As the baseball world turns its sights to Cincinnati for tonight’s All Star Game, it’s time to take a look at the team records for the 21 games I attended, at 3 different stadiums, in the first half of the baseball season.
| TeamName | Won | Loss | Winning Pctg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detroit Tigers | 2 | 0 | 1.000 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Minnesota Twins | 3 | 2 | 0.600 |
| Chicago White Sox | 11 | 9 | 0.550 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 1 | 1 | 0.500 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 1 | 1 | 0.500 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 1 | 1 | 0.500 |
| Chicago Cubs | 1 | 2 | 0.333 |
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Major League Baseball is asking its fans to vote for the four most impactful players who best represent the history of each franchise. The winners will be announced in July at the All Star Game in Cincinnati. Today, I will give my Franchise Four picks for the National League Central, minus the Cubs.
5 Hall of Famers should make this an easy choice, but the permanent exclusion of the all-time hit king adds a slight wrinkle to the proceedings for the Reds. Let’s say that Johnny Bench and Frank Robinson hold down two of the spots. That leaves Joe Morgan, Tony Perez, Barry Larkin, and Pete Rose for the final two slots. I’m going to go with the exiled Rose and Morgan.
For a franchise that dates back to 1969, the Brewers, once you get past Robin Yount and Paul Molitor, don’t have much to choose from. Ryan Braun, despite his association with PEDs, get my third slot. I guess I’d give the final position to Rollie Fingers.
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:
Name: Ken Griffey Jr.
Rank: 152
Position: CF
Year With White Sox: 2008
As the White Sox made their run towards the World Series title in 2005, general manager Kenny Williams attempted to acquire Ken Griffey Jr. from the Reds, but was rebuked when Reds ownership decided to veto the deal. 3 years later, with the White Sox again looking to make a run at a division title, he was able to get the aging superstar, acquiring Griffey at the trade deadline in exchange for pitcher Nick Masset and second baseman Danny Richar. At the time of the trade, the White Sox held a tenuous 1.5 game lead over the Twins.
Griffey, who had spent most of the previous few seasons in right field to lessen the strain on his body, moved back to center field for the White Sox, displacing the disappointing Nick Swisher. Griffey appeared in 41 games for the White Sox, hitting a decent .260 with only 3 home runs and 18 RBI. His most important contribution came defensively, during the tie-breaking game 163 between the White Sox and the Twins, when he gunned down Michael Cuddyer, who was trying to score on a fly out to center, preserving the shutout and helping the White Sox win the division and advance the playoffs.
In the ALDS, Griffey appeared in 3 games against the Rays, garnering only 2 hits as the White Sox fell 3 games to 1. Following the season, the White Sox declined Griffey’s $16 million option for 2009, making him a free agent.
Griffey’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:
Last Saturday, Geovany Soto and Jeff Samardzija became the 25th and 26th people I’ve seen play in person for both the Cubs and the White Sox. Here’s a look at those players, in alphabetical order.
David Aardsma
After posting a decent season with the Cubs in 2006, Aardsma was traded to the White Sox for Neal Cotts. Aardsma lasted one season with the Sox, where he was unable to duplicate his success from the year before.
Jason Bere
Drafted by the White Sox in the 36th round in 1990, Bere debuted with the big league club in 1993, finishing 2nd in Rookie of the Year voting. After an All Star selection in 1994, injuries marred the remainder of his tenure on the South Side, which ended in 1998. He resurfaced with the Cubs in 2001 and had a decent season, but he went 1-10 in 2002 before being let go.
Neal Cotts
Acquired by the White Sox in the Billy Koch trade, he debuted with the team in 2003. He was a key contributor in the bullpen during the 2005 championship season, and was the only relief pitcher to appear in all 3 rounds of the playoffs that season. Following the 2006 season, he was traded to the Cubs for David Aardsma, and he spent the next 3 injury filled seasons on the North Side.
Scott Eyre
Joining the White Sox organization in a 1994 trade with the Rangers, he debuted with the big league team in 1997. He split the next 4 seasons between the rotation and the bullpen, not to mention between Chicago and Charlotte, before being moved to the Blue Jays following the 2000 ALDS loss to the Mariners. He joined the Cubs as a free agent for the 2006 season and enjoyed 2 seasons of relative success, before falling apart in 2008, when he was traded to the Phillies.
Kosuke Fukudome Continue reading →
Another exciting baseball season is upon us, and it is time once again to look at the all-time team records for games that I have attended. Another disappointing season dropped the winning percentage for the White Sox 7 points, giving them a 16 point drop over the past 2 years.
All-Time Team Records
| TeamName | 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 | 10 | 7 | 0.588 |
| New York Yankees | 11 | 8 | 0.579 |
| Colorado Rockies | 7 | 6 | 0.538 |
| Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim | 15 | 13 | 0.536 |
| Chicago White Sox | 234 | 204 | 0.534 |
| San Francisco Giants | 8 | 7 | 0.533 |
| Chicago Cubs | 194 | 172 | 0.530 |
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Name: Corky Miller
Rank: 200
Position: C
Year With White Sox: 2009
Journeyman catcher Corky Miller signed a minor league deal with the White Sox following the 2008 season, with an invite to spring training. Miller impressed during the spring and earned a job with the big league club as backup to starter A.J. Pierzynski.
Miller went 2-4 with 2 RBI in his first game of the season, but struggled offensively after that. In 14 games, he hit just .205 with 5 RBI and had thrown out just 1 of the 9 runners attempting to steal against him.
On May 31, Miller was designated for assignment after the White Sox acquired catcher Ramon Castro in a trade with the Mets. “Corky Miller was outstanding from the first day of Spring Training to today,” manager Ozzie Guillen said at the time. “Corky did a tremendous job for us and I was very happy with him, but we made a decision that we had to get better there.” Miller was assigned to Triple A, where he appeared in 4 games before the June 26 trade that sent him back to the Reds in exchange for Norris Hopper.
Miller’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:
After an 18 seasons, including the past 16 with the White Sox, Paul Konerko’s major league career came to an end last week as the 2014 campaign wrapped up against the Royals. Konerko, the last remaining White Sox player from their 2005 championship team, was a 6-time All Star and had served as team captain since 2006. He also is the only White Sox player to appear in the post season 3 different times.
After brief appearances with the Dodgers and the Reds in 1997 and 1998, Paul Konerko was traded to the White Sox on November 11, 1998 for center fielder Mike Cameron. He started at DH on opening day in 1999, an 8-2 victory over the Mariners, going 1-4 with a home run and 2 RBI.
2000 saw Konerko get off to a quick start with an inside the park home run on April 11 against the Devil Rays, the first by a White Sox player since 1990. In his second full season, he helped lead the surprising White Sox to their first Central Division title. He, along with the rest of the White Sox offense, struggled during the Division Series against the Mariners, going 0-9 in the three game sweep.
After steadily improving in 2001 and 2002, Konerko ran into trouble in 2003, with his average under .200 for the first half of the season. He found himself coming off the bench as manager Jerry Manuel seemingly lost confidence in him. He bounced back in the second half and re-established himself as the starting first baseman.
Konerko bounced back in a big way in 2004, hitting 41 home runs and knocking in over 100 RBIs en route to the Comeback Player of the Year award. 2005 saw him put up a second consecutive 40 HR, 100 RBI season as the White Sox found themselves back in the playoffs for the second time in his career. This time, things would go much differently for both Konerko and the White Sox.
Konerko homered twice and drove in 4 runs during the three game sweep against the Red Sox, catching the final out that sent the White Sox to the ALCS for the first time since 1993. Konerko hit another 2 home runs and drove in 7 against the Angels during the 5 game series. Once again, Konerko caught the final putout that sent the White Sox to their first World Series since 1959. Following the victory in game 5, Konerko was named ALCS MVP.
Konerko cooled down during the World Series, hitting only one home run against the Astros, but what a home run it was. With the White Sox trailing in the 7th inning, Konerko came up to face new pitcher Chad Qualls with the bases loaded. Konerko made contact on the first pitch, sending it into the left field seats for a grand slam and the lead. Like the previous 2 series, Konerko caught the final putout at first base in Game 4, giving the White Sox their first World Series title since 1917.
With the afterglow of winning the World Series starting to subside, Konerko became a free agent. Despite rumors of him getting more lucrative offers from both the Dodgers and the Orioles, Konerko finally resigned with the White Sox, inking a 5-year, $60 million contract that would keep him on the south side through 2010.
Konerko battled through injuries in 2008, leading to his worst season since 2003, but he did manage to help the White Sox reach the post-season for the third time during his career. He hit 2 solo home runs in the 4 game series against the Rays, in what would be his final playoff appearance.
Konerko had two more chances at free agency, signing a 3 year deal with the White Sox prior to 2011 and, finally, re-upping for one last season last fall. He finishes his career as the White Sox all time leader in total bases and second all time in home runs, RBIs, and games played.
Konerko’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:
Major League Baseball released their tentative 2015 schedule earlier this week and, with little more to be concerned with for this season, let’s take a look at what’s on tap for next summer for the North Siders.
The Cubs open the season at home against the Cardinals on Monday, April 6. If one were to try and determine when super-phenom Kris Bryant is likely to be called up, the early May road trip to visit the Cardinals and Brewers would seem like a good bet.
This year’s inter-league slate is against the AL Central, with the Royals, Indians, White Sox, and Tigers making trips to Wrigley Field, while the Cubs hit the road to visit the Tigers, Indians, Twins, and White Sox.
The Cubs finish the season on the road against the Reds and Brewers, which would make for a great pennant race should the team be in contention.
Major League Baseball released their tentative 2015 schedule earlier this week and, with little more to be concerned with for this season, let’s take a look at what’s on tap for next summer for the South Siders.
The White Sox open the season on the road against the Royals on Monday, April 6. The home season begins that Friday, when the Twins come to town for a 3 game set.
This year’s inter-league slate is against the NL Central, with the Reds, Pirates, Cubs, and Cardinals making trips to US Cellular Field, while the Sox hit the road to visit the Brewers, Pirates, Cardinals, and Cubs.
The White Sox finish the season at home against the Royals and Tigers, which would make for a great pennant race should the team be in contention.
