Tag / White Sox

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2021 All Star Break Pitching Leaders

The second half gets kicked off tonight, with the White Sox holding an 8 game lead in the AL Central and the Cubs looking to be sellers after losing 13 of their final 15 games heading in to the break, dropping them from first place to third, with an 8 game deficit.  Let’s wrap up the first half with a look at the leaders on the defensive side of the ball for the 32 games I attended, starting with everyone’s favorite stat:

Wins

Name Total
Lance Lynn 4
Codi Heuer 2
Michael Kopech 2
Lucas Giolito 2
Dallas Keuchel 2

Losses

Name Total
Lucas Giolito 3
Carlos Rodon 3
Lance Lynn 2
Jorge Alcalá 2
22 tied with 1

ERA (> 6 IP)

Name Total
Michael Kopech 1.53
Dylan Cease 1.61
Mike Minor 1.64
Lance Lynn 1.70
Liam Henriks 2.03

Strikeouts

Name Total
Lance Lynn 51
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2021 All Star Break Batting Leaders

The All Star Game is in the books, as the American League extended its winning streak to 8 straight and White Sox closer Liam Hendriks earned the save, only the second White Sox player to do so.  As baseball takes the day off to prepare for the second half, let’s take a look at the first half offensive leaders for the 32 games I attended, starting with:

Home Runs

Name Total
Jose Abreu 5
Javier Baez 4
Adam Eaton 3
Patrick Wisdom 3
Yasmani Grandal 3
Carlos Santana 3
Brad Miller 3

Hits

Name Total
Tim Anderson 28
Yoan Moncada 26
Jose Abreu 24
Nick Madrigal 21
Yermin Mercedes 14

Runs

Name Total
Tim Anderson 17
Jose Abreu 14
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2021 All Star Break Standings

For the first time in two years, the American League takes on the National League in the Midsummer Classic.  As the baseball world turns its sights to AtlantaColorado for tonight’s All Star Game, it’s time to take a look at the team records for the 32 games I attended in the first half of the baseball season, a pretty healthy amount after the pandemic-related strangeness that was 2020.

2021 Team Records
Team Name Won Loss Winning Pctg
Tampa Bay Rays 1 0 1.000
Philadelphia Phillies 1 0 1.000
Washington Nationals 1 0 1.000
Chicago Cubs 4 2 0.667
Seattle Mariners 2 1 0.667
Chicago White Sox 16 10 0.615
Kansas City Royals 3 3 0.500
Cleveland Indians 2 2 0.500
St. Louis Cardinals 1 1 0.500
Detroit Tigers 1 1 0.500
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By The Numbers – 47

In 1929, uniform numbers appeared on the back of baseball jerseys for the first time, thanks to the Indians and the Yankees.  By 1937, numbers finally appeared across all uniforms, both home and away, across both major leagues.  Since that time, 81 distinct numbers have been worn by members of the White Sox, while the Cubs boast 76.

Today, we continue our look at those players, picking our favorite, if not the best, player to wear each uniform number for both Chicago teams with #47.  73 players have donned #47 while playing in Chicago, 38 for the White Sox and 35 for the Cubs.

The somewhat unfortunately named Rusty Kuntz spent parts of 5 seasons with the White Sox, wearing #47 the entire time.  He was selected by the White Sox in the 11th round of the 1977 draft and made his major league debut 2 years later as a September call-up in 1979, starting in left field and going 0-3 in a 4-3 victory over the Tigers en route to 5 appearances and an anemic .091 average.  Kuntz split time between Triple A Iowa and Chicago in 1980, with slightly better results, before spending the entire strike-shortened 1981 season with the White Sox, appearing in 67 games and batting .255 in a mere 55 at bats.  Both 1982 and 1983 saw Kuntz back splitting time between Triple A and Chicago, until he was finally traded to the Twins for a minor leaguer.

Catcher Miguel Montero wore #47 during his 2 1/2 years on the North side.  He had a few highlights, including his Game One grand slam in the 2016 NLCS against the Dodgers to give the Cubs the win.  His tenure with the Cubs came to an abrupt end the following June when, after the Nationals stole 7 bases in one game to leave him at 0-31 at nabbing would-be base stealers for the season, he placed the blame on the pitching staff.  The next day, he was designated for assignment.

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And Then There Were Four

With players dropping out of the All Star Game due to injury, arrival of a baby, or, in some cases, pure uninterest, Tim Anderson has been added to the American League roster, giving the White Sox their fourth All Star.  Anderson has hit .432 over the past 10 days leading in to the break and leads MLB with a .325 average since the start of the 2019 season.

It also gives the White Sox four All Stars for the first time since 2012, when Paul Konerko, Adam Dunn, Jake Peavy, and Chris Sale all made it for the game in Kansas City.

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They Say You Can’t Go Home Again

Last December, the White Sox brought back Adam Eaton on a one-year deal, with an option for 2022, to shore up right field against right handers, platooning with Adam Engel.  Many, including myself, were skeptical of the move, given Eaton’s injury history and better, but more expensive, options available on the market.  He started the season strong-ish, hitting .233 with 3 home runs and 18 RBIs in April, but fell off significantly after that.  He hit .158 with 2 homers and only 7 RBIs in 21 May games and hit .161 while only appearing in 11 games in June.

All of that added up to a .201 average with a career low .642 OPS and, with a roster crunch caused by Adam Engel’s return from the IL and the play of Brian Goodwin and Billy Hamilton, Eaton was designated for assignment yesterday.  The initial concerns, of whether he would be able to stay on the field for a full season, seem well founded after 2 stints on the IL in 3 months.  I’m sure this isn’t the end of the road for Eaton, but it is probably a start down that road.  A player like him, who relies on his legs for so much of his game, can see the writing on the wall once those legs start to go.

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

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Hey Now, You’re An All Star

First, the good news.  Five Chicago players will be making the tip to AtlantaDenver next week for the All Star Game.  Starters Lance Lynn and Carlos Rodon and closer Liam Hendriks will represent the White Sox, while third baseman Kris Bryant and closer Craig Kimbrel will represent the Cubs.  It is the first mid-summer classic for Rodon, second for Lynn and Hendricks, fourth for Bryant, and eighth for Kimbrel.

Now, the bad news.  Unlike in years past, the teams will be wearing their All Star jerseys in the game itself, rather than just in the surrounding ceremonies.  The National League will be wearing white, with the team logo on the left breast superimposed over a three letter acronym for the team (CHC for the Cubs, for example).  The sleeves have a flower pattern at the cuff that makes little sense, with either an American flag or All Star Game patch, depending on the arm.  The back has a star below the player’s number signifying their number of All Star selections.  The American League will wear the same, but in navy blue.  Both leagues will wear navy caps with a giant star underneath the team’s logo.

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iTunes Top 200 Artists: #7

6 years ago, we first counted down the then Top 100 artists in my iTunes library.  Since that time, I’ve successfully managed to migrate my music collection to a new PC with the stats intact and expanded the count down to the Top 200..  It’s been 3 years, so I figured it was time to take yet another look at my Top 200 artists, based on the number of plays from late 2007 through January 1, 2021.

Twin sisters who bonded in high school over a love of music following the discovery of their step-dad’s guitar, we continue today with at #7 with Sara Quin and Tegan Quin, known professionally as the band Tegan & Sara.

#7: Tegan and Sara
iTunes stats: 657 plays
Previous ranking: #7

Tegan and Sara entered my consciousness in the early 2000s, when I Hear Noises started to get some airplay on WXRT.  Since then, I’ve seen them in concert, read their book. and listened to their music, with 84 songs from 10 different albums in my collection.  They’ve stayed even on the charts, thanks to a mere 50% increase in listens over the past four years.  

I saw them in concert in October of 2005, at the end of what was a very busy week.  Prior to the show, I settled in at Rock Bottom in River North to watch the end of Game 3 of the ALDS as the White Sox finished off their sweep of the Red Sox.  After the game, a group of us hopped on the Red Line and headed north to Wrigleyville to check out Tegan and Sara at the Metro.  To be honest, I don’t remember much about the show at all.  The album they were touring in support of, So Jealous, is one of my favorites and I’m sure I enjoyed the performance.  But, my favorite baseball team was headed for the ALCS, I’d just been to two playoff games, and the Weezer and Foo Fighters show was earlier that week.  It’s all sort of jumbled together at this point.

 

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By The Numbers – 48

In 1929, uniform numbers appeared on the back of baseball jerseys for the first time, thanks to the Indians and the Yankees.  By 1937, numbers finally appeared across all uniforms, both home and away, across both major leagues.  Since that time, 81 distinct numbers have been worn by members of the White Sox, while the Cubs boast 76.

Today, we continue our look at those players, picking our favorite, if not the best, player to wear each uniform number for both Chicago teams with #48.  65 different players have donned #48 while playing in Chicago, 35 for the White Sox and 30 for the Cubs.

Rick Reuschel was selected by the Cubs in the third round of the 1970 draft.  He joined the big league team in June of 1972, donning #48.  His best season came in 1977, winning 20 games and finishing third in the Cy Young Award voting as the Cubs flirted with a pennant chase before a late season swoon.  He remained with the Cubs until he was traded to the Yankees during the 1981 strike.  He returned to the Cubs in 1983, but wearing a different number.

Acquired for Omar Narvaez, Alex Colome wore #48 during his two seasons on the south side.  He notched 42 saves in 83 games, and picked up an additional save and 2 scoreless innings in 2 appearances during the 2020 Wild Card series against the A’s.

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By The Numbers – 49

In 1929, uniform numbers appeared on the back of baseball jerseys for the first time, thanks to the Indians and the Yankees.  By 1937, numbers finally appeared across all uniforms, both home and away, across both major leagues.  Since that time, 81 distinct numbers have been worn by members of the White Sox, while the Cubs boast 76.

Today, we continue our look at those players, picking our favorite, if not the best, player to wear each uniform number for both Chicago teams with #49.  60 different players have donned #49 while playing in Chicago, 36 for the White Sox and 24 for the Cubs.

Chris Sale, the 13th overall selection by the White Sox in the 2010 draft, pitched 11 games in the minor leagues before making his major league debut on August 6, less than 2 months after being drafted.  Sale worked out of the bullpen for the remainder of the year, earning 4 saves in 21 appearances. Sale returned to the bullpen in 2011, picking up another 8 saves while posting a 2.79 ERA.  In 2012, Sale moved in to the starting rotation full time, where he racked up 5 straight All Star nods and finished between 3rd and 6th in Cy Young award voting each season.  In 2015, Sale set the White Sox franchise record with 274 strike outs and, in 2016, he tied his career high with 17 victories and threw a career high 226 2/3 innings pitched in between spats with the front office over Drake LaRoche and 1970s throwback jerseys.  That December, the rebuilding of the White Sox began when Sale was traded to the Red Sox for, among others, Yoan Moncada and Michael Kopech.

Jake Arrieta was originally acquired by the Cubs in July of 2013, coming over from the Orioles, along with Pedro Strop, in a trade for Scott Feldman and Steve Clevenger.  After 7 starts for Iowa, Arrieta joined the rebuilding Cubs and showed vast improvement over the pitcher he was with the Orioles.  He turned into an ace for the Cubs in 2015, winning the NL Cy Young Award, and was a key contributor to their World Series championship in 2016.  He threw two no-hitters for the team, one in 2015 against the Dodgers and the second in 2016 against the Reds.  He became a free agent following the 2017 season, but returned in 2021.