to make my picks for the upcoming season.

American League

East: Yankees

Central: Indians

West: Astros

Wild Cards: Red Sox, Angels

AL Champion: Yankees

Cy Young: Chris Sale

MVP: Giancarlo Stanton

National League

Continue reading →

by admin

2018 Hall Of Fame Ballot – The Newcomers

baseballhof

The BBWAA released their ballot for the Hall of Fame class of 2018 on Monday.  The results of the vote are due to be revealed on January 24th, with induction taking place next July.  After Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines, and Ivan Rodriguez were elected in last year’s voting, the new ballot contains 14 holdovers along with 19 newcomers, which may continue the logjam caused by the current BBWAA rules which limit the number of votes on one ballot to 10 and the ongoing refusal by some writers to vote for players tainted by PEDs, leaving too many qualified candidates fighting for limited spots.  Once again, the BBWAA and the Hall may find themselves with a mess on their hands.  And that doesn’t even take in to account Joe Morgan’s letter.

Yesterday, we looked at the returning candidates.  Today, it’s time to look at the newcomers and who may be thankful come January.

Chris Carpenter

He put together some monster seasons, but lost nearly 4 1/2 seasons due to injury, leaving his numbers well short of enshrinement.

Johnny Damon

Probably would not get anywhere near enough support, but he spent many years in a Red Sox or Yankees uniform, so who knows.

Livan Hernandez

The Cuban ex-pat may get a vote or two, but it should be one and done for him.

Orlando Hudson

I can’t imagine a world where Orlando Hudson, who finished out his career with the White Sox in 2012, earns a Hall of Fame vote.

Aubrey Huff

Not that he was going to garner any support anyway, but his recent social media posts, falling for the worst of the right wing conspiracies, certainly aren’t helping.

Jason Isringhausen

This has been a weak batch of newly eligible players. no?

Andruw Jones

Now here is an interesting conundrum.  If we stick to his first 11 seasons, it seemed like he was destined for the Hall.  His last 7 seasons, though, were so bad that it makes it hard to consider him.  This would be a tough choice.

Chipper Jones

Ah, there we go.  A sure-fire, first ballot selection for the long time Brave.

Carlos Lee

The former White Sox outfielder may get a little support, but not enough to keep him on the ballot for a second go-around.

Brad Lidge

Lidge was on the mound when the Phillies won the World Series in 2008, but that won’t erase the memories of the huge home runs he gave up in the 2005 post-season, to Albert Pujols and Scott Podsednik.

Hideki Matsui
Continue reading →

by admin

2018 Hall Of Fame Ballot – The Holdovers

baseballhofThe BBWAA released their ballot for the Hall of Fame class of 2018 yesterday. The results of the vote are due to be revealed on January 24th, with induction taking place next July. After Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines, and Ivan Rodriguez were elected in last year’s voting, the new ballot contains 14 holdovers along with 19 newcomers, which may continue the logjam caused by the current BBWAA rules which limit the number of votes on one ballot to 10 and the ongoing refusal by some writers to vote for players tainted by PEDs, leaving too many qualified candidates fighting for limited spots.

Let’s take a look at the returning candidates today before moving on to the newcomers.

Barry Bonds
Years on ballot: 5
2017 Percentage: 53.8

The all time home run champion saw his vote percentage rise for the third straight time last year, so the PED bias holding him back may be subsiding.  Having hit the halfway point in his election cycle, whether he has enough time to get up to 75% remains to be seen.

Roger Clemens
Years on ballot: 5
2017 Percentage: 54.1

Roger Clemens, he of the 354 career victories and 7 Cy Young awards, also found himself with a third consecutive rise after his fifth run through the voting process.  For some odd reason, perhaps by having played for more teams, Clemens continues to get marginally more support than his fellow PED poster child Barry Bonds.

Vladimir Guerrero
Years on ballot: 1
2017 Percentage: 71.7

The former Expo and Angel should have no issue getting in this year, considering he was only 15 votes short last year.

Trevor Hoffman
Years on ballot: 2
2017 Percentage: 74.0

One of only 2 pitchers with over 600 saves, Hoffman missed election last year buy a mere 5 votes.  I would expect him to break through this year.

Jeff Kent
Years on ballot: 4
2017 Percentage: 16.7

The 2000 NL MVP managed a slight increase in vote percentage last year, but has a long way to go and not a whole lot of time left, so the future does not look good for him.

Edgar Martinez
Years on ballot: 8
2017 Percentage: 58.6

The longtime DH for the Mariners saw another big jump last year, but has only 2 elections left and may not have enough time to build up to the necessary 75%.  His long career as a DH in the Pacific Northwest may be holding him back.

Fred McGriff
Years on ballot: 8
2017 Percentage: 21.7 Continue reading →

by admin

#19 – Greg Luzinski

Name: Greg Luzinski

Rank: 19

Position: DH

Years With White Sox: 1981-1984

With a new ownership group in place and looking to make a splash, the White Sox purchased Greg Luzinski from the Phillies on March 30, 1981.  Coming off a disappointing season, the Chicago-area native 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.  He raised 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.

Those struggles carried over in to 1984.  His average dropped again, to .238, and his power output fell as well.  He finished the year with only 13 home runs, his lowest total since 1974, and 58 RBIs, though 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.

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

Continue reading →

by admin

#22 – Bobby Thigpen

Name: Bobby Thigpen

Rank: 22

Position: P

Years With White Sox: 1986-1993

Selected in the fourth round of the 1985 draft, Bobby Thigpen made his major league debut for the White Sox just over a year later, throwing 3 innings of mop-up relief in a 9-0 loss to the Red Sox on August 6 at Fenway Park.  He made 20 appearances over the final 2 months of the season, going 2-0 with a 1.77 ERA and 7 saves.

In 1987, Thigpen moved in to the closer role full time, replacing Bob James.  In 51 games, Thigpen racked up 16 saves while also putting up a 7-5 record with a 2.73 ERA.

Thigpen broke the White Sox team record for saves in 1988, with 34, while leading the league with 59 games finished.  He ended the year with a 5-8 record and a 3.30 ERA.  In 1989, he duplicated the effort with another 34 saves, though with a 2-6 record and a 3.76 ERA.

Thigpen’s 1990 season was one for the record books.  He earned his first All Star nod while on his way to setting the major league record with 57 saves.  He also led the league with 77 games and 73 games finished.  He ended the year with a 4-6 record and a 1.83 ERA as the surprising White Sox competed for the division title.  On September 30, he earned his 57th save while throwing the final pitch at Comiskey Park.  His year earned him 4th place in Cy Young Award voting and 5th place in Most Valuable Player considerations.

After the 1990 season, Thigpen joined other major league all stars on a tour of Japan.  Unfortunately, he would suffer a back injury that would plague him for the remainder of his career.  In 1991, he still managed to earn 30 saves, but his ERA jumped up to 3.49.

Thigpen struggled in 1992, setting a career high with a 4.75 ERA.  He earned only 22 saves, losing his grip on the closer role to both Scott Radinsky and Roberto Hernandez.  1993 was even worse, as his ERA jumped to 5.71 and he managed only 1 save in 25 appearances.  On August 10, he was traded to the Phillies for former teammate Jose DeLeon.  He left as the franchise’s all time leader with 201 saves, a position he still holds today.

Thigpen rejoined the White Sox organization in 2007, managing and coaching throughout the minor league system.  In 2013, he became the bullpen coach for the big league team, a position he held through the 2016 season.

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

Continue reading →

by admin

It’s Been A While

Prior to last night’s game, I hadn’t seen the Rockies live since August of 2012, nearly 5 years ago.  For someone with season tickets to two teams, one in each league, that is a long drought.  This got me thinking about the other 29 teams.

You would think that I would cycle through each team every few years or so.  And, for the most part, that does seem to be the case.  I’ve already seen 12 teams in 2017, and the season is just over 2 months old.  Going back to last year, that number jumps to 22 and, going back to 2015, 25.  That’s over 83% of the league in the past 2+ seasons.

What about those remaining 5 teams?  The Astros and Diamondbacks last appeared in 2014, with the Marlins and the Nationals in the two years prior.  That leaves the Phillies, who I have somehow not managed to see in person since 2009.  I’ve seen the Florida Marlins more recently.  Anyway, here’s a look at each team and the last time I saw them play.

Team Name Date
Colorado Rockies 6/8/2017
Chicago Cubs 6/8/2017
Chicago White Sox 5/30/2017
Boston Red Sox 5/30/2017
Detroit Tigers 5/28/2017
San Diego Padres 5/13/2017
New York Yankees 5/7/2017
Kansas City Royals 4/25/2017
Cleveland Indians 4/23/2017
Pittsburgh Pirates 4/15/2017
Los Angeles Dodgers 4/12/2017
Minnesota Twins 4/9/2017
San Francisco Giants 10/8/2016
Continue reading →
by admin

#27 – Jim Thome

Name: Jim Thome

Rank: 27

Position: DH

Years With White Sox: 2006-2009

Fresh off their first World Series championship in 88 years, the White Sox looked to reload for their title defense by acquiring Jim Thome from the Phillies for Aaron Rowand, Gio Gonzalez, and Daniel Haigwood.  Thome made an immediate impact, setting a major league record by scoring in each of Chicago’s first 17 games and setting the team record with 10 home runs in April.  By season’s end, Thome had put up a .288 average with 42 home runs, 102 RBIs, and an OPS of 1.014.

The bottom fell out for the White Sox in 2007.  One of the few bright spots came in mid September, on Jim Thome bobblehead day, when Thome launched his 500th career home run, the first player to do so on a walk-off.  For the year, Thome hit .275, with 35 home runs and 96 RBIs.

2008 was a bit of a down year for Thome.  His average fell to .245 and his OPS to .865, but he still managed 34 home runs and 90 RBIs.  The most important of them came in the 163rd game of the year, as he hit a solo home run to give the White Sox a 1-0 victory over the Twins and the Central Division title.  Unfortunately, Thome struggled during the ALDS against the Rays, getting only 2 hits in 16 at bats.

2009 was another down year for the White Sox.  He was hitting .249 with 23 home runs and 74 RBIs when, on August 31, he was traded to the Dodgers for a warm body.

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

Continue reading →

by admin

#30 – Greg Walker

Name: Greg Walker

Rank: 30

Position: 1B

Years With White Sox: 1982-1990

Acquired as a rule 5 selection from the Phillies in 1979, Greg Walker made his major league debut for the White Sox on September 18, 1982, pinch hitting for Marc Hill and getting a hit against Brian Kingman in the White Sox 5-4 loss to the A’s at Comiskey Park.  During his brief cup of coffee with the big league club, Walker took advantage, hitting .412 with 2 home runs in 11 games.

Walker split time with Tom Paciorek in 1983, hitting .270 with 10 home runs and 55 RBIs in 118 games.  He led the American League with 15 pinch hit RBIs.  He appeared in 2 games during the ALCS against the Orioles, going 1-3 with a walk.

In 1984, Walker started to establish himself as the every day first baseman.  In 136 games, he hit 24 home runs while posting a .294 average.  He hit another 24 home runs in 1985 while tying a White Sox record with 163 games played.

1986 saw Walker spend time on the disabled list, limiting him to 78 games and only 13 home runs, with a .277 average.  He bounced back in 1987, appearing in 157 games and setting career highs with 27 home runs and 94 RBIs while hitting a career low .256.

Walker’s 1988 season came to a premature end on July 30, when he suffered a seizure during batting practice while fielding grounders from coach Ed Brinkman.  Four trainers were needed to hold Walker down and pry open his mouth to prevent Walker from swallowing his own tongue.  During the ordeal, Walker bit his tongue and chipped a tooth from biting down on a pair of scissors.  A subsequent seizure the following day kept Walker in the hospital for 11 days.  A third seizure, days after being released from the hospital, left him in a daze for months.

He returned in 1989, unsure if he would be able to continue his career, until a .308 spring average with 7 home runs convinced him, and the White Sox, that he once again could be a productive member of the lineup.  He wasted little time in getting back in the swing of things, participating in an Opening Day brawl against the Angels after Bob McClure hit Ivan Calderon with a pitch in the ninth inning.  The good feelings did not last, though, as he appeared in only 77 games due to a shoulder injury and hit a career low .210 with only 5 home runs.

Walker found himself the odd man out in 1990, appearing in only 2 games before being released on April 30.

Walker rejoined the White Sox organization on May 19, 2003 as hitting coach, a position he would hold until September 28, 2011 in the waning days of Ozzie Guillen’s tenure.

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

Continue reading →