On Sunday, the White Sox announced that prized prospect Michael Kopech was being called up from Triple A to start tonight’s game against the Twins.
Unfortunately, a 55 minute rain delay after the second inning ended his debut early. But, the future looks bright for Kopech and the White Sox, as the rebuild takes its next step towards completion.
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.
| 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 |
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.
| 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 |
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The Baseball Writers of America have announced the finalists for their awards for the just completed baseball season, which will be announced next week. It is a good bet that few of my original predictions for the winners will be accurate. Hopefully, these new predictions will be slightly better, especially since I’ll have a 33% chance of being right.
Most Valuable Player: Jose Altuve, Aaron Judge, Jose Ramirez
Francisco Lindor was was my pre-season selection to win the award this year, but he was left out of the top three in part to his teammate Jose Ramirez. Judge should be a shoo-in for Rookie of the Year, leaving Jose Altuve to take home the award, adding to his hardware.
Cy Young Award: Corey Kluber, Chris Sale, Luis Severino
Ironically, in his first year away from the White Sox, Chris Sale will finally win his first Cy Young award.
Manager of the Year: Terry Francona, A.J. Hinch, Paul Molitor
Once again, I didn’t make any predictions for this award prior to the season. I’m guessing the surprising Twins will give Paul Molitor some love, but A.J. Hinch should take home the award.
Rookie of the Year: Andrew Benintendi, Aaron Judge, Trey Mancini
Another award I didn’t predict prior to the season. Judge just might be a unanimous selection.
For the third consecutive year, the NL pennant was captured at Wrigley Field. Unfortunately, this year it was the Dodgers that will be moving on, winning the NLCS 4 games to 1 against the Cubs and bringing the game-attending portion of the 2017 season came to an end. I made it to 49 games this season, my largest total since 2010. I did manage to add one new stadium this year, along with trips to 3 others that I had been to before. Here are the final standings for those games and the 20 different teams I saw in person, through both the regular season and the playoffs.
| Team Name | Won | Loss | Winning Pctg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Milwaukee Brewers | 2 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Seattle Mariners | 2 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Oakland Athletics | 2 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Colorado Rockies | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Boston Red Sox | 2 | 1 | 0.667 |
| New York Yankees | 2 | 1 | 0.667 |
| Kansas City Royals | 3 | 2 | 0.600 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 3 | 2 | 0.600 |
| Continue reading → |
Major League Baseball released their tentative 2018 schedule last week. While the local squads have differing goals in mind as 2017 winds down, with the Cubs looking to repeat as World Series champions and the White Sox playing out the string in year one of their rebuild, it’s time to turn our attention to next summer for both teams.
The White Sox open their season on the road in Kansas City on March 29 against the Royals, and then open the home portion of the campaign a week later against the Tigers.
The interleague schedule pits the White Sox against the NL Central, with trips to St. Louis, Pittsburgh, and Cincinnati and home series against the Pirates, Cardinals, and the Brewers. The rivalry with their north side foes continues with a 3 game series at Wrigley Field in May and then moving back to the south side in late September.
The season ends with a 6 game homestand against the Cubs and Indians before heading to Minnesota for the final weekend. Year two of the rebuild can see the White Sox playing spoiler down the stretch.
Meanwhile, on the north side, the Cubs open the season down in Miami on March 29. They kick off the home portion of their schedule on April 9 against the Pirates.
The interleague schedule pits the Cubs against the AL Central, with trips to Cleveland, Kansas City, and Detroit and home series against the Indians, Twins, and the Tigers.
The Cubs end the year with a 7 game homestand against the Pirates and the Cardinals, likely challengers for the NL Central crown.
Name: Joe Crede
Rank: 14
Position: 3B
Years With White Sox: 2000-2008
Joe Crede joined the White Sox organization as their 5th round selection in the 1996 draft. He earned a September call-up from Double A in 2000, and made his major league debut on September 12, replacing Herbert Perry and going 0-1 in the Tigers 10-3 victory at Comiskey Park. Crede appeared in 7 games, making the most of his 14 at bats, and finished with a .357 average.
Crede was sent to Charlotte for the 2001 season, again getting a cup of coffee with the big league club in September. With the White Sox not heading to the post-season, Crede got a little more playing time, but was less successful than the year before. He finished with a .220 average in 50 at bats over 17 games.
2002 saw Crede return to Triple A, before being recalled to the White Sox for good in July. On August 12, he hit his first major league home run off of former teammate James Baldwin. “He was someone who always got on me for being a rookie in the clubhouse and on the bus last year,” Crede said. “Singing on the bus and stuff. Nothing very harmful, but it was a good way to get him back.” In 53 games, Crede finished with 12 home runs, 35 RBIs, and a .285 average.
Crede established himself as the starting third baseman in 2003. He appeared in a career high 151 games and launched 19 home runs with 75 RBIs while posting a .261 average. He struggled in 2004, seeing his average drop to .239 while hitting 21 home runs with 69 RBIs.
In 2005, Crede started to come in to his own. While he improved his average to .252 and hit 22 home runs with 62 RBIs, he started to come in to his own in the second half, culminating with a game winning, and possible season saving, home run in the 10th inning against the Indians on September 20, which pushed the White Sox to a 3.5 game lead and propelled them into the playoffs. Crede had a rough series in the ALDS against the Red Sox, getting only 1 hit in 9 at bats, but rebounded in the ALCS and World Series, hitting .368 and .294 respectively, with 2 home runs in each series.
2006 was Joe Crede’s breakout season. He hit .283 with career highs in home runs, with 30, and RBIs, with 94. Following the season, he was awarded his first, and only, Silver Slugger award.
Crede looked to continue his new found dominance at the hot corner in 2007, but a back injury limited him to 47 games and only 4 home runs. He returned with a bang in 2008, hitting a grand slam on opening day against the Twins. A good first half saw him earn his first All Star selection, but the back injury recurred and kept him out for most of the second half of the season, including the playoffs. Crede became a free agent at the end of the year and his White Sox career came to an end.
Crede’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:
Name: Carlos Quentin
Rank: 18
Position: LF/RF
Years With White Sox: 2008-2011
Carlos Quentin was acquired by the White Sox in a December 2007 trade with the Diamondbacks for Chris Carter. He earned the nickname “The Carlos Quentin” after general manager Kenny Williams was quoted saying that the team’s goals for the winter meetings were to “acquire Carlos Quentin, and not a guy like him but actually Carlos Quentin.” Quentin played immediate dividends, breaking through in a big way for the 2008 White Sox. He was leading the American League in home runs and was third in slugging percentage, OPS, and RBIs when he broke his wrist slamming his bat following a strikeout against Cliff Lee, causing him to miss the last 6 weeks of the season. The injury likely cost him the MVP award, and certainly impacted the White Sox as they battled the Twins for the AL Central title before eventually losing to the Rays in the ALDS.
Quentin continued to struggle with injuries for the remainder of his White Sox career, never appearing in more than 131 games. A shoulder injury ended his 2011 season, and his White Sox career, at the end of August. That December, just over 4 years since he was acquired, Quentin was shipped to the Padres, for Simon Castro and Pedro Hernandez.
Quentin’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:
As the baseball world turns its sights to Miami for Tuesday night’s All Star Game, it’s time to take a look at the team records for the 24 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.
| Team Name | Won | Loss | Winning Pctg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oakland Athletics | 2 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Colorado Rockies | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
| New York Yankees | 2 | 1 | 0.667 |
| Chicago White Sox | 9 | 8 | 0.529 |
| Detroit Tigers | 2 | 2 | 0.500 |
| Texas Rangers | 1 | 1 | 0.500 |
| Minnesota Twins | 1 | 1 | 0.500 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 1 | 1 | 0.500 |
| Cleveland Indians | 1 | 1 | 0.500 |
| Boston Red Sox | 1 | 1 | 0.500 |
| Chicago Cubs | 1 | 6 | 0.143 |
| San Diego Padres | 0 | 1 | 0.000 |
| Kansas City Royals | 0 | 1 | 0.000 |
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 → |