StatManDu

QUOTE(Beltin @ Jan 25, 2007 -> 08:28 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> The Chicago White Sox acquired Richard Dotson, Thad Bosley and Bobby Bonds from the California Angels in exchange for Brian Downing, Dave Frost and Chris Knapp during the 1977 Winter Meetings. Hi ... Thanks for checking in. The list is "Most Wins Upon Joining The Sox" Dotson was with the White Sox from 1979 to 1987 and then traded to the Yankees. He was re-acquired during the 1989 season. So when he rejoined the Sox he had thr 106 victories, most of which came with the Sox.

Today marks the anniversary of the White Sox acquisition of both Tom Seaver (1984 although retrosheet.org has it listed as the 20th) and Tom Gordon (2003). Both were established by the time they arrived on the Southside. Here is a list of pitchers who had the most career victories upon joining the White Sox (For more on the Seaver pickup go to www.whitesoxalmanac.com): MOST WINS UPON JOINING THE WHITE SOX Player Year with Sox Wins Steve Carlton..............................1986...........................314 Tom Seaver.................................1984.........................273 Red Ruffing..................................1947..........................270 Early Wynn..................................1958..........................235 Chief Bender................................1925..........................212 Jerry Reuss..................................1988..........................198 Claude Osteen..............................1975.........................189 Charlie Hough...............................1991.........................186 Jim Kaat.......................................1973...........................179 Jerry Koosman..............................1981..........................179 Dave Stieb....................................1993..........................174 Clark Griffith.................................1901...........................168 David Wells...................................2001..........................166 Danny Darwin................................1997..........................162 Scott Sanderson.............................1994.........................154 Ron Reed.......................................1984..........................146 Doug Drabek..................................1997..........................137 Frank Lary......................................1965..........................126 Gary Bell........................................1969..........................119 Ken Hill...........................................2000.........................117 Tom Gordon................................2003..........................106 Richard Dotson................................1989.........................106 Ellis Kinder ......................................1957.........................102

It was Ron LeFlore who got hit in the head with a flyball. Also, it was Carlos May who had his thumb tragically blown off -- not Carlos Lee. This is a great thread. To me, the dumbest moment in White Sox history encapsulated what a mistake the Terry Bevington Era was. I am remembering a nationally televised game in Baltimore on Fox. Terry ordered an intentional walk. After intentional ball three, he visited the mound. Realizing he had just made an embarrassing mistake, Bev had no choice but to turn around and return to the dugout. After intentional ball four was delivered, Bevington returned to the mound and made his pitching change. That was the same year Bev tried to make a pitching change with no one warming up. I once saw Warren Newson go from first to third on a caught pop up. Just put his head down and started running.

Thanks to an alert poster, I need to revise and update my "Ones that Got Away list" JASON GIAMBI WAS NOT DRAFTED BY THE WHITE SOX IN THE 1989 DRAFT ... IN DIGGING THROUGH MY BASEBALL AMERICA DRAFT ALMANAC, WHICH HAS A RIPPED BINDING, I SKIPPED A PAGE. A CARELESS MISTAKE. MY APOLOGIES. I added Geoff Zahn, which was a great suggestion by wilburaga. Thanks to everyone for viewing and commenting on this list ONES WHO GOT AWAY Thursday marked two anniversaries of two players – Charlie Lea and Damon Berryhill -- who were drafted but went unsigned by the Sox who went on to contribute in the big leagues. Here is a look at some players of significance who were drafted but not signed by the Sox who went on to have noteworthy big league careers. DOES ANYONE KNOW OF ANYONE ELSE?? Player, position .............................Drafted by Sox Johnny Oates, c………………2nd round, June 1966 Geoff Zahn, p...........................34th round, June 1966 Mickey Rivers, cf……………1st round, January 1968 Duane Kuiper, ss…………….1st round, January 1970 Warren Cromartie, of………..7th round, June 1971 Willie McGee, of…………….7th round, June 1976 HubieBrooks, ss…………….1st round, June 1976 Charlie Lea, p………………..4th round, June 1977 Hubie Brooks, of…………….1st round, June 1977 Gary Gaetti, 3b………………3rd round, June 1978 Steve Buechele, ss…………...1st round, June 1979 Jimmy Key, p………………..10th round, June 1979 Tim Teufel, 2b……………….3rd round, June 1979 Calvin Schiraldi, p…………...17th round, June 1980 Damon Berryhill, c…………..13th round, January 1983 Eric Gagne, p………………..30th round, June 1994 J.J. Putz, p……………………3rd round, June 1995 Jeff Weaver, p………………..2nd round, June 1997 Tom Gorzelanny, p..................38th round, June 2000

QUOTE(CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Jan 10, 2007 -> 09:43 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Just noticed that you left Albert Belle off the Hall of Fame first ballot list. Thanks for checking in. I didn't include every former Sox player -- just the ones who I thought were significant, memorable or had a legitimate chance at the Hall. It was a subjective list. Belle received 7.7 percent of the vote Tuesday -- his first time -- and gets to say on because he received at least 5 percent.

Thanks! This is a labor of love!

Click on the attachment to see how some Sox players fared in their first performance on the Hall of Fame ballot. http://journals.aol.com/dmarran359/Soxalmanac/ I added the attachment because the chart didn't translate well on my blog. Enjoy!

QUOTE(whitesox91403 @ Jan 5, 2007 -> 04:57 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Is John Cangelosi today's answer? Indeed. The Cangy man can

QUOTE(mmmmmbeeer @ Jan 4, 2007 -> 11:53 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> That's an impressive amount of history in your blog. You must spend a lot of time on it. Thanks! Appreciate that. It's a labor of love.

QUOTE(Beltin @ Jan 4, 2007 -> 10:43 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> If I am not mistaken, the answer to today's stumper was none other than Mr. Jorge Fabregas. Correct? Indeed. I think poor Jorge thought he had the rug pulled out from under him by the Sox because he felt and I think was given signals that he was the backstop of the future. Thanks for your interest.

QUOTE(StatManDu @ Jan 3, 2007 -> 02:32 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I have added a daily Sox Stumper to my Daily Almanac http://journals.aol.com/dmarran359/Soxalmanac/ YES! I was there. Keep checking every day. There will be a new "stumper" daily!

I have added a daily Sox Stumper to my Daily Almanac http://journals.aol.com/dmarran359/Soxalmanac/

I was at that game, too. It was a day game, right? I had the scout seats right behind the plate. It was my national televison debut because the game was on GN

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Dec 28, 2006 -> 10:07 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> No he isn't. I considered Belcher, Sanderson, Drabek, Paul Assenmacher and Canseco and Mike Devereaux but those guys didn't "stick" out to me like the others did. Thanks for all the kind words. I really appreciate it.

http://journals.aol.com/dmarran359/Soxalmanac/ RECENT WHITE SOX ONE-HIT WONDERS Wednesday marked the 12th anniversary of Julio Franco’s signing with the Chiba Lotte Marines of the Japanese Pacific League, thus ending his one-year career with the White Sox. Franco hit .319 with 20 home runs and 98 RBIs in just 112 games as the White Sox designated hitter, making him one of the top “one-hit” wonders in franchise history. Was Franco the best “one-hit” wonder in recent Sox history. Here are some others to against which to judge him. Since it was the great Bill Veeck that mastered the “rent-a-player” concept and it conveniently coincides with dawn of free agency, let’s use Veeck’s second ownership of the club as a starting point (Who did I forget?): Ellis Burks, 1993: Revived an injury-riddled career by hitting .275 with 17 homers and 74 RBIs as the right fielder for the 1993 A.L. Western Division champs. … Gloved the final out in the division clincher. … Hit .304 with a homer and three RBIs in the 1993 A.L. Championship Series. … Granted free agency after the season and signed with Colorado. Bartolo Colon, 2003: Chunky right-hander with a blazing fastball went 15-13 with a 3.87 ERA and a league-leading nine complete games. … Sox made an effort to sign him after the season but the price was too high and Colon signed with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim where he went on to be a Cy Young winner. Joe Cowley, 1986: Burly right-hander went 11-11 with a 3.88 ERA in 27 starts – following a five-player swap with the Yankees. … His last victory for the Sox was a no-hitter in a 7-1 win at California Sept. 19. … He was traded to Philadelphia the following March and his career quickly went downhill. After five disastrous appearances for the 1987 Phillies, Cowley was out of the game. Tom Gordon, 2003: Reliever went 7-6 with a 3.16 ERA in 12 saves in 66 games. … Became the closer when Billy Koch flamed out. … Signed with the Yankees after opting for free agency following his lone year with the Sox. Orlando Hernandez, 2005: Acquired for the 2005 season to be the team’s fifth starter. … Struggled throughout the year, going 9-9 with a 5.12 ERA. … Shined in the playoffs, escaping a bases-loaded no out jam in the clinching Game 3 of the A.L. Division Series in Boston. … Traded to Arizona after the season to get Javier Vazquez. Charles Johnson, 2000: Acquired from Baltimore in a deadline deal. … Hit .326 with 10 homers and 36 RBIs in 44 games behind the plate. … Granted free agency Oct. 30, 2000 and signed with Florida 49 days later. Steve Kemp, 1982: Slugger hit .286 with 19 home runs and 98 RBIs after being obtained from Detroit for Chet Lemon. … Set career-highs with 160 games, 91 runs and 166 hits for a team that won 87 games and finished third. … Granted free agency Nov. 10, 1982 and signed with the Yankees Dec. 9, 1982. … Never again duplicated the numbers he had with the Sox. Kevin Tapani, 1996: Right-hander went 13-10 with a 4.39 ERA in 34 starts as part of a rotation that also included Alex Fernandez, Wilson Alvarez and James Baldwin. … Still had 51 wins left in his arm after he left the Sox as a free agent following the 1996 season. Danny Tartabull, 1996: Hit .254 with 27 homers and 101 RBIs as the right fielder for a team that challenged for a playoff spot late into the season. … Granted free agency Nov. 18, 1996. Signed with Philadelphia but his season with the Sox was essentially his last. David Wells, 2001: Left-hander went 5-7 with a 4.47 ERA in 16 starts after being acquired from Toronto. … Following a disappointing and disruptive season, Wells was granted free agency and signed with the Yankees. Richie Zisk, 1977: The catalyst of the “Southside Hitmen,” Zisk hit .290 with 30 homers and 101 RBIs after being acquired from Pittsburgh. … Started the 1977 All-Star Game in left and went 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs. … Attained immense popularity by helping the Sox post a surprising 90 wins in one of the most enjoyable campaigns in franchise history … Granted free agency Nov. 2, 1977 and signed with Texas a week later. … Like Gamble, he was never the same player after leaving the Sox.

journals.aol.com/dmarran359/Soxalmanac/ Click on the link to celebrate the Commander's 59th birthday with a look at his White Sox greatest hits! Feel free to add your own

http://journals.aol.com/dmarran359/Soxalmanac/ THIS DATE IN SOX HISTORY BONUS: A CHRISTMAS STORY The only player in Major League history with the last name Christmas played 12 of his 24 big league games with the 1984 White Sox. Catcher Steve Christmas hit .364 with a double, a clutch home run and four RBIs in his time with the White Sox. The Sox “Christmas Story” began on Nov. 21, 1983 when the left-handed hitter was acquired from the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for infield prospect Fran Mullins. Christmas, who hit .059 in nine games with 1983 Reds, was a non-roster invitee to spring training in Sarasota, Fla., but began 1984 at the White Sox Triple-A affiliate at Denver where his teammates included Jerry Manuel, Ron Karkovice, Tim Hulett, Daryl Boston, Joel Skinner and Larry Rothschild. Christmas’ first stint with the Sox came from June 12 to June 22. The native of Orlando, Fla., was brought to Chicago when Carlton Fisk went on the disabled list. Christmas didn’t see any time behind the plate as the Sox went with the highly-touted Skinner in Fisk’s absence. Christmas’ first action with the Sox finally came on June 14 when he grounded out as a pinch-hitter for Jerry Dybzinski. Two days later, Christmas delivered a pinch-RBI single in the ninth inning of a 6-4 loss at Oakland. Christmas was hitting for Scott Fletcher and got his hit off of Oakland closer Bill Caudill. In his next appearance, Christmas came through again, this time notching a one-out pinch-double off future Sox “gas can” Mike Stanton in the ninth inning of an 8-2 loss at Seattle June 19. Christmas was returned to Denver after the White Sox 8-6 win over the Twins June 22 in Minnesota. Christmas finished the season at Denver where he helped the Bears earn a spot in the American Association playoffs. Denver upset the Cubs’ Iowa affiliate in five games in the semifinal round before bowing to Louisville in five games in the championship series. Christmas, who shared time behind the plate with Skinner, Karkovice and Jamie Quirk, hit .278 with four homers and 29 RBIs during the regular season for Denver. He returned to the White Sox for the rest of the season in early September. Christmas made his Comiskey Park debut in a 5-4 loss to Oakland on Sept. 5, 1984 when he was retired for the second out pinch-hitting for Vance Law in the ninth. After another unsuccessful pinch-hitting appearance Sept. 8, 1984 against the Angels at Comiskey Park, Christmas made his lone defensive appearance with the Sox. On Sept. 16, 1984 in Anaheim, Christmas entered the game in the eighth inning at catcher. He played one inning in the 4-2 setback, catching Richard Dotson and could not throw out Gary Pettis trying to steal. The next time Christmas took the field he made things merry for the Sox. On Sept. 19, 1984, Christmas, pinch-hitting for Marc “The Booter” Hill, launched a three-run pinch-homer in the seventh inning to break a 3-3 tie in a 7-3 win at Minnesota. The blast, which victimized the team that drafted and signed Christmas, came off Mike Smithson with Greg Walker and Dybzinski on base as the defending American League West champs barely stayed alive in the division race (nine games back with 11 to play). The next day, Christmas posted what turned out to be his final hit with the Sox. He led off the 13th with a single off Ron Davis batting for Hill and was then lifted for pinch-runner Rudy Law. The Sox couldn’t parlay Christmas’ last gift to the Sox into a run and wound up losing 5-4 to the Twins in the next inning. That hit peaked Christmas’ average and on-base percentage at a whopping .571 and placed his slugging percentage at a more-than-robust 1.143. From there, Christmas went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts to close out his Sox career. Christmas first time ended for the Sox on Dec. 10 when they released him. A little more thana month later, it was Christmastime again for the Sox as they signed him with a free agent. Christmas received another non-roster invitee to spring training but he did not make the club nor did he appear with the Sox during the 1985 season. Christmas spent 1985 at the Sox Triple-A affiliate in Buffalo where he manned third base and appeared some at designated hitter. Playing for John Boles, who would later manage the Flordia Marlins, Christmas finished fourth in the American Association with a .298 average while finishing second on the Bisons to Joe DeSa (17) with 16 home runs. Following the season, Christmas was granted free agency and signed with the Cubs thus closing the book on the Sox “Christmas Story.”[/size][/font]

http://journals.aol.com/dmarran359/Soxalmanac/ I update this daily ... just for fun!

http://journals.aol.com/dmarran359/Soxalmanac/ I guess you could add Tony LaRussa as one of those surprises (see thread below) who had a playing affiliation with the White Sox. On this date, the Sox sent minor league infielder Tony LaRussa to the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for pitcher Randy Wiles. LaRussa was signed by the White Sox in April of 1975 after he was released by the Pirates. LaRussa spent 1975 at the Sox Triple-A affiliate in Denver and hit .280 with seven homers and 46 RBIs as part of the Bears’ Western Division winning team. The following year, LaRussa hit .259 with four homers and 34 RBIs for the Sox Triple-A team at Iowa. This time in the White Sox organization was crucial for LaRussa. It was at these two stops that LaRussa played for manager Loren Babe. It was Babe who recommend LaRussa for the Sox managerial post at Double-A Knoxville in 1978. After one full season in Knoxville and part of a season at Triple-A Iowa, LaRussa was hired by the Sox to replace Don Kessinger as manager and one of the great managerial careers in big league history was born.

QUOTE(tonyho7476 @ Dec 13, 2006 -> 01:05 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Your threads belong on the 'who gives a s***' message board. Sorry, couldn't resist. The last two posts -- Bernazard and Garland -- have gotten a combined 500 views over the last two days so apparently a lot of people do give a ****. I wouldn't put this stuff on here if I didn't think people would be interested.

If the Sox get rid of Garland, they will be separating themselves from a player who accomplished one of the obscure rarities in club history. Garland is one of just six players in White Sox history whose only hit of the season was a home run. http://journals.aol.com/dmarran359/Soxalmanac/ Here's a breakdown: ONLY HIT OF THE SEASON A HOMER Player Date Foe (Pitcher) Men on Jon Garland* June 18, 2006 At Cincinnati (Yan) 2-run Notes— Second at bat and fourth plate appearance of the game and season… Came with two outs and Rob Mackowiak on base. … Gave the Sox a 6-0 lead in an 8-1 win. … Finished the season with five at bats … Third career hit and first career extra-base hit. … First homer by a Sox pitcher since Steve Kealey on Sept. 6, 1971. … First homer by a Sox pitcher in a road game since Gary Peters on Aug. 2 1969 at Detroit. … First home run by a Sox pitcher in a National League park since Juan Pizarro at Dodger Stadium (vs. Angels) on May 8, 1964. … First Sox pitcher to homer in his own victory since Danny Murphy homered and got the win in relief in the second game of a doubleheader against the Minnesota Twins at Comiskey Park on June 28, 1970. …First Sox starting pitcher to homer in his own victory since Peters on Aug. 2, 1969 at Detroit.f Nelson Santovenia July 11, 1992 At Boston (Dopson) 2-run Notes—First at bat with the White Sox. … Joey Cora was on first with a single. … Sox lost the game 11-2. … Last of his 21 career homers and the second-to-last hit of the veteran catcher’s career. Bob Priddy* June 19, 1968 Cleveland (Tiant) Solo Note—Only career homer came in his 50th career at bat, seventh of the season and second of he game. … His next hit wouldn’t come until April 29, 1970 when he was with the Atlanta Braves. …This home run came in the fifth inning and gave the Sox a 1-0 lead in a 3-1 loss before 8,643 at Comiskey Park. … Priddy started this game but did not get a decision. … The homer was one of only 16 Tiant would surrender during his 21-9, 1.60 ERA campaign in which he logged 258.1 innings. Smoky Burgess Sept. 15, 1964 At Detroit (Wickersham) Solo Note—First at bat with the White Sox after being claimed off waivers from Pittsburgh Sept. 12 resulted in the first of what would be a franchise-record 50 pinch-hits. … The portly 37-year-old led off the eighth with a game-tying pinch-hit home run. Sox went on to win the game3-2 in 10th innings. Stan Johnson Sept. 23, 1960 At Cleveland (Funk) Solo Notes—Solo homer in the ninth inning a 7-0 win came in his second career at bat and second at bat of the season. … The home run also turned out to be the only hit of Johnson’s career, which spanned eight games and nine at bats. … Inserted in the ninth as a pinch-hitter for Minnie Minoso, who had been ejected for throwing his bat, according to retrosheet.org. Minoso was probably brushed back after Ted Kluszewski, the previous batter, went deep. Stan Jok May 1, 1955 Baltimore (McDonald) Solo Note—Only career home run for the third baseman-outfielder came in a doubleheader before 19,083 at Comiskey Park (unsure of which game). … Hit—the last came eight days before the Sox released him. *Pitcher

QUOTE(103 mph screwball @ Dec 13, 2006 -> 05:15 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> As a little league catcher, Fisk was my baseball hero that started my Sox fanaticism. I remember the Sox getting Ron LeFlore and I was excited about him coming to the Sox. For reasons I do not completely remember, I was a fan of Tony Bernazard. Cheers to Tony Bernazard! Nothing happened ... Just tying in some facts on TB to his acquisition date.

journals.aol.com/dmarran359/Soxalmanac/ Twenty-six years ago today, general manager Roland Hemond pulled off another one of those quietly effective deals when snared switch-hitting second baseman Tony Bernazard from the Montreal Expos for erratic left-handed pitcher Rich “Tex” Wortham. Bernazard was a rock for the Sox, especially in 1982 when he hit .256 with 11 homers and 56 RBIs. Any chance the Sox had at winning the West that year ended when Bernazard suffered a season-ending leg injury Sept. 12 in Oakland. After playing 59 games in 1983, Bernazard was dealt to Seattle in a June 15 deadline deal in which the Sox got fellow second baseman Julio Cruz, who played an instrumental role in the team’s surge to the A.L. West title. It must have been crushing for Bernazard to watch his old team celebrate the division title on Sept. 17, 1983 when the Sox clinched with a 4-3 win over Seattle before 45,646 at ComiskeyPark. About eight years later, Bernazard was on the other side of another historic White Sox moment though he probably enjoyed this one a little more than he did in 1983. Bernazard went 1-for-2 off the bench in the Tigers’ 16-0 win over the White Sox in the first game at “new” ComiskeyParkApril 18, 1991. Bernazard also presented the ball that Frank Thomas hit for the first All-Star home run in White Sox history to the “Big Hurt” in 1995. The home runtraveled into the second deck and landed in the Players’ Association suite where Alex Fehr, the nine-year old nephew of union chief Donald Fehr caught the ball. White Sox Manager of Scoreboard Operations Jeff Szynal, who also serves as the team’s Hall of Fame curator, left his seat in the left field stands to retrieve the ball. Szynal and Bernazard, who was in the MLPA suite, took the ball to the American League clubhouse and gave it to Thomas. As for Wortham, he had one game left in his arm and it came in 1983 for Oakland.

I researched and wrote the entire piece and posted/pasted it on a couple of differnt Sox forums for all Sox fans to enjoy. I signed up for the message boards at different times -- years apart in some cases -- and used a different "handle" (and password ... ugh!) each time. On this board and the White Sox board I am StatManDu On the White Sox.com forum I am Bobsagent On the scout forum I am either DavidBoone25 (a Marquette reference) or PackerReporterEd. I cut and paste the entire piece because I did not want to link to my blog (where I originally posted it) because some sites (not this one) prohibit linking to blogs. I really appreciate all the comments and suggestions from everyone. I will be assembling an updated list with some other intriguing names on it soon.

QUOTE(elrockinMT @ Dec 10, 2006 -> 09:55 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Rocky Colavito and Ken Boyer also played for the Sox in 1967. There are more also Great suggestions all. Thanks. I'll add em all and there is more where that can from!