Tag / Ron Schueler

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RIP Farmio

The White Sox announced yesterday that long-time radio broadcaster Ed Farmer had passed away Wednesday night.  Farmer, who missed parts of last season due to illness, returned for the initial broadcast of spring training earlier this year, but then stepped away again in early March to continue recovering.  He was 70.

Farmer, a Chicago native and graduate of St. Rita, pitched for the White Sox from mid-1979 through 1981 and set a then-team record with 30 saves in 1980, earning him an All-Star team bid for the best season of his 11 year pitching career.  He was working as a scout for the Orioles in 1990 when he was asked to fill in on a few White Sox broadcasts.  He became a special assistant to White Sox GM Ron Schueler in 1991 and filled in for John Rooney when he was on national assignments.

Farmer replaced Wayne Hagin in the radio booth in 1992, teaming with Rooney for the next 14 seasons.  In 2004, the duo were named the best radio team in the American League by USA Today.  When Rooney left following the 2005 season, Farmer became the play-by-play man and teamed with Chris Singleton, Steve Stone, and Darrin Jackson, who has been his radio partner since 2009.

Farmer was diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease and received a kidney transplant from his brother in 1991.

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#52 – Ken Williams

Name: Ken Williams

Rank: 52

Position: CF/3B

Years With White Sox: 1986-1988

Ken Williams was selected by the White Sox in the 3rd round of the 1982 draft.  He made his major league debut on September 2, 1986, going 1-4 in the White Sox 3-0 victory over the Royals in Kansas City.  He appeared in 15 games down the stretch, hitting an anemic .129.

Williams got extended playing time in 1987 and turned in his best season as a major leaguer.  He hit .281 with 11 home runs and 50 RBIs, playing primarily in center field.

Looking to keep his promising bat in the lineup, the White Sox tried to move Williams to third base for the 1988 season.  To say it did not go well would be an understatement.  Williams struggled both at the plate and in the field, hitting .159 in 220 at bats and posting a .860 fielding percentage.

The following spring, Williams was traded to the Tigers for pitcher Eric King.  Following his retirement, he rejoined the White Sox organization as a scout in November of 1992.  He served as a special assistant to Jerry Reinsdorf in 1994, director of minor league operations from 1995-1996, and vice president of player development from 1997-2000.  Following the promotion of Ron Schueler following the 2000 season, Williams was named general manager, just the third African American in baseball history to hold the position.

From 2001 through 2003, Williams and manager Jerry Manuel formed the first African American tandem to hold those positions in baseball history.  In 2005, Williams helped lead the White Sox to their first World Series title in 88 years.  Following the 2012 season, he was promoted to Executive Vice President of baseball operations, the role he still holds today.

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

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#72 – Ron Karkovice

karkoName: Ron Karkovice

Rank: 72

Position: C

Years With White Sox: 1986-1997

Ron Karkovice joined the White Sox organization as their first round selection in the 1982 draft.  He made his major league debut on August 17, 1986, going 1-4 in the White Sox 7-4 victory over the Brewers at Comiskey Park while catching future Hall of Famer Steve Carlton.  He appeared in 36 additional games, hitting .247, as the White Sox rolled to their worst record since 1980.

Karkovice broke camp with the White Sox in 1987, but was completely overmatched on offense.  He appeared in 39 games, getting only 85 at bats and hitting an anemic .071.  He didn’t do much better in Triple A, putting up a .183 average for Hawaii.

He returned to Triple A for 1988, but got some extended playing time in the big leagues when Carlton Fisk went down with a broken hand.  In 46 games, Karkovice hit .174 and drove in 9 runs.

Karkovice stuck in the big leagues for good starting in 1989.  Getting more regular playing time, he improved his average to a career high .264 while splitting time behind the plate with Fisk.  1990 was more of the same for Karkovice, as he appeared in 68 games and hit .246.

As the White Sox moved across the street to the new Comiskey Park in 1991, Karkovice had a near repeat of his 1990 season, finishing with the same average and nearly the same power numbers.  In 1992, Karkovice finally supplanted Fisk and became the primary backstop.  Appearing in 123 games, he hit .237 but saw his home runs increase to 13.

Karkovice appeared in a career high 128 games for the 1993 White Sox, as the team captured their first division title in a decade.  He went hitless during the ALCS as the White Sox fell to the Blue Jays in 6 games.  1994 saw his offensive numbers continue to fall, as his average dropped to .213, partially due to a sore knee, before the season came to an untimely end due to the strike.

When baseball returned in 1995, Karkovice was back behind the plate for the White Sox.  He appeared in 113 games and saw his average bounce back slightly to .217.  1996 was more of the same for Karkovice, as he appeared in 111 games and hit .220 with 10 home runs, before undergoing knee surgery in September.

Things went south for Karkovice and the White Sox in 1997.  By the middle of May, he had been replaced as the starting catcher by Chad Kreuter.  By the middle of July, he had fallen to third on the depth chart, behind the newly acquired Jorge Fabergas and veteran Tony Pena.  He had requested to be released at the end of May, but was refused by general manager Ron Schueler.  He finished the year with only 51 appearances and an average that had dropped to .181.  He became a free agent at the end of the year, but never played in the major leagues again.

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

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#104 – Tony Phillips

tphil

Name: Tony Phillips

Rank: 104

Position: LF

Years With White Sox: 1996-1997

Tony Phillips signed with the White Sox as a free agent on January 20, 1996.  His tenure on the south side got off to a rocky start when he left spring training, vowing to retire rather than play for such a paltry salary.  While general manager Ron Schueler told the media Phillips left camp because of a “family matter,” former teammates Dusty Baker and Dave Stewart convinced Phillips not to retire and he returned to the Sox 48 hours later.

His next moment of controversy came in May, when, after being berated by a Brewer fan who Phillips claimed was using racial slurs, he pulled himself out of the game, switched to street clothes, and headed to the County Stadium bleachers to confront him.  Despite punching the fan in the face twice, Phillips managed to avoid not only arrest, but also suspension.

Later in the season, he had one final dust-up with Sox management, after a reporter complained that Phillips was playing a Pearl Jam CD too loudly.  “The way I was brought up in baseball, our clubhouse is the players’ clubhouse,” Phillips said. “We live here for eight months. The writers are here for a couple of hours a day. For them to come in here and dictate what we do in our clubhouse is not right.”

In between all of those controversies, Phillips found time to produce.  He put up a .277 average, with an unbelievable .404 OBP.

Phillips returned in 1997 and once again found himself feuding with a member of the media.  In what may have been his lasting contribution to the White Sox clubhouse, he got into a confrontation with Sun-Times columnist Jay Mariotti, causing Mariotti to leave the clubhouse for good, earning Phillips the ever-lasting love of his teammates.  His time with the Sox was short, though, as he was traded, along with Chad Kreuter, to the Angels on May 18 for Jorge Fabergas and Chuck McElroy.

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

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#107 – Charles Johnson

cjohnson

Name: Charles Johnson

Rank: 107

Position: C

Year With White Sox: 2000

With the White Sox holding a 9 1/2 game lead in the AL Central just days before the trade deadline in 2000, GM Ron Schueler struck a deal to improve the team for the stretch run and the post-season, picking up Charles Johnson and Harold Baines from the Orioles in exchange for Brook Fordyce and three prospects.  In his first game with the White Sox, Johnson hit a game-winning home run off John Wetteland and guided James Baldwin to his best start in his last 11 outings.

In 44 games over the season’s final two months, Johnson hit .326 with 10 home runs and 36 RBIs.  He also provided a stabilizing effect behind the plate for a pitching staff that fell apart due to injuries as the post-season approached.  As the White Sox battled the Mariners in the ALDS, Johnson was one of the few hitters who showed up, going 3-9 in the 3 game sweep.  After the season, he became a free agent, ending his brief, but successful, White Sox career.

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

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#127 – Chad Kreuter

Chad Kreuter (1998 White Sox)

Name: Chad Kreuter

Rank: 127

Position: C

Years With White Sox: 1996-1997, 1998

Following the 1995 season, the White Sox signed Chad Kreuter to back up incumbent starter Ron Karkovice.  He appeared in only 46 games before his season came to a premature end on July 19 due to a home plate collision with the Royals’ Johnny Damon.  Kreuter suffered a shattered shoulder socket and a lacerated stomach, which nearly claimed his life.  Surgery tried to repair the shoulder, but Kreuter was told he would likely never play baseball again.

When Kreuter started to regain strength in his arm in mid-October, he dedicated himself to making it back to the big leagues.  General Manager Ron Schueler offered him a minor league deal for 1997, with a chance to earn a roster spot in spring training.  He not only earned his way onto the roster, but had supplanted Karkovice as the everyday catcher by mid-May, when he was traded, along with Tony Phillips, to the Angels for Jorge Fabergas and Chuck McElroy.

Following the 1997 season, Kreuter re-signed with the White Sox and once again became the primary catcher.  In September, for the second consecutive year, he was traded to the Angels, ending his White Sox career.

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

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#141 – Steve Sax

stevesaxName: Steve Sax

Rank: 141

Position: 2B

Years With White Sox: 1992-1993

Steve Sax, the 1982 NL Rookie of the Year, was acquired by the White Sox from the Yankees in January 1992 in exchange for Domingo Jean, Bob Wickman, and Melido Perez. Called “one of the finest offensive second basemen in the game” by White Sox general manager Ron Schueler, Sax took over the middle of the infield for the White Sox, but struggled to replicate his past success. He finished the 1992 season .236 average, the lowest of his career to this point.

In 1993, Sax lost his starting role to Joey Cora, and found himself bouncing around the field in an attempt to get playing time, only appearing once at second base for a total of 2 innings.  While the White Sox would go on to win the Western Division title, Sax struggled on the bench, appearing in only 57 games and setting a career low with a .235 average.

As the start of the 1994 season came around, Sax was placed on the disabled list, surrounded by rumors that he’d been asked to accept a demotion to the minor leagues.  After finishing a rehab stint in Double A Birmingham, Sax found himself in limbo.  Schueler had tried to trade Sax, but found no takers and, eventually, Sax was released.  “I just didn’t play well there,” Sax said of his two-year Sox tenture. “I blame nobody but myself.  I just never fit in.”

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

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#154 – John Kruk

John KrukName: John Kruk

Rank: 154

Position: DH

Year With White Sox: 1995

Following the lockout that delayed the beginning of the 1995 season, John Kruk decided to unretire and was signed by the White Sox on May 13, joining the team 12 days later.  The Sox has attempted to sign Kruk during spring training, but the slugger wasn’t interested.  “I got a call saying he was interested in playing again,” GM Ron Schueler said. “Other people he used to play with–his friends–had him thinking.”

Kruk joined the White Sox at the end of May, replacing Chris Sabo as the team’s primary designated hitter.  He was batting .308 with 2 home runs through July 30, when, after singling at Camden Yards in a game against the Orioles, Kruk took himself out of the game and retired again, this time for good.  “He wanted to go out with a hit,” manager Terry Bevington said.  “If he wouldn’t have gotten a hit today, he would have waited until he got a hit.”

Kruk’s numbers in a White Sox uniform were:

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#203 – Ruben Sierra

sierra-ws2Name: Ruben Sierra

Rank:203

Position: DH/RF

Years With White Sox: 1998

Ruben Sierra signed with the White Sox as a free agent on January 9, 1998.  General manager Ron Schueler envisioned Sierra splitting time with rookie Magglio Ordonez in right field and DHing when Frank Thomas was at first base.

Sierra ended up appearing in 27 games for the White Sox, hitting only .216.  Less than 2 months in to the season, on May 29, he was released, ending his short tenrue on the south side.

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

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#204 – Dave Righetti

Dave Righetti4Name: Dave Righetti

Rank: 204

Position: P

Year With White Sox: 1995

Veteran pitcher Dave Righetti came to spring training with the White Sox in 1995 as a non-roster invitee and was unable to earn a spot with the big league club, but general manager Ron Schueler offered him a chance to go to Triple A Nashville and try to prove that he could still pitch effectively.  In 2 1/2 months with the Sounds, Righetti made 15 starts, putting up the third lowest ERA in the league, and strengthened his arm.

With the White Sox needing pitching help, Righetti was called up and made his season debut in New York against the Yankees, his home for 11 seasons.  “Anybody who pays the price, you’re happy to see him succeed,” manager Terry Bevington said. “He paid his dues. It’s the American way.”  Righetti ended up appearing in 10 games for the White Sox, starting 9 of them, finishing with a 3-2 record with a 4.20 ERA.

Following the season, Righetti became a free agent and, finding that no team was interested in his services, he decided to retire.

Righetti’s numbers in a White Sox uniform were:

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