For the second consecutive year, the White Sox have done away with physical tickets for season ticket holders, meaning once again this year’s ticket package is nothing more than digital bits on a website. Yay.
Tag / White Sox
Team Stats: Runs Batted In
With 3 weeks until baseball in Chicago returns, I thought it would be interesting to look at the all time rankings in both offensive and defensive categories for all iterations of the current 30 teams for the 833 games I’ve identified that I have attended. We continue today on the offensive side of the ball with runs batted in.
Based on the raw numbers, the White Sox and Cubs are far and away the leaders in this category, as they are the teams I’ve seen the most. When you adjust the numbers per game, the California iteration of the Angels and the Devil Rays lead the way as the only teams over 6. The Nationals and the Miami incarnation of the Marlins are the only teams that failed to average 3 runs batted in per game.
| Team Name | RBIs |
|---|---|
| Chicago White Sox | 2209 |
| Chicago Cubs | 1677 |
| Cleveland Indians | 227 |
| Minnesota Twins | 184 |
| Detroit Tigers | 182 |
| Kansas City Royals | 178 |
| Houston Astros | 175 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 170 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 168 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates Continue reading → |
#37 – Rudy Law
Name: Rudy Law
Rank: 37
Position: CF
Years With White Sox: 1982-1985
Rudy Law was acquired by the White Sox from the Dodgers at the end of spring training in 1982 for Cecil Espy and Bert Geiger. Law split center field duties with veteran Ron Leflore, appearing in 91 games in the middle of the outfield. He hit .318 with a .361 OBP, stealing 36 bases along the way.
Law took over as the everyday center fielder in 1983, helping the White Sox claim their first division title. His 77 stolen bases remain a team record, and he finished the year with a .283 average. During the ALCS against the Orioles, he led the White Sox with a .389 average. His season was good enough to earn him 2 votes for MVP, tied for 21st place.
1984 saw Law, and the White Sox, fail to repeat their performance from the previous year. While he set a career high with 6 home runs, his average dropped to .251 and his stolen base total cratered to 29. Sadly, he also set a career high with 17 caught stealings, 5 more than 1983 despite nearly half as many attempts.
Law’s 1985 production was more of the same, but, having moved to left field, fell noticeably short of expectations. His average raised slightly to .259 and again he only managed 29 stolen bases with 31 extra base hits.
A hot spring training showing by John Cangelosi in 1986 left Law as the odd man out in the outfield, and he was released on April 1, ending his White Sox career.
Law’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:
2017 Games Of Interest
Fireworks Night
May 13 (Hawk Harrelson Alarm Clock)
August 26 (Star Wars Night)
Family Day
April 9
April 23
May 14
May 28
June 25 (Southpaw birthday bobblehead)
July 2
July 16
July 30
August 13
August 27
September 3
September 10
September 24
Other Fun Stuff
April 8 – White Sox Winter Hat
April 10 – Championship Banner Raising/Home Opener
April 12 – Ring Ceremony/Replica Championship Banner
April 15 – Replica World Series Trophy
April 22 – White Sox Hooded Sweatshirt
May 20 – Final Out Bobblehead
May 27 – White Sox Photo Book
June 8 – World Series MVP Bobblehead
June 24 – Mark Buehrle Day
July 1 – White Sox Hawaiian Shirt
July 15 – White Sox Cap
July 29 – 1917 Jersey
September 23 – Soccer Style Jersey
Team Stats: Strike Outs
With 1 month until baseball in Chicago returns, I thought it would be interesting to look at the all time rankings in both offensive and defensive categories for all iterations of the current 30 teams for the 833 games I’ve identified that I have attended. We continue today on the defensive side of the ball with strike outs.
Based on the raw numbers, the White Sox and Cubs are far and away the leaders in this category, as they are the teams I’ve seen the most. When you adjust the numbers per game, both teams, along with the Brewers, fare the best as well. The Cubs lead the way with just over 8 strike outs per game. The California version of the Angels, the Miami iteration of the Marlins, and the Devil Rays bring up the rear with an even 5 strike outs per game.
| Team Name | Strike Outs |
|---|---|
| Chicago White Sox | 3851 |
| Chicago Cubs | 3075 |
| Kansas City Royals | 339 |
| Minnesota Twins | 330 |
| Cleveland Indians | 292 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 285 |
| Houston Astros | 281 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 257 |
| Detroit Tigers | 252 |
| Cincinnati Reds Continue reading → |
#38 – Juan Uribe
Name: Juan Uribe
Rank: 38
Position: 2B/SS
Years With White Sox: 2004-2008
Juan Uribe was acquired by the White Sox on December 2, 2003 from the Rockies for Aaron Miles. He split time with Willie Harris at second base, hitting .283 while setting career highs in home runs, with 23, and RBIs, with 74. He fell 1 RBI short of the White Sox single game team record on June 19, when he knocked in 7 runs against the Expos.
With the loss of Jose Valentin and the arrival of Tadahito Iguchi in 2005, Uribe moved to shortstop. His defensive prowess, especially compared to Valentin, helped solidify a team that would go on to win its first division title since 2000. Offensively, Uribe finished the year with a .252 average and 16 home runs. In the ALDS, Uribe hit a robust .400 with 4 RBIs in the 3 game sweep of the Red Sox. He hit .250 in both the ALCS against the Angels and the World Series against the Astros. Defensively, he dove in to the stands to make the penultimate out in Game 4 of the World Series, before fielding the soft grounder hit by Orlando Palmeiro and throwing over to Paul Konerko to give the White Sox their first title in 88 years.
As the White Sox tried to defend their title, Uribe saw his average fall further in 2006. He ended the year with a .235 average, though he did put up 21 home runs and 71 RBIs despite being limited to 132 games due to injuries.
2007 was a continuation of the poor offensive contributions from Uribe. However, as the rest of the White Sox cratered, his holes became more noticeable. He ended up with a .234 average, 20 home runs, and 68 RBIs. The White Sox declined his option for 2008, but signed him to a new one year deal for the 2008 season.
After acquiring Orlando Cabrera, Uribe shifted back to second base to start 2008. Unfortunately, an injury in May led to Alexei Ramirez cementing his place in the starting lineup. Uribe saw action at third base after a back injury took down Joe Crede in late July. Appearing in only 110 games, his lowest total since 2003, he finished the year with .247 average, 7 home runs, and 40 RBIs as the White Sox won their second AL Central title in his tenure. Uribe fell in to a funk during the ALDS, hitting only .167 in the 4 game loss to the Rays. After the season, Uribe became a free agent.
Uribe’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:
iTunes Top 200 Artists: #129-139
3 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. So, I figured it was time to take another look, expanding out the field to the top 200 artists, based on number of plays from late 2007 through January 1, 2017.
We continue today with a wide variety of musical styles, including a couple of returning artists and a few sports-related entries.
#139: Chance the Rapper
iTunes stats: 33 plays
Previous ranking: N/A
The Chicago native makes is with 2 “tracks” that are outtakes from his intro video for the 2016 White Sox.
#139: Billy Idol
iTunes stats: 33 plays
Previous ranking: N/A
3 tracks from Billy Idol combine to make up this total.
#129: Warren G
iTunes stats: 34 plays
Previous ranking: N/A
The stepbrother of Dr. Dre combines the total from 3 tracks off his debut album to make this spot on the chart.
#129: UB40
iTunes stats: 34 plays
Previous ranking: N/A
The British reggae band make the list based on their total listens from 4 different tracks.
#129: Tommy James & The Shondells
iTunes stats: 34 plays
Previous ranking: N/A
4 tracks, 3 of which were just purchased last year, make up the total for the 60s stalwart.
#129: The Breeders
iTunes stats: 34 plays
Previous ranking: #84
Our second returning artist, the group added a miniscule 6 new listens over the past 3 years, causing them to drop 35 spots in the rankings.
#129: Republica
Continue reading →
Team Stats: Doubles
With 2 months until baseball in Chicago returns, I thought it would be interesting to look at the all time rankings in both offensive and defensive categories for all iterations of the current 30 teams for the 833 games I’ve identified that I have attended. We continue today on the offensive side of the ball with doubles.
Based on the raw numbers, the White Sox and Cubs are far and away the leaders in this category, as they are the teams I’ve seen the most. When you adjust the numbers per game, the Diamondbacks, Blue Jays, and the Anaheim version of the Angels are the only teams with 2 doubles or more per game. The Miami iteration of the Marlins are at the bottom, with 1 double every other game, followed by the California incarnation of the Angels, who went double-less.
| Team Name | Doubles |
|---|---|
| Chicago White Sox | 770 |
| Chicago Cubs | 671 |
| Kansas City Royals | 81 |
| Houston Astros | 78 |
| Minnesota Twins | 76 |
| Detroit Tigers | 75 |
| Cleveland Indians | 69 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 67 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 64 |
| Texas Rangers Continue reading → |
#39 – James Baldwin
Name: James Baldwin
Rank: 39
Position: P
Years With White Sox: 1995-2001
James Baldwin was selected by the White Sox in the 4th round of the 1990 draft. He made his major league debut on April 30, 1995, getting the start and lasting only 3 2/3 innings in the White Sox 17-11 victory over the Red Sox at Fenway Park. Sadly, the rest of his year went about as well. He appeared in only 6 games for the White Sox, starting 4, and finished with an 0-1 record and a 12.89 ERA. His time in Triple A didn’t go much better, as he posted a 5.85 ERA in 18 starts.
1996 was a drastic improvement for Baldwin, as he took his place in the White Sox rotation. He started 28 games, going 11-6 with a 4.42 ERA. He finished second in Rookie of the Year voting, behind Derek Jeter.
Baldwin struggled in 1997, starting 32 games and leading the American League in losses and wild pitches. Despite the struggles, he set career highs with 200 innings pitched and 140 strike outs. He ended the year with a 12-15 record and a 5.27 ERA.
1998 was arguably worse for Baldwin. Despite finishing the year with a winning record, at 13-6, his ERA went up to 5.32 and he threw 41 fewer innings. Because of the ongoing struggles, he lost his spot in the rotation and made 13 appearances out of the bullpen.
Baldwin was slightly better in 1999. He lowered his ERA slightly to 5.10 and increased his innings pitched by 40 1/3. He finished the year with a 12-13 record.
Baldwin seemed to turn a corner in 2000. He earned his first All Star nod thanks to a 10-1 record with a 3.11 ERA while leading the White Sox to the top of the AL Central. He struggled in the second half, finishing the year with a career high 14 wins, against only 7 losses, while he lowered his ERA to 4.65. He started game 3 of the ALDS against the Mariners, giving up only 1 run in 6 innings before giving way to the bullpen as the White Sox were swept out of the playoffs.
In 2001, Baldwin continued at the same pace. He was sitting at 7-5 with a 4.61 ERA as the trade deadline approached, when, on July 26, he was shipped off to the Dodgers for Jeff Barry, Gary Majewski, and Onan Masaoka.
Baldwin’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:
Honoring A Hero
Earlier today, the White Sox announced that they would be retiring number 56 in honor of Mark Buehrle on June 24th. The left hander, who tossed two no hitters, including a perfect game, won 161 games as a member of the White Sox between 2000 and 2011. He will become the 12th player to have his number retired by the White Sox, following former teammates Frank Thomas and Paul Konerko.