knightni

HAHA! Dugout standing O for Swish!

Poor wrestler

27. Keith Foulke (7 of 27 lists - 83 points - highest ranking #5 maggsmaggs) bio by maggsmaggs & knightni - The much maligned White Flag Trade in 1997 brought to the White Sox a pitcher whose six-year run on the Southside would be one of the most dominant in Sox history. Yes, Keith Foulke was a stud. My love of Foulke originates from his delivery, holding his glove high near his head and then stretching his arm back and firing. I loved his delivery so much that I mimicked it when I pitched in my Little League games. But his involvement in the big Tiger brawl in 2000 where he had had a nice-sized cut on his face, as bled in front of the cameras, was what gave me my true love for Foulke. Always possessing a terrific strikeout-to-walk ratio and posting a sub-3.00 ERA every year from 1999-2002, he even was 10th in the 1999 Cy Young Award race. I think that dealing him for Billy Koch was one of the worst trades in the last 10 years by the White Sox. Although he couldn’t win a World Series with the White Sox, I am glad he was the one of the mound for the Red Sox when they won it in ’04.

QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Aug 15, 2008 -> 12:03 PM) Ahh, again I'm honored to have voted the highest for this man, despite being in the terrible company of B>W. Knight, is there any way you can tell me who I voted #2 and #3? It has slipped my mind. If I do, you'll probably be asked to do bios of them.

28. Joe Jackson (5 of 27 lists - 83 points - highest ranking #4 BigSqwert) Bio by Texsox - First off, no one posting on Soxtalk (except FlaSoxxJim) ever saw him play, but we know more about legendary Shoe-less Joe Jackson than perhaps any player from the 1917 Championship Team. He only played five of his twelve seasons as a member of the White Sox, but two of those included appearances in the World Series. His career highlights include: * In 1911, Jackson set the rookie batting average at .408, a record that still stands today. * He led the American League in triples in 1912, 1916 and 1920. * In 1913, Jackson led the league with 197 hits and .551 slugging average. * In 1917, Jackson won the World Series with the Chicago White Sox. * Jackson batted .351 during the regular season and .375 in the World Series to go along with a perfect 1.000 fielding average. * Batted .340 or better for eight of his thirteen seasons. * Ranked 3rd in All-time batting average with .356. Certainly most baseball experts agree that if he had been allowed to continue his career, he could have been on a short listof players considered to be the greatest ever. He certainly is one of the greatest to lace up spikes for the Sox. Speaking of lacing up spikes, he earned the nickname when a new pair of spikes caused his feet to blister and the next day he played a minor league game in his bare feet. His glove was called “where triples go to die”. One other equipment note, his famous bat “Black Betsy” was 36” long and weighed 48 oz., huge by modern standards. It sold at auction for over $500,000. There is no better gauge as to a player's popularity and impact then sports memorabilia prices. There have been many books, movies and sites that explore in detail the Black Sox and Jackson’s role, there is probably no need to rehash the circumstances except to say let the stat line from the World Series that Judge Kennesaw Mountain Landis used to ban Jackson from baseball speak for itself. Name Pos G AB H 2B 3B HR R RBI Avg BB SO SB Joe Jackson OF 8 32 12 3 0 1 5 6 .375 1 2 0

29. Jose Valentin (9 of 27 lists - 82 points - highest ranking #5 Buehrle>Wood, Milkman delivers) bio by Buehrle>Wood You can't start any bio about Jose Valentin without mentioning the 'stache. It is truly a source of wisdom. It'll make you laugh. It'll make you cry. Simply put, it is the greatest thing in the history of ever. We can all only dream to have a 'stache like his one day. Now, for Jose himself, yes, he was a pretty good player. Well, not really. He screwed up more often than Alicia Sacramone by dropping seemingly every ball that came to him in the field(that said his range was pretty good). But that doesn't mean he was wasn't entertaining. First off, Jose came to us because of the trade that got rid of maybe the most hated man in franchise history in Jaime Navarro. That definitly counts for something. The man had some great power for a shortstop too. He couldn't hit at all for average or OBP, but he averaged over 27 home runs in his 5 seasons here. A lot of those bombs were huge as well. His game winning home run against the Cubs in which he threw his hands up afterwords has become a lasting Sox image for me, and I'm sure it is for many other Sox fans. I'll also never forget being at the game in which he hit for the in order cycle way back in 2000. His role on that 2000 team is certainly something I should mention too. His addition was a big part of the reason on why that team was able to power itself the playoffs. The 2000 team was probably the thing most responsible for me taking such a great interest in baseball, and he was one of the key players on it. He'll always be one of my favorites for that, despite being the flawed player that he was. The excitement he played with to go along with that 'stache, it's really hard not to like Jose. Funny Blog Post: A Letter From Jose Valentin's Mustache It has its own MySpace Page

http://www.soxtalk.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=66821

Ground Control to Major Broadway...

People overreact way too much around here.

QUOTE (maki @ Aug 14, 2008 -> 05:14 PM) may be in the game thread, but how many times has back to back to back to back been done? i know its a tie. Six.

QUOTE (watchtower41 @ Aug 14, 2008 -> 05:05 PM) He's no Paul Washburn. He might be a Jarrod Byrd, though.

30. Tadahito Iguchi (6 of 27 lists - 72 points - highest ranking #4 Milkman delivers) bio by knightni - What's not to love about Gooch? The guy gave everything he could out there on the field for the Sox. I remember when he signed, it was like a new door opened to the Sox. Suddenly, we were noticed by another country. Even more than we were when Takatsu signed. A whole new fan base for the Sox. This was "our Ichiro". Of course, we knew that Iguchi wasn't the same type of player as Ichiro, but he was the last piece of what would be the World Championship puzzle. Kenny Williams signed him only after watching just videos of Gooch playing in Japan. That HR in the '05 ALDS vs. Boston was the proverbial nail in the coffin of the Sawks and ESPN. He ended up being the first everyday Japanese player to play on a World Series-winning team. He's one of the big reasons that they won it all in 2005. Gooch was, and is, a truly special player in Sox history.

Broadway's getting a piiiiieeee.

QUOTE (nitetrain8601 @ Aug 14, 2008 -> 04:52 PM) I really hope they gave him a ring in 2005. http://www.quotesdaddy.com/author/Shingo+Takatsu

QUOTE (ChiSox_Sonix @ Aug 14, 2008 -> 04:47 PM) The results were obviously good, but how did he look? His defense allowed those two runs. But, he threw a lot of pitches to every batter and, he could use a little work on his location. Pretty good results, though.

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Aug 14, 2008 -> 04:26 PM) The fact that Wise is not in LF or RF right now leads me to believe that he may no longer be with the club. I saw Wise in the dugout.

It's Shadows' birthday! Happy Birthday TRU!

Uribe has a hitting "chubby" right now.

New Alexei nickname: "The Batboy".

31. Jon Garland (7 of 27 lists - 69 points - highest ranking #9 Texsox) bio by TexSox - The romantic notion of a World Series win is the star players hoisting the team on their shoulders to victory. Often times the reality is that the average players achieved extraordinary results. Jon Garland was a shining example of that during the White Sox regular season and playoff run. Heading into 2005, Garland had put together a 46-51 record. Staffs across the league are filled with fourth and fifth starters with these records. In the days of four man rotations and pitchers starting 40 games, he might not have been in the majors; certainly he would have spent another season or two in the minors. There were the flashes of brilliance that confirmed why the Cubs made him the #10 pick overall in the amateur draft, but then there were the starts that earned him the not so kind nickname Judy. But 2005 changed all that. Mirroring the team's success, and displaying a "California Cool" exterior, he racked up win after win. At the midway point of the season, he was selected to the All-Star team. Buerhle, with his splashing through rain delays and perpetual smile, was the antithesis to Garland. Like Batman and Robin, or Dahl and Meier, Garland was the straight man. More reserved and less heart on the sleeve, the yin and yang played nicely in the clubhouse and on the field. There were plenty of outgoing personalities, from AJ behind the plate to Rowand in the outfield. Garland was the balance. Garland made his first start during the ALCS and any doubts about this back of the rotation starter were erased as he pitched a complete game, four hit victory. How many kids throwing against garage walls dream of such an event? His 36 wins in 2005/2006 were the most in the major leagues, again, not bad for a back of the rotation starter. For me Garland will forever be the example of what needs to happen to win a World Series. It isn't always the big name heroes, but average men achieving greatness. Something I believe everyone has in them. People find inspiration in many things, no doubt this is an inspirational story.

Cabrera = gold glove

QUOTE (Texsox @ Aug 14, 2008 -> 12:15 PM) IIRC the Astros were in a World Series a couple years ago. One of my criteria would be no post season appearances in the past ten years. I'd be hard pressed to pick a League Champion as having the worst franchise. Team history, they are right there with the Rangers and Mariners in overall futility.

Y'all are just big silly poo-poo heads...

32. Shingo Takatsu (6 of 27 lists - 69 points - highest ranking #9 SoxFan1) bio by SoxFan1 and knightni- GONG GONG It's the top of the 9th inning, Sox lead by 1, strange Japanese music and pictures play on the scoreboard. IT'S FRISBEE TIME. Shingo Takatsu, "Mr. Zero" comes walking out of the bullpen to shut them down. What can you say about Shingo? He took the South Side by storm with the Gong and the Frisbee. Such a relief after the Koch debacle, Shingo came in and baffled every hitter he faced. Its a shame things went downhill the way they did in 2005, but I know all always remember 2004 as the year Shingo won my heart and the only season Hawk and DJ have any reason to say that Juan Uribe can carry a team. His emergence prompted me to buy my 1st authentic White Sox jersey, dropping $215 to get that #10 Takatsu jersey. There was nothing better than Shingo Time. Even though he had a short stint with the White Sox, Takatsu captured the fan's hearts with his frisbee pitch. Indirectly, he helped the White Sox sign 2B Tadahito Iguchi in the 2004 offseason. Gooch helped lead the team to the 2005 World Series championship.

Houston Astros