Tag / Zach Stewart

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By The Numbers – 18

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 #18.  78 different players have donned #18 while playing in Chicago, 41 for the White Sox and 37 for the Cubs.

Bill Madlock essentially replaced two of the Cubs biggest stars of the 1960s when he joined the team for his rookie season in 1974.  Acquired for future Hall of Famer Ferguson Jenkins, Madlock took the spot of Hall of Famer Ron Santo at the hot corner.  If he felt any pressure, he didn’t show it, hitting .313 with 9 home runs, good enough for a third place finish in Rookie of the Year voting.  In 1975, he broke out in a big way, earning his first All Star nod on his way to a batting title.  In 1976, Madlock repeated as batting champion, hitting .339 and beating out Ken Griffey Sr. on the final day of the season.  With the dawn of free agency on the horizon, Madlock asked the Cubs for a multi-year contract with a salary of $200,000, more than double what he had earned in 1976.  Team owner Phillip K. Wrigley had other ideas, announcing that Madlock would be traded “to anyone foolish enough to want him.”  In February of 1977, that so-called foolish team turned out to be the Giants, who sent Bobby Murcer and Steve Ontiveros, among others, to the Cubs.  In July of 2016, this would be ranked as one of the five worst trades in Cub history.

Acquired by the White Sox, along with Tyler Flowers and 2 minor leaguers, from the Braves in exchange for Javier Vazquez and Boone Logan, Brent Lillibridge donned #18 while hitting an anemic .158 in 95 at bats spread across 46 games for the 2009 White Sox.  Lillibridge stuck with the big league team in 2010, improving his average to .224 in only 64 games.  2011 was his best season, setting career highs in home runs, RBIs, batting average, and OPS.  On April 11, he hit the 10,000th home run in White Sox history off Dallas Braden and the A’s.  Lillibridge struggled again in 2012, with his average dropping down to .175 before the June 24th trade that sent him, along with Zach Stewart, to the Red Sox for Kevin Youkilis.

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#74 – Brent Lillibridge

lillibridgeName: Brent Lillibridge

Rank: 74

Position: 2B/OF

Years With White Sox: 2009-2012

Brent Lillibridge was acquired by the White Sox, along with Tyler Flowers and 2 minor leaguers, from the Braves in exchange for Javier Vazquez and Boone Logan on December 4, 2008.  He split the 2009 season between Triple A Charlotte and Chicago, hitting an anemic .158 in 95 at bats spread across 46 games.

Lillibridge stuck with the White Sox in 2010, improving his average to .224 in only 64 games.  2011 was his best season, setting career highs in home runs, RBIs, batting average, and OPS.  On April 11, he hit the 10,000th home run in White Sox history off Dallas Braden and the A’s.

Lillibridge struggled again in 2012, with his average dropping down to .175 before the June 24th trade that sent him, along with Zach Stewart, to the Red Sox for Kevin Youkilis.

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

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#161 – Zach Stewart

zstewartName: Zach Stewart

Rank: 161

Position: P

Years With White Sox: 2011-2012

Zach Stewart came to the White Sox, along with Jason Frason, from the Blue Jays in exchange for Edwin Jackson and Mark Teahen on July 27, 2011.  Stewart appeared in 10 games for the White Sox after the trade, going 2-5 with a 6.22 ERA.

Stewart was just as productive in 2012, going 1-2 with a 6.00 ERA in 18 appearances.  On June 24, he was traded, along with Brent Lillibridge, to the Red Sox in exchange for Kevin Youkilis.

Stewart returned to the White Sox organization in 2013, after being selected off waivers from the Pirates.  He spent the entire year in Triple A Charlotte, before being purchased by the Braves following the season.

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

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#186 – Mark Teahen

Seattle Mariners v Chicago White SoxName: Mark Teahen

Rank: 186

Position: 3B

Years With White Sox: 2010-2011

Following the old adage that if you can’t beat them, join them, the White Sox sent Josh Fields and Chris Getz to the Royals in exchange for Mark Teahen, who had terrorized White Sox pitching.  Teahen got off to a slow start in 2010, but was starting to come around, putting up a .368 average in the 12 games prior to breaking his right middle finger on May 30.

He returned in mid August and finished the year with a .258 average in a career low 78 games.

Teahen returned in 2011, but again fell victim to the injury bug, suffering an oblique injury in early May.  He returned in early June, but struggled with reduced playing time.  As the trading deadline approached, he was packaged with Edwin Jackson in a deal with the Blue Jays, bringing back pitchers Jason Frasor and Zach Stewart.

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

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#245 – Jason Frasor

Jason_FrasorName: Jason Frasor

Rank: 245

Position: P

Year With White Sox: 2011

Jason Frasor joined the White Sox, along with fellow pitcher Zach Stewart, as part of a salary dump that sent Edwin Jackson and Mark Teahen to the Blue Jays on July 27, 2011.  Frasor, an Oak Forest native, was supposed to lighten the workload on Jesse Crain, but was mostly ineffective, giving up 10 runs in only 17 2/3 innings.

After spending nearly 5 months as a member of the White Sox, Frasor was shipped back to Toronto on January 1, 2012 in exchange for Daniel Webb and minor league pitcher Myles Jaye.

Frasor’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:
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All Star Break Pitching Leaders

Yesterday we looked at the leaders in games I attended in the first half of this year on the offensive side of the ball.  With the second half slated to kick off tomorrow, let’s look at the pitchers.

Wins

Name Total
Gavin Floyd 4
Chris Sale 3
Jake Peavy 2
11 tied with 1
Losses

Name Total
Chris Sale 2
Jake Peavy 2
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by jim

Saviors?

It’s been a busy couple of days in the Chicago baseball universe.  After nearly three months of futility at the hot corner, the White Sox shipped Zach Stewart and Brent Lillibridge to the Red Sox for the services of Kevin Youkilis on Sunday afternoon.  Less than 24 hours later, the Cubs finally decided to call up their latest superstar-of-the-future Anthony Rizzo, now that they have successfully manipulated his free agent status.

Youkilis, whose time in Boston was brought to a premature end thanks to the emergence of Will Middlebrooks, has been fighting injuries and the suggestions that he’s not the player he once was.  Even if that is true, he should be an improvement over the incumbents, who have managed to put together numbers that, to this point, have been surpassed by, among others, the Washington Nationals pitching staff.  Even a broken down Youkilis should be an upgrade as the White Sox try to make a run at the AL Central crown.  Orlando Hudson moves to the bench, but I would be surprised if he finishes the season with the Sox.

Meanwhile, the performance of the Chicago Cubs this season makes the White Sox third basemen look like all-stars.  However, the one person putting up numbers has been buried in Des Moines, with the new leadership of Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer tanking the 2012 season in the hopes of securing the 2019 season.  At the end of the day, it may end up having been the correct decision, but it certainly doesn’t feel like it now for the people who have plunked down their hard earned money to watch (or not, if the empty seats and StubHub listings are to be believed) the mess that is the 2012 Cubs, who may end up with the worst record in franchise history.  Now the pressure is on Rizzo to save the season and prove that he was worth the wait.

by jim

The Robin Ventura Era Begins

After playing alongside Ozzie Guillen on the left side of the White Sox infield for years, Robin Ventura now follows him in the dugout as skipper, starting with today’s contest against the defending American League champion Rangers.  Here’s a look at the roster with which he’ll be starting the 162 game grind.

Starting Pitchers

John Danks, Jake Peavy, Gavin Floyd, Chris Sale, Phil Humber

With Mark Buehrle gone, John Danks moves up to the top of the rotation, getting his first Opening Day start today.  Peavy looks to have his first injury-free season on the south side.  Chris Sale attempts to move from the bullpen to the rotation and fulfill the promise he showed in college.  Humber was a surprise success last season and hopefully can continue that success.

Relief Pitchers

Matt Thornton, Jesse Crain, Will Ohman, Addison Reed, Hector Santiago, Zach Stewart, Nate Jones

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