Chicago White Sox
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Template:MLB White Sox franchise
The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are in the Central Division of the American League.
- Founded: 1893, as the Sioux City, Iowa franchise in the minor Western League. Moved to St. Paul, Minnesota, then again to Chicago in 1900 when that league became the American League, which achieved acceptance as a major league in 1901.
- Formerly known as: Sioux City Cornhuskers, 1894. St. Paul, 1895-1899. "White Sox" is short for "White Stockings".
- Home ballpark: U.S. Cellular Field, Chicago. (This park, originally known as New Comiskey Park, was opened in 1991; the original Comiskey Park was in use from 1910 to 1990.)
- Uniform colors: black, white and gray
- Logo design: the letters "SOX", interlocked in various ways
- Wild Card titles won (0): none
- Division titles won (4): 1983, 1993, 1994, 2000
- American League pennants won (5): 1901, 1906, 1917, 1919, 1959
- World Series championships won (2): 1906, 1917
- See also: List of Chicago White Sox people
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Franchise history
The team was founded by Charles Comiskey, a former major-league ballplayer who starred with the St. Louis Browns in the 1880s. Comiskey originally founded the team in Sioux City, Iowa, as part of a minor league called the Western League. The Cornhuskers won the league pennant in 1894, then moved to St. Paul, Minnesota. When the Western League changed its name to the American League in 1900, a year before claiming major league status, the St. Paul franchise was relocated to Chicago, to compete directly with the National League club in that city.
The club adopted the name "White Stockings", the original name of the Chicago Cubs, and acquired a number of stars from the National League, including pitcher and manager Clark Griffith, who paced the White Sox to the AL's first pennant in 1901. The White Sox would continue to be built on pitching and defense in the following years, led by pitching workhorse Ed Walsh, who routinely pitched over 400 innings each season in his prime.
The Hitless Wonders
Walsh, Doc White and Nick Altrock paced the White Sox to their 1906 pennant and their first World Series victory, a stunning upset over the Cubs who had won a record 116 regular-season games. The Sox, dubbed the "Hitless Wonders" for having the lowest team batting average in the American League that year, nevertheless took the Series, and intercity bragging rights, in six games.
"Say it Ain't So, Joe!"
The White Sox contended over the next decade, but did not bring home a pennant until 1917. Led by second baseman Eddie Collins and outfielder Shoeless Joe Jackson, the White Sox now had offense to go with the pitching of Eddie Cicotte and Red Faber. After an off-year in the war-shortened season of 1918, the club bounced back to win the pennant in 1919 and entered the World Series heavily favored to defeat the Cincinnati Reds. However, this was the year of the infamous Black Sox scandal, in which eight White Sox players, including Cicotte and Jackson, were barred from organized baseball for life for taking part in a plot by gamblers to "fix" the World Series. The White Sox have never entirely overcome the stigma of being the only team to take a dive in the Fall Classic. The official evidence relating to participation in the 'fix' by the various accused players vanished mysteriously and none were ever tried. Judge Landis, Commissioner of Baseball, banned all the accused nonetheless. As the players were leaving a hearing, a boy fan (said by some to have been a newsboy) is claimed to have yelled out to Shoeless Joe, "Say it ain't so, Joe!". The phrase has become famous.
The next four decades saw the White Sox lapse into mediocrity, particularly as the Yankees rose to become the American League's dominant team. The franchise would not win another American League pennant until 1959; in the meantime, the White Sox finished in the second division (fifth place or lower) 22 times, until the team rebuilt under managers Paul Richards, Marty Marion, and Al Lopez. In 1959, the team won its next (and, as of Spring 2005, last) pennant, thanks to the efforts of several eventual Hall of Famers -- manager Lopez, shortstop Luis Aparicio, second baseman Nellie Fox, and pitcher Early Wynn. In 1967, the White Sox remained in contention for the American League pennant until the final weekend of the regular season.
Winning ugly
In 1983, the Chicago White Sox had a fantastic run. They started the season very poorly, but still went on to win 99 games and the AL West title. This team was led by catcher Carlton Fisk, outfielder Harold Baines, eventual Rookie of the Year outfielder Ron Kittle, designated hitter Greg Luzinski, and pitchers LaMarr Hoyt (who won the Cy Young that year), Floyd Bannister and Richard Dotson. Manager Tony La Russa also won the Manager of the Year award. A catchphrase of the team was "Winning Ugly" for the style of play, which reflected a tendency to win games through scrappy play rather than consistently strong hitting or pitching. While they had a great run in the regular season, they were not able to carry that over into the postseason as they lost to Baltimore 3 games to one in the AL Championship Series.
In the late 1980s, the franchise was very nearly relocated to Tampa Bay, but frantic lobbying of the state legislature resulted in approval (by one vote) of public funding for a new stadium. New Comiskey Park, now known as U.S. Cellular Field, opened in 1991 to rave reviews, but was soon outdone by the wave of "nostalgia" ballparks, beginning with Camden Yards. It is often criticized for its sterile appearance and nosebleed-inducing upper deck. In recent years there have been renovations made in order to make the park more fan friendly. Most notable were the moving of the bullpens to be parallel to the field of play, extending the seats further to the field of play, renovating the concourse areas to establish a more friendly feel. In addition, the top third of the upper deck was removed in 2004 and an overhang was placed over most of it. The Renovation plan is a 5-phase plan and it will be complete next year with the 5th and final phase.
"Good guys wear black"
In anticipation of the move to the new ballpark, the White Sox of the 1990s adopted classic pinstriped uniforms and the occasional use of black jerseys, instantly jumping to the top of the league in merchandise sales. The 1990s teams also contended well, led by pitcher Jack McDowell and first baseman Frank Thomas. The team reached the ALCS in 1993 and the American League Division Series in 2000. Under manager Jerry Manuel, the White Sox fielded a talented but chronically under-achieving squad.
On July 31, 1997, with the White Sox only 3.5 games back of the Cleveland Indians for the division lead, they traded veteran pitchers Wilson Alvarez, Danny Darwin and Roberto Hernᮤez to the San Francisco Giants in exchange for 6 minor leaguers, most notably Keith Foulke. Many fans saw this as their ownership (led by Jerry Reinsdorf) betraying them and trading away their chance to win the division in exchange for next to nothing. This trade was deemed as the "White Flag Trade" by the Chicago newspapers due to the perception that the White Sox organization essentially surrendered to the Indians without a fight that year. This trade did considerable harm to the already small White Sox fan base.
In the year 2000, the White Sox had one of their best teams since the 1983 club. This team, whose slogan was "The Kids can play," won 95 games en route to an AL Central division title. The team scored runs at a blistering pace, which enabled them to win all of these games despite a mediocre pitching staff led by Mike Sirotka. Frank Thomas nearly won the AL MVP award with his offensive output; he was helped by good offensive years from Magglio Ord, Paul Konerko, Carlos Lee and Jose Valentin. A big key for this team was that they seemed always to get the clutch hit whenever they needed it. This team, like 1983, also could not carry any success over into the postsesaon, getting swept by the wild-card Seattle Mariners in 3 games in the AL Division Series round.
In 2004, the Chicago White Sox hired former White Sox shortstop [[Ozzie Guill鮝] as manager. In late 2004, general manager Ken Williams vowed to change the makeup of the team from one that relies on the home run to one that has good pitching and defense. They traded outfielder Carlos Lee for center fielder Scott Podsednik. They also signed outfielder Jermaine Dye and former Yankee pitcher Orlando Hernandez to complete a rotation that includes Freddy Garcia and Mark Buehrle. Additionally, former member of the Minnesota Twins A.J. Pierzynski was signed to fill the catching spot; a spot which has not been adequately filled since the departure of Hall of Fame catcher Carlton Fisk over 10 years earlier. Finally, to complete the make-over, Williams signed Japanese second baseman Tadahito Iguchi to a contract.
Rivalry
The Chicago Cubs and the Sox are both in, respectively, the first and second longest championship droughts of any professional baseball teams; as such, a heated Sox-Cubs rivalry has developed. Most White Sox fans take joy in the in failures of their crosstown rival and the same is true for Cubs fans. The advent of interleague play has intensified the rivalry.
Since 2000, a heated feud has grown between the White Sox and their Central Division rivals, the Minnesota Twins, fueled in large part by the unchallenged Central Division dominance of the Twins in the 2002, 2003 and 2004 seasons.
Players of note
See also: List of Chicago White Sox people
Baseball Hall of Famers
- Luis Aparicio 1956-62, 1968-70
- Luke Appling 1930-43, 1945-50
- Chief Bender 1925
- Steve Carlton 1986
- Eddie Collins 1915-26
- George Davis 1902, 1904-09
- Larry Doby 1956-57, 1959
- Johnny Evers 1922
- Red Faber 1914-33
- Carlton Fisk 1981-93
- Nellie Fox 1950-63
- Clark Griffith 1901-02
- Harry Hooper 1921-25
- George Kell 1954-56
- Ted Lyons 1923-42, 1946
- Edd Roush 1913
- Red Ruffing 1947
- Ray Schalk 1912-28
- Tom Seaver 1984-86
- Al Simmons 1933-35
- Ed Walsh 1904-16
- Hoyt Wilhelm 1963-68
- Early Wynn 1958-62
Current 25-man roster (updated on June 2, 2005)
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Pitchers
Catchers |
Infielders
Outfielders
Disabled list
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- Manager
- 13 Template:Flagicon [[Ozzie Guill鮝]
- Coaches
- 21 Template:Flagicon Don Cooper (pitching)
- 29 Template:Flagicon Greg Walker (hitting)
- 3 Template:Flagicon Harold Baines (bench)
- 53 Template:Flagicon Art Kusnyer (bullpen pitching)
- 30 Template:Flagicon Tim Raines (first base)
- 28 Template:Flagicon Joey Cora (third base)
- 59 Template:Flagicon Man Soo Lee (bullpen catcher}
Award winners
Most Valuable Player
- 1959 - Nellie Fox
- 1972 - Dick Allen
- 1993 - Frank Thomas
- 1994 - Frank Thomas
Cy Young
- 1959 - Early Wynn (MLB)
- 1983 - LaMarr Hoyt (AL)
- 1993 - Jack McDowell (AL)
Rookie of the Year
- 1956 - Luis Aparicio
- 1963 - Gary Peters
- 1966 - Tommie Agee
- 1983 - Ron Kittle
- 1985 - [[Ozzie Guill鮝]
Manager of the Year
Gold Glove Award
- Pitcher
- Jim Kaat [3] (1983, Twins-White Sox, 1984-85, White Sox)
- Catcher
- Sherm Lollar [3] (1957-59)
- First base
- Jim Spencer (1977)
- Mike Squires (1981)
- Second base
- Nellie Fox [3] (1957, 1959-60)
- Third base
- Robin Ventura [5] (1991-93, 1996, 1998)
- Shortstop
- Luis Aparicio [7] (1958-62, 1968, 1970)
- [[Ozzie Guill鮝] (1990)
- Outfield
- Jim Landis [5] (1960-64)
- Tommie Agee (1966)
- Ken Berry (1970)
- Minnie Mi (1957)
Silver Slugger
- DH
- Frank Thomas [2] (1991, 2000)
- Harold Baines (1989)
- Julio Franco (1994)
- Catcher
- Carlton Fisk [3] (1981, 1985, 1988)
- First baseman
- Frank Thomas [2] (1993-94)
- Second baseman
- none
- Third baseman
- none
- Shortstop
- none
- Outfielders
- Albert Belle (1998)
- Magglio Ord (2002)
Retired numbers
- 2 Nellie Fox
- 3 Harold Baines
- 4 Luke Appling
- 9 Minnie Mi
- 11 Luis Aparicio
- 16 Ted Lyons
- 19 Billy Pierce
- 42 Jackie Robinson (retired throughout baseball)
- 72 Carlton Fisk
Others not to be forgotten
* First black player signed by the Sox
* * First Latin player selected for the All-Star Game
Other contributors
Important managers
(years and records, minimum 750 games)
- Kid Gleason (1919-1923) (392-364)
- Jimmy Dykes (1935-1946) (899-940)
- Paul Richards (1951-1954, 1976) (406-392)
- Al Lopez (1957-1965, 1968-1969) (840-650)
- Tony La Russa (1979-1986) (522-510)
- Jerry Manuel (1998-2003) (500-471)
Owners
- Charles Comiskey (1900-1931)
- J. Louis Comiskey (1931-1939)
- Grace Comiskey (1940-1956)
- Dorothy Comiskey Rigney (1956-1959)
- Bill Veeck (1959-1961, 1975-1981)
- Arthur Allyn, Jr. (1961-1969)
- John Allyn (1969-1975)
- Jerry Reinsdorf (1981-present)
Single-season records
- Batting average: Luke Appling, .388 (1936)
- Home runs: Albert Belle, 49 (1998)
- Runs batted In: Albert Belle, 152 (1998)
- Runs: Johnny Mostil, 135 (1925)
- Hits: Eddie Collins, 222 (1920)
- Doubles: Albert Belle, 48 (1998)
- Triples: Shoeless Joe Jackson, 21 (1916)
- Stolen bases: Rudy Law, 77 (1983)
- Hitting streak: Luke Appling and Albert Belle, 27 games (1936 and 1997)
- Strikeouts: Dave Nicholson, 175 (1963)
- Walks: Frank Thomas, 138 (1991)
- Pitching wins: Ed Walsh, 40 (1908)
- Pitching strikeouts: Ed Walsh, 269 (1908)
- Pitching saves: Bobby Thigpen, 57 (1990, MLB record)
External links
- Chicago White Sox official web site (http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/cws/homepage/cws_homepage.jsp)
- White Sox Interactive--The Largest and Most Influential White Sox Fan Website (http://www.whitesoxinteractive.com)