Thanks to a stellar pitching performance from Chris Sale and a clutch 10th inning game winning hit by Carlos Sanchez, the White Sox won their 6th game in a row tonight, their longest winning streak since August of 2013. The victory also pulled the team above .500 for the first time since June 4, 2014.
As Hawk Harrelson is known to say, don’t stop now boys.
Name: Bobby Bonilla
Rank: 153
Position: LF/1B
Year With White Sox: 1986
After breaking his leg and missing most of the 1985 season, Bobby Bonilla was left off the Pirates 40 man roster and was selected by the White Sox in the Rule 5 draft in December. He opened the 1986 season with the White Sox, making his major league debut on April 9, going 0-1 as a pinch hitter in the Sox loss to the Brewers.
With the chaos of Hawk Harrelson’s lone season as GM swirling around him, Bonilla put together a pretty decent rookie campaign, especially since he was making the jump from A ball. He was hitting .269 with 2 home runs in 75 games when, with the trade deadline approaching, Harrelson decided to blow up the team and sent Bonilla back to the Pirates, in exchange for pitcher Jose DeLeon.
Bonilla’s numbers in a White Sox uniform were:
Name: 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:
Last summer, the Cubs left their longtime radio home of WGN, signing a 7 year deal with CBS radio to move their games to WBBM starting this year. Coincidentally, the White Sox radio deal expires after this season, and reports surfaced today that they are exploring options with 3 different radio stations: WGN, WLS, and their current home, The Score.
If the White Sox end up leaving the Score, their radio home since 2006, that might kick off another upheaval for the Cubs. CBS Radio, owners of both WBBM and The Score, have the right to move the Cubs off of WBBM, their all news station and really a bad fit for baseball, to The Score should the White Sox leave.
So no matter what happens later this summer, there will be baseball on The Score next year. Soon we shall learn where else.
Name: Steve Carlton
Rank: 155
Position: P
Year With White Sox: 1986
Less than a week after announcing he was retiring from the Giants, Steve Carlton signed with the White Sox on August 12, 1986. Carlton started 10 games down the stretch for the White Sox going 4-3 with a 3.69 ERA in his first American League action after spending the first 21+ seasons of his career in the National League.
With the departure of general manager Hawk Harrelson, Carlton was not offered a contract for the 1987 season as was allowed to leave as a free agent.
Carlton’s numbers in a White Sox uniform were:
Former White Sox outfielder Carlos Quentin, who finished 5th in MVP voting in 2008 despite missing the final six weeks of the season with a broken wrist, announced his retirement after 9 seasons. After being released in spring training after being acquired by the Braves in a trade, Quentin had been playing with the Mariners’ Triple A club, but was hitting only .176 in 17 at bats.
After spending parts of the 2006 and 2007 seasons with the Diamondbacks, Quentin was acquired by the White Sox in a December 2007 trade. 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 following a strikeout against Cliff Lee. 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.
In 3 years with the Padres, injuries continued to plague Quentin, as he failed to appear in 90 games in any season. His most famous (or infamous) moment with the Padres was the April 11, 2013 brawl against the Dodgers, where he broke Zach Greinke’s collarbone after being hit by a pitch.
This spring, Quentin was traded to the Braves, who promptly released him. He had signed on with the Mariners in the hopes of working his way back to the major leagues, but his history of injuries had finally caught up to him and caused him to call it a day.
Quentin’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:
Name: Tony Pena
Rank: 156
Position: C
Year With White Sox: 1997
Former All-Star catcher Tony Pena signed with the White Sox as a free agent on January 10, 1997. Pena served as a backup for starter Jorge Fabergas, appearing in 31 games but batting an anemic .164. In August, after announcing that this would be his final season, he was traded to the Astros for a minor league pitcher. “I really appreciate the way they have been treating me,” Pena said. “They have been treating me with a lot of respect. . . . I thought the White Sox uniform would be the last uniform I was going to wear.”
Pena’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:
Name: Bob James
Rank: 157
Position: P
Years With White Sox: 1985-1987
Bob James was acquired by the White Sox on Decmber 7, 1984 from the Expos in exchange for Vance Law. James was installed as the team’s closer for 1985 and helped to return the White Sox to a contending club. Manager Tony La Russa said, “We’ve had a decent bullpen since I’ve been here, but, with Bob, our bullpen can compare with anybody’s in the league.” Broadcaster, and Hall of Fame pitcher, Don Drysdale agreed. “They have a guy down in the bullpen now who they haven’t had for quite a few years. . .a stopper,” Drysdale said. “Without James, I don’t know where they would be.”
The White Sox finished the season in 3rd place, with an 85-77 record, but James finished with an 8-7 record, a 2.13 ERA, and 32 saves, behind only Royals reliever Dan Quisenberry. Things appeared to be looking up for the White Sox heading in to the 1986 season.
Sadly, things went a bit crazy in 1986, both for James and the White Sox. While new GM Hawk Harrelson turned the organization on its head, James lost any semblance of effectiveness that he had showed the previous year. In early August, James went down with triceps issues and was lost for the season. His final numbers were nightmarish: a 5-4 record but an ERA of 5.25 and only 14 saves in 49 appearances.
James continued to struggle in 1987, and in May, he lost his position as the team’s closer. “I told him he`s not throwing as well as he could be,” manager Jim Fregosi said. “I’m going to use him as a long man so he can get back to where he`s throwing well.” Shoulder problems put him out of commission in July, and he finished the season with a 4-6 record and a 4.67 ERA.
The White Sox released James in December, but looked to resign him to an incentive-laden deal the following spring. “We’ve had several talks with him,” general manager Larry Himes said. “He’s looking at other places. The Sox are interested, but he knows the conditions. We’re willing to pay for performance. Bob James has not performed up to our expectations the last couple years.” James ended up not signing with the White Sox, or anyone else, and his major league career came to an end.
James’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:
Paul Konerko: Farewell To A Friend – Scott Reifert
Following the retirement of Paul Konerko last fall, the White Sox put together a book, edited by Scott Reifert, to celebrate their longtime first baseman and raise money for Chicago White Sox Charities. To be honest, there wasn’t much reading to be done with this book, as it was mostly pictures along with a few short articles.
Paul Konerko meant a lot to the White Sox and its fan base over the past 16 years, which I covered last fall as he retired. This book sums up his last weekend, while also hitting on a few of the highpoints of his career, especially the run to the 2005 World Series championship.
Name: Bob Howry
Rank: 158
Position: P
Years With White Sox: 1998-2002
Acquired in the infamous White Flag trade, Bob Howry joined the White Sox organization on July 31, 1997, along with Keith Foulke, Lorenzo Barcelo, Mike Caruso, Ken Vining, and Brian Manning, from the Giants in exchange for Wilson Alvarez, Danny Darwin, and Roberto Hernandez. Howry made his major league debut on June 21, 1998, pitching 2 innings of scoreless relief in the White Sox loss to the Twins.
Howry stuck with the big league club and eventually became the closer, saving 9 games down the stretch. He finished the year 0-3 with a 3.15 ERA in 44 appearances.
Howry remained as the closer for most of 1999, until he was replaced by Keith Foulke. He finished the year with a winning record, at 5-3, and saw his ERA rise slightly to 3.59. His 28 saves led the team and was 9th best in the AL.
His most infamous moment in a White Sox uniform came in early 2000, when the White Sox and Tigers were involved in 2 brawls during their April 23 game, which the Sox won 14-6. Howry was ejected in the 9th inning after hitting Shane Halter, igniting the second brawl of the day and earning himself a 3 game suspension. Many claim that the brawl united the young White Sox team, spurring them on to winning the AL Central title. Howry finished the year with a 2-4 record and a 3.17 ERA, picking up 7 saves. He appeared in 2 of the 3 games against the Mariners in the ALDS, giving up 1 run in 2 2/3 innings.
The White Sox faltered in their bid to repeat as division champs in 2001, and Howry was part of the problem. His ERA ballooned to 4.69 and he blew more saves than he converted. He finished the year with a 4-5 record and only 5 saves, giving up more hits than innings pitched for the first time in his career.
Howry bounced back somewhat in 2002, but was still above his career norms for runs and hits allowed. As the White Sox were floundering at the trade deadline, Howry, despite still being under contract for 2003, was shipped to the Red Sox for Frank Francisco and another minor league pitcher. “The opportunity presented itself and we told Bobby it was an offer we felt too good to pass up,” GM Kenny Williams said.
Howry’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were: