Tag / White Sox

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iTunes Top 200 Artists: #81-89

It’s been 4 years since we last counted down the Top 200 artists in my iTunes library.  Since my iTunes stats are still intact, across multiple PCs, iPods, iPads, and iPhones, I figured it was time to take another look at the artists that have entertained me the most based on number of plays from late 2007 through January 1, 2021.

We continue today with the next batch of 10 artists, breaking past the 100 play plateau with the 2 remaining tied for 89th place, the single artist at 88, 2 tied for 86th, and the single artists at 85th through 81st.

#89: Chance The Rapper
iTunes stats: 93 plays
Previous ranking: #139

Somehow the two clips from his intro video for the 2016 White Sox jumped 50 spots due to a 182% increase in plays over the last 4 years.

#89: Roxette
iTunes stats: 93 plays
Previous ranking: #95

Sweden’s second best selling musical act after Abba, the pop duo nearly doubled their listens while moving up 6 spots on the chart.

#88: The Muffs
iTunes stats: 94 plays
Previous ranking: #70

A big 18 spot drop for the band most well known for a Fruitopia commercial back in the day, thanks to a mere 32 new plays.

#86: Soul Asylum
iTunes stats: 97 plays
Previous ranking: #88

43 new listens for the Minneapolis-based band pushes them up 2 spots in the rankings.

#86: Christina Aguilera
iTunes stats: 97 plays
Previous ranking: #84

The former Voice star sees a 73% increase, enabling her to drop only 2 spots.

#85: The Outfield
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By The Numbers – 60

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 #60.  23 players have donned #60 while playing in Chicago, 17 for the White Sox and 6 for the Cubs.

Dallas Keuchel is the latest member of the White Sox to don #60.  He joined the team in 2020 after signing a 3 year deal during the offseason.  He went 6-2 with a 1.99 ERA in the corona virus shortened season, helping the White Sox to the postseason for the first time since 2008.  He is expected to be a big part of the rotation this year as the team looks to make the postseason in consecutive seasons for the first time in franchise history.

Manny Corpas spent one season with the Cubs, wearing #60 during the 2012 campaign.  He was not very good, going 0-2 with an ERA over 5.00, but he’s one of the few #60s for the Cubs that I recognized.

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All Time Team Records

In a shocking development, the 2021 baseball season got underway last night without issue or delay.  With hopefully a full 162 game schedule on the docket, 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.  Thanks to some eBaying of pocket schedules from the 80s, I was able to identify one additional game that I attended in 1988, a California Angels victory at Comiskey Park against the White Sox.

The Cubs look to contend in a weak NL Central with one final year of having the core of their World Series Championship team under contract, while the White Sox hope their offseason additions put them over the top and make them true World Series contenders.  The 2021 season should be an interesting one on both sides of town, even more interesting if we are able to see it in person.

All-Time Team Records
Team Name Won Loss Winning Pctg
California Angels 2 0 1.000
Arizona Diamondbacks 13 2 0.867
Florida Marlins 15 8 0.652
Colorado Rockies 10 6 0.625
Boston Red Sox 18 13 0.581
Toronto Blue Jays 15 11 0.577
New York Yankees 15 11 0.577
Los Angeles Angels 19 14 0.576
Cleveland Indians 28 24 0.538
Chicago Cubs 219 197 0.526
Philadelphia Phillies 10 9 0.526
Houston Astros 22 20 0.524
Chicago White Sox 306 287 0.516
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2021 Predictions

After a year of pandemic-related shut downs and a truncated 60-game schedule last year, the 2021 baseball season is scheduled to kick off on Thursday with a full slate of games and some percentage of fans back in the stands.  For the eleventh consecutive year, I’ve looked into the crystal ball to make my picks for the upcoming season.

American League

East: Yankees

Central: Twins

West: Astros

Wild Cards: White Sox, Blue Jays

AL Champion: Yankees

Cy Young: Lucas Giolito

MVP: Aaron Judge

National League

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by admin

iTunes Top 200 Artists: #101-110

It’s been 4 years since we last counted down the Top 200 artists in my iTunes library.  Since my iTunes stats are still intact, across multiple PCs, iPods, iPads, and iPhones, I figured it was time to take another look at the artists that have entertained me the most based on number of plays from late 2007 through January 1, 2021.

We wrap up the first half of the countdown with today’s batch of 10 artists, the second tied for 110th place, 2 tied for 108th, the single artist at 107th through 103rd, and the 2 tied for 101st.

#110: K’s Choice
iTunes stats: 73 plays
Previous ranking: #101

Only 28 new listens to 5 different tracks from the arguable one hit wonder from Belgium over the past 4 years led to a 9 spot drop.

#108: INXS
iTunes stats: 77 plays
Previous ranking: #117

One of Australia’s highest selling music acts of all time, the band increased their listens by 108% to move up 9 slots.

#108: Sublime
iTunes stats: 77 plays
Previous ranking: #103

The Long Beach based ska band added 33 new plays to the 4 songs they have in my collection.

#107: Pink
iTunes stats: 78 plays
Previous ranking: #123

The 3-time Grammy winner added 43 additional listens to the 4 songs that are in my collection.

#106: Ugly Kid Joe
iTunes stats: 80 plays
Previous ranking: #111

The poorly-timed hard rock band, who started to hit it big just as alternative rock was taking over the world, managed to double their play total.

#105: UB40
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By The Numbers – 61

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 #61.  18 players have donned #61 while playing in Chicago, 12 for the White Sox and 6 for the Cubs.

Joel McKeon was the White Sox first round pick in the 1982 draft and made his debut in 1986, where he appeared in 30 games out of the bullpen and had a rather successful 2.45 ERA.  His 1987 season, however, was much less successful, with his ERA jumping to 9.43 and, the following February, McKeon was shipped off to the Padres to complete an earlier trade.  While McKeon, the first #61 in White Sox history, did little to make himself memorable on a real baseball diamond, his 1986 appearance with Buffalo, the then Triple A affiliate of the White Sox, made him a superstar of our Micro League Baseball league, where he dominated as a stalwart of the team belonging to my friend Dave.

Backup catcher Babe Phelps, the first player to don #61 for the Cubs, hit .286 in his 2 seasons with the Cubs.  And no, I don’t mean his average across those 2 seasons was .286.  I mean he finished both seasons, 1933 and 1934, with a .286 average.  He would go on to more success with the Dodgers later in the decade, earning MVP votes in 1936 and earning three straight All Star nods from 1938-1940.

by admin

iTunes Top 200 Artists: #110-120

It’s been 4 years since we last counted down the Top 200 artists in my iTunes library.  Since my iTunes stats are still intact, across multiple PCs, iPods, iPads, and iPhones, I figured it was time to take another look at the artists that have entertained me the most based on number of plays from late 2007 through January 1, 2021.

We continue today with our next batch of 10 artists, the second tied for 120th place, 3 tied for 127th, the single artist at 116th and 115th, 3 tied for 112nd, and the first of 2 tied for 110th.  We have our final newcomer making their debut this week.

#120: Bruce Springsteen
iTunes stats: 68 plays
Previous ranking: #119

The Boss adds 32 new listens while dropping one spot on the list thanks to the 4 tunes in my collection.

#117: P.M. Dawn
iTunes stats: 69 plays
Previous ranking: #150

The trip-hop duo jumps 33 spots thanks to 38 new plays for 3 of their hit singles.

#117: John Travolta
iTunes stats: 69 plays
Previous ranking: N/A

The actors combines his contributions to two movie soundtracks, Grease and Pulp Fiction, to make the highest ranking debut.

#117: Color Me Badd
iTunes stats: 69 plays
Previous ranking: #109

The early 90s boy band drops 8 places, with 28 new listens, now one of their three tracks in my collection is no longer being used as the walkup music for former White Sox catcher Tyler Flowers.

#116: Skid Row
iTunes stats: 70 plays
Previous ranking: #119

The New Jersey band added 34 additional listens to the 5 songs that are in my collection.

#115: Oasis
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by admin

By The Numbers – 62

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 #62.  19 players have donned #62 while playing in Chicago, 12 for the White Sox and 7 for the Cubs.

Jose Quintana becomes the next player we’ve come across to wear the same number for both the White Sox and the Cubs.  He originally signed with the White Sox as a minor league free agent on after the 2011 season and made his major league debut on May 7, 2012.  He quickly moved in to the rotation and became a steady, if unlucky, presence on the mound.  As a member of the White Sox, he had a career mark of 50-54 with an unbelievable 65 no decisions.  In his last full season with the team, he made his first All Star team and finished 10th in Cy Young Award voting.

In July of 2017, with the Cubs looking to defend their World Series title and the White Sox looking to rebuild, the two teams pulled off a trade, sending Quintana to the Cubs and Eloy Jimenez and Dylan Cease amongst the haul for the White Sox.  In 3+ seasons with the Cubs, he improved his career winning percentage, but wasn’t the difference maker the team thought they were getting.  He became a free agent following the 2020 season.

Another #62 to appear for both teams was Bob Howry, who pitched for the White Sox from 1998 through 2002 and for the Cubs 2006 through 2008 and again in 2010.  Howry’s most infamous moment came wearing a different number, when, in 2000, he was in the middle of the brawl between the White Sox and the Tigers.

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Fitbit VII – Week 7

We wrap up a full year of pandemic-induced working from home with a pretty decent week, my best weekly total since I went to Michigan in September.  Spring-like weather helped me get the week off to a good start on Sunday, as I took an afternoon walk to listen to the White Sox game on the radio and finished 10 steps shy of 7700, my first day over goal in over a month.  I managed to better my performance on Monday, racking up over 7900 steps and finishing over goal two days in a row for the first time since early November.  Tuesday was yet another winner, with 7800 steps, giving me 3 straight days over goal for the first time since that September trip to Michigan.  Things fell apart a bit on Wednesday, where meetings kept me chained to my desk all day and left me with only 3200 steps.  Thursday saw a decent bounce back, as I was able to get back up to 5900 steps.  Friday saw another slight decline, coming 17 steps shy of 5300.  Saturday saw a nice improvement, despite the spring-like weather starting to fade, finishing over 6000 steps.

Total steps: 43,992

Daily average: 6284.6

by admin

By The Numbers – 63

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 #63.  8 players have donned #63 while playing in Chicago, 5 for the White Sox and 3 for the Cubs.

Matt Foster made his major league debut for the White Sox in 2020, becoming the fifth player to wear #63 while going 6-1 with a 2.20 ERA en route to helping the White Sox earn their first playoff berth since 2008.

On the north side of town, Kevin Gregg wore #63 during both of his stints with the Cubs, in 2009 and again in 2013.  He notched 56 saves despite a 4.13 ERA.