Tag / White Sox

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#143 – Joe Cowley

jcow

Name: Joe Cowley

Rank: 143

Position: P

Year With White Sox: 1986

Joe Cowley joined the White Sox, along with Ron Hassey, in the December, 1985 that sent Britt Burns a couple of minor leaguers to the Yankees.  Cowley stepped in to the rotation and put together a .500 record with a 3.88 ERA.  The highlight of his season came of September 19, when he threw one of the ugliest no-hitters in major league history.  While he held the Angels hitless, he walked 7 and gave up a run on a sacrifice fly.  Cowley also goes down in history as the only pitcher to throw a no hitter in his final major league victory.

The following spring, Cowley was traded to the Phillies, in exchange for Gary Redus, ending his brief White Sox career.

Cowley’s numbers in a White Sox uniform were:

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by jim

Book 17 (of 52) – Split Season: 1981

Split Season: 1981 - Fernandomania, The Bronx Zoo, and The Strike That Saved Baseball - Jeff Katz

Split Season: 1981 – Fernandomania, The Bronx Zoo, and The Strike That Saved Baseball – Jeff Katz

Change was afoot in Major League Baseball as the 1980s were getting underway.  1980 saw the Philadelphia Phillies win their first World Series.  Heading in to 1981, new ownership took over on the south side of Chicago, while the Cubs would be sold mid-season.  On the field, things looked good, as Fernando Valenzuela took Los Angeles, and the rest of the nation, by storm, Dave Winfield headed to New York, and Carlton Fisk changed the color of his socks from Red to White.  Behind the scenes, though, the owners and the players were headed for a seemingly unnecessary strike, one which would stop baseball for 2 months in the middle of the season, the first in-season work stoppage.

Jeff Katz brings all of the details that led to the 1981 strike, causing the 1981 season to be split into 2 halves and adding a division playoff for the first time.  The owners, along with commissioner Bowie Kuhn, wanted to turn back the clock and punish teams for signing free agents.  The players, behind union head Marvin Miller, would have none of it and, despite what the owners were led to believe, were willing and able to stick together.

Baseball resumed in August, after 713 games were lost, and the season ended with the Dodgers topping the Yankees in the fall classic.  A revised version of the free agent compensation that the owners fought for was put in place, and was scrapped in the next round of negotiations when it backfired, just as the union claimed it would.

by jim

Conor Won’t Be Back

The dismantling of the disappointing 2015 Chicago White Sox began this morning when Conor Gillaspie was designated for assignment in order to make room on the roster for another pitcher following yesterday’s 13 inning loss to the Royals.

Gillaspie was acquired by the White Sox prior to the 2013 season, when, out of options, it was clear he was not going to make the Giants roster.  He became the main third baseman for the White Sox in the 2 1/2 years since, but, aside from the first half of the 2014 season, struggled both offensively and defensively.  This year, he was relegated to a platoon with Gordon Beckham and only had 1 at bat since Tyler Saladino was recalled over a week ago.

Gillaspie is likely to be claimed on waivers, drawing his White Sox career to an end.  Honestly, I’m surprised he was moved while Emilio Bonifacio remains on the roster, but I can only imagine his days are numbered as well.

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#144 – Rodney McCray

mccrayName: Rodney McCray

Rank: 144

Position: OF

Years With White Sox: 1990-1991

Rodney McCray was originally drafted by the White Sox in the 1st round of the 1982 draft, but didn’t sign.  In December of 1987, he finally joined the White Sox organization after being selected from the Padres in the minor league draft.  He made his major league debut with the White Sox on April 30, 1990, appearing as a defensive replacement in the team’s 5-4 victory against the Rangers.

McCray was used primarily as a pinch runner and defensive replacement, appearing in 32 games but getting only 6 at bats.  He ended the season with 6 stolen bases but still in search of his first major league hit.

McCray spent most of 1991 in Triple A Vancouver, where he became internationally famous.  On May 27, McCray was playing right field and was tracking down a flyball hit by current Diamnodack manager Chip Hale.  After initially catching the ball, McCray barrelled through the plywood fence.  The video of the play has lived on through the years in sports blooper videos.

McCray later earned a call-up to the White Sox in 1991, but again saw limited playing time and even more limited batting opportunities.  This time he made it in to 17 games, but got only 7 at bats.  He did manage to get 2 hits this time around.  Following the season, McCray became a free agent and his White Sox career came to an end.

McCray’s numbers in a White Sox uniform were:

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2015 All Star Break Standings

MLB: Cincinnati Reds at Los Angeles DodgersAs 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.

2015 Team Records

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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#145 – Bryan Little

bryanlittleName: Bryan Little

Rank: 145

Position: 2B

Years With White Sox: 1985-1986

Following the 1984 season, the White Sox acquired second baseman Bryan Little from the Expos for Bert Roberge.

Little appeared in 73 games for the White Sox in 1985, hitting .250 with a career high 2 home runs.  He returned to the south side for the 1986 season, but saw his playing time, and production, drop significantly.  On July 2, his tenure with the White Sox came to an end when he was purchased by the Yankees.

In 1993, Little returned to the White Sox organization as a roving minor league instructor and became an advance scout in 2001, a position he still holds today.

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

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by jim

Honoring 2 Legends

minosouniform.0With the annual renewal of hostilities between the Cubs and the White Sox set to get underway this afternoon at Wrigley Field, the two teams announced earlier this week that they would be honoring both Ernie Banks and Minnie Minoso during the interleague series, both this weekend at Wrigley Field and in August at US Cellular Field.

Sunday, the Cubs will wear throwback home uniforms from 1958, the year of Banks’ first MVP award, and every Cub will take the field wearing number 14.  The White Sox will wear corresponding road uniforms from the same era.

Next month, the tables will be turned.  On Friday, August 14, the White Sox will don their home whites from the 1950s, all with Minoso’s number 9, while the Cubs will don the road grays of the time.

There has been some fan clamoring for the trophy awarded to the winners of the season series, the Crosstown Cup, to bear the name of both Banks and Minoso.  The cup was introduced back in 2010, when some marketing genius introduced the trophy as the BP Crosstown Cup.  The title sponsor has since dropped away, but the cup, for some reason, remains.  As long as it is going to exist, it may as well honor two of the best to wear the respective uniforms.

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Fitbit Week 22

Week22_FBA pretty spectacular week, where every day was over 6,000 steps, 5 days were above 8,000 steps, and 3 days were above 10,000 steps, which resulted in my best week since heading to Disney World 2 years ago.  Things got off to a good start on Sunday, when I took a nice long walk around the neighborhood.  Monday and Tuesday both saw me taking some time during the work day to explore the campus in addition to my afternoon coffee trip.  Wednesday benefited from an slightly abbreviated version of Sunday’s trip after work.  Thursday and Friday were back down to somewhat normal totals.  Saturday consisted on a trip to US Cellular Field to watch exciting White Sox baseball.

I also managed to pass 1,000,000 steps for the year this week, 4 weeks before the half way point.  While I didn’t set a specific goal, I think I’m on a good pace for surpassing my daily goal, which projects out to 2,002,000 steps.

Total steps: 64,405

Daily average: 9200.7

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#146 – Joel Skinner

joelskinnerName: Joel Skinner

Rank: 146

Position: C

Years With White Sox: 1983-1986

Acquired in 1982 by the White Sox as a free agent compensation pick from the Pirates organization, Joel Skinner made his major league debut on June 12, 1983 in a victory over the A’s.  He appeard in only 6 games for the eventual AL West champions, garnering 3 hits in 11 at bats.

Skinner again split time between the minor leagues and the major leagues in 1984, though he had more of a lasting impact at the big league level than the year before.  He appeared in 43 games for the White Sox, struggling at the plate and hitting only .213.

Skinner got another opportunity with the White Sox in 1985, when backup catcher Marc Hill went down with a hip contusion.  He appeared in 22 games and hit a surprising .341.  This convinced incoming general manager Ken Harrelson that he was ready to take over behind the plate in 1986.

To accomodate Skinner, Harrelson had manager Tony LaRussa move Carlton Fisk to left field.  The White Sox stumbled out of the gate and Skinner struggled to hit.  On May 9, with Skinner hitting in the .150s and LaRussa’s job on the line, he moved Fisk back behind the plate and the White Sox proceeded to win 10 of their next 13 games.  Skinner got another chance behind the plate in July when a virus knocked Fisk out of the lineup, but his days with the team were numbered.

As the trade deadline approached at the end of July, Skinner, along with Ron Kittle and Wayne Tolleson, were sent to the Yankees in exchange for Ron Hassey, Carlos Martinez, and a player to be named later, who eventually became Bill Lindsey.

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

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Franchise Four – Chicago White Sox

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, we finish up the entire league as I give my Franchise Four picks for the Chicago White Sox.

F4WhiteSox

LALuis Aparicio played for the White Sox from 1956 – 1962 and again from 1968 – 1970.  He was an All Star 6 times in those years and was elected to Hall of Fame in 1984.  His number 11 was retired by the White Sox in 1984.

NFNellie Fox teamed with Aparicio to make up the double play combination for the 1959 American League Champions.  Fox came to the White Sox in 1950 and manned second base through the 1963 season, earning 12 All Star nods and the 1959 AL MVP.  He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1997.

LAppAfter the White Sox roster was decimated by the banishments following the throwing of the 1919 World Series, there were few bright spots until Luke Appling debuted in 1930.  20 years later, Appling retired, with 7 All Star nods, 2 batting titles, 3 top 10 MVP finishes, and too many team records to count.  He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1964.

PKPaul Konerko came to the White Sox via trade prior to the 1999 season and became a fixture at first base until his retirement last year.  Having led the White Sox to victory in the 2005 World Series, he finished his career as the White Sox all time leader in total bases and second all time in home runs, RBIs, and games played.

HBHarold Baines was selected by the White Sox as the first overall pick of the 1977 draft.  He spent parts of 14 seasons with the team, in three different stints, until his retirement following the 2001 season.  He holds the White Sox team records for home runs, RBIs, and extra base hits for left handed hitters. Continue reading →