Tag / White Sox

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#120 – Tyler Flowers

tyler-flowers

Name: Tyler Flowers

Rank: 120

Position: C

Years With White Sox: 2009-2015

Tyler Flowers came to the White Sox following the 2008 season, acquired from the Braves, along with Jon Gilmore, Santos Rodriguez, and Brent Lillibridge, for Javier Vazquez and Boone Logan.  Flowers performed well in 2009, splitting time between Double A Birmingham and Triple A Charlotte, hitting .297 with 15 home runs.  He earned a call-up to the big leagues when rosters expanded on September 1, but his hot hitting did not follow.  He appeared in 10 games for the White Sox, hitting .188 without driving in a run.

Flowers opened the 2010 season back in Charlotte, where, unfortunately, his hitting woes continued.  Despite a .220 average, he got another late season call-up, this time garnering only 1 hit in 11 at bats.

Flowers returned to Charlotte to start the 2011 season, but returned to the big leagues in July when Ramon Castro went down with an injury.  Flowers got a chance to start every day in August when A.J. Pierzynski got hurt, enabling him to garner both his first home run and, later in the month, his first grand slam.

2012 saw Flowers break camp with the White Sox for the first time, becoming the backup to Pierzynski.  Appearing in 52 games, he managed to “raise” his average to .213, but saw his on base percentage fall below .300 for the first time in his short career.  Despite the troubling offensive performance he had put up to date, the White Sox decided it was time to let Flowers take control behind the plate and they allowed A.J. Pierzynski to leave as a free agent following the season.

As the starter in 2013, Flowers continued to struggle offensively, finishing with a batting average below .200, though a shoulder injury ended his season early, limiting him to 84 games.  With his shoulder recovered, he returned behind the plate as the primary receiver in 2014, appearing in 127 games and rebounding to a .241 average, though his OPS failed to break .700.

2015 was more of the same for Flowers, appearing in 112 games and struggling offensively, finishing with a .239 average and a weak .652 OPS.  Following the season, the White Sox decided not to tender him a contract for 2016, and his tenure on the south side came to an end one month ago.

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

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Angels All Time Leaders – Through 2015

laangelsWith 4 months until baseball in Chicago returns, I thought it would be interesting to look at the all time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for all 30 teams. We continue today with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

The Angels began life in 1961, joining the American League along with the second incarnation of the Washington Senators.  They’ve changed their location designation multiple times, starting in Los Angeles, changing to California in 1966, moving to Anaheim in 1997 and, finally, awkwardly incorporating both Los Angeles and Anaheim starting in 2005.  I’ve seen them play 31 times, including games 1 and 2 of the 2005 ALCS against the White Sox and Jim Thome’s 500th career home run in 2008.

Home Runs

Name Total
Vladimir Guerrero 5
Chone Figgins 3
Garret Anderson 3
Juan Rivera 3

Hits

Name Total
Maicer Izturis 21
Howie Kendrick 18
Vladimir Guerrero 16

Runs

Name Total
Vladimir Guerrero 10
Maicer Izturis 8
Chone Figgins 8

RBI

Name Total
Garret Anderson 9
Howie Kendrick 9
Vladimir Guerrero 8
Juan Rivera 8

Doubles

Name Total
Torii Hunter 5
Maicer Izturis 4
Casey Kotchman 4

Triples Continue reading →

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Red Sox All Time Leaders – Through 2015

redsoxWith 4 months until baseball in Chicago returns, I thought it would be interesting to look at the all time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for all 30 teams. We continue things today with the Boston Red Sox.

I’ve seen the Red Sox play 25 times at 3 different stadiums, first in the White Sox home opener in 1985, through the 2005 ALDS, and, most recently, in 2012.

Home Runs

Name Total
David Ortiz 5
Mike Lowell 4
4 tied with 3

Hits

Name Total
David Ortiz 20
Mike Lowell 17
Kevin Youkilis 15

Runs

Name Total
David Ortiz 15
Dustin Pedroia 9
Mike Lowell 8
Kevin Youkilis 8
Jacoby Ellsbury 8

RBI

Name Total
David Ortiz 16
Mike Lowell 13
Kevin Youkilis 12

Doubles

Name Total
David Ortiz 6
Manny Ramirez 4
4 tied with 3

Triples Continue reading →

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#121 – Chris Getz

getz

Name: Chris Getz

Rank: 121

Position: 2B

Years With White Sox: 2008-2009

Chris Getz was selected by the White Sox in the 6th round of the 2002 draft, but instead elected to attend Wake Forest.  3 years later, following a transfer to Michigan, Getz was again drafted by the White Sox, this time in the 4th round.  By 2008, Getz appeared in the Futures Game before making his major league debut on August 12 against the Royals.  He appeared in 10 games, but managed only 7 at bats for the year as the White Sox won the AL Central.

With Alexei Ramirez moving to shortstop in 2009, second base was left open for Getz and manager Ozzie Guillen awarded him the every day job coming out of spring training.  Getz led the league with a 92.6 stolen base percentage and tied for first among AL rookies with 28 multi-hit games.

Following the season, Getz, along with Josh Fields, was traded to the Royals for Mark Teahen.

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

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by jim

Upgrading The Hot Corner

todd_frazier1cThe White Sox continued their attempts to upgrade their offense by acquiring third baseman Todd Frazier in a 3 team deal yesterday.  Frazier, who hit 11 more home runs last year than White Sox third baseman managed in the past 2 seasons combined, comes to the from the Reds.  The Sox send Micah Johnson, Frankie Montas, and Trayce Thompson to the Dodgers, who, in turn, will send  Jose Peraza, Brandon Dixon, and Scott Schebler back to the Reds.

With this move, the previously acquired Brett Lawrie will move to second base, filling two long-term holes for the south siders.  If Frazier is able to match his production for the Reds over the past few years, he will easily surpass any White Sox third baseman since Joe Crede went down with a back injury in 2008.

Of the 3 prospects going to the Dodgers, the only big loss would appear to be Frankie Montas, a young pitcher acquired in the Jake Peavy deal.  Montas put up a 2.97 ERA for AA Birmingham last year while also appearing in 7 games for the White Sox.  He likely would have found a spot at the end of the rotation or in the bullpen in 2017.  Micah Johnson was the Opening Day second baseman for the White Sox last year, but defensive problems sent him back to the minors and injuries took part of the season away from him.  Trayce Thompson also spent time with the big league club in 2015, despite a middling minor league career.  He was red hot as a platoon player at first, but cooled down and seemingly looks to be a fourth outfielder at best.

To be fair, the White Sox appeared to be much improved last winter as well, and the 2015 season did not play out as anyone would have anticipated.  One can only hope that, with the upgrades at catcher and now second and third base, the 2016 season will turn out much different.

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#122 – Kevin Tapani

688-U29Fr

Name: Kevin Tapani

Rank: 122

Position: P

Year With White Sox: 1996

Kevin Tapani signed with the White Sox prior to the 1996 season.  He stepped into the starting rotation, appearing in 34 games, and put up a pedestrian 13-10 record with a 4.59 ERA.  Following the season, he left the White Sox as a free agent.

Tapani’s numbers in a White Sox uniform were:

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#123 – Clayton Richard

richard

Name: Clayton Richard

Rank: 123

Position: P

Years With White Sox: 2008-2009

Clayton Richard was selected by the White Sox in the 8th round of the 2005 draft.  He made his major league debut on July 23, 2008, starting and going 4 innings in the White Sox 10-8 victory over the Rangers.  He ended up pitching in 13 games that year, starting 8, as the White Sox took home the division crown.  He made 2 appearances during the division series against the Rays, giving up 1 run in 6 1/3 innings pitched.

Richard started the 2009 season in the bullpen, before eventually moving in to the starting rotation.  He would make 14 starts before the trade deadline, when he, along with Dexter Carter, Aaron Poreda, and Adam Russell, was traded to the Padres for Jake Peavy.

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

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by jim

Wilted Flowers

TFlowThe White Sox made another move behind the plate yesterday, declining to offer Tyler Flowers a contract for the 2016 season and making the veteran a free agent.  Flowers, acquired in the 2008 trade that sent Javier Vazquez to the Braves, became the starting catcher in 2013 after A.J. Pierzynski left as a free agent.  In his three seasons as the primary receiver, he failed to post an OPS over .700 while the White Sox averaged over 91 losses.

There is still a small possibility that Flowers could return, though it seems unlikely.  As a free agent, he can resign with the White Sox at a smaller salary than he would be entitled to through the arbitration process.  However, early reports from Bruce Levine claim that the White Sox will move quickly on shoring up the catching situation once Flowers is officially off the roster.  Combined with the signing of Alex Avila last week, the White Sox are starting to look like a much different team heading into 2016.

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

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#124 – Darren Lewis

dlewis

Name: Darren Lewis

Rank: 124

Position: OF

Years With White Sox: 1996-1997

Following the 1995 season, Darren Lewis signed with the White Sox as a free agent.  He became the team’s primary center fielder for 1996, but struggled.  He finished the year with a career-worst .228 batting average.

Lewis looked to bounce back in 1997, but it was not to be.  Manager Terry Bevington named Dave Martinez the starter prior to the first spring training game, and the emergence of rookie Mike Cameron pushed him further back on the bench, used mostly late in games for defensive purposes.  By August 26, he had started only 19 games all season, and his average had barely improved over the year before, to .234.  The next day, Lewis was traded to the Dodgers for a player to be named later, who would turn out to be Chad Fonville.

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

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