Lip Man 1

Three factoids today: May 18, 1902 – White Sox pitcher James “Nixey” Callahan became the first player in MLB history to record five hits from the number nine spot in the batting order. The feat came in a 17-inning, 2-2 tie with St. Louis. For good measure, Callahan duplicated the feat less than one year later, in a 13-12 loss to the Browns on May 8, 1903 — and in that game, “Nixey” needed just 12 innings to compile his hits. In both games by the way, Callahan went the distance on the mound. May 18, 1957 – Historically if it was Baltimore, it usually meant strange things for the White Sox. Case in point, on this night the Sox had to catch a train to Boston and the Orioles agreed to end the game at 10:20 their time regardless of the outcome. The Sox trailed 3-0 going into the seventh inning when they scored four runs. That half inning was strange in itself because the Sox used five pinch hitters and two pinch runners in it! The Sox were still leading 4-3 in the ninth inning. Paul LaPalme was brought in to protect the lead. With 30 seconds remaining until curfew, he elected to pitch to Dick Williams. League rules did not allow for a suspended game under these circumstances so the Sox could have legally stalled the final seconds away. Unfortunately, they didn’t. LaPalme threw...Williams swung...home run. Tie game... make that a suspended tie game which had to be replayed from the start later in the season. May 18, 1983 - Still another bizarre moment in Baltimore. On this night Sox pitcher Rich Dotson tossed a complete game one-hitter. Only he lost it 1-0! His only mistake came when “Disco” Danny Ford lofted a pitch down the right field line at Memorial Stadium that fell into the first row of seats. The ‘blast’ went about 312 feet, an out in most other parks. The hit came in the eighth inning. Dotson wasn’t sharp overall, allowing seven walks but he kept getting out of trouble until Ford connected.

They need Taylor for the bullpen possibly to start closing games. Barring a run of injuries to starting position players the Cubs have more than enough to make the post season in a pretty strong National League. The A.L. is really down this season so anything is possible for the Sox given the division they are in.

https://chicago.suntimes.com/white-sox/2026/05/17/new-knee-issue-adds-to-intrigue-surrounding-white-sox-catcher-kyle-teel

6th time this year the Sox trailed in the 7th inning or later and won the game. They showed some heart and guts today. Well done. (Now as far as the "closer" situation"...that's another story)

He's just not that good. The Cubs meanwhile has been very good getting the ghost runner home in extra innings.

Three factoids today: May 17, 1969 – It was one of the few highlights in a dismal season. Sox pitcher Jerry Nyman one-hit the Senators, winning in Chicago 6-0. Nyman allowed only a one out single in the second inning to Brant Alyea…a comebacker right through the box that Nyman could not get a glove on. Nyman also helped himself with the bat in that game hitting a bases loaded double knocking in three runs. May 17, 2021 – Sox catcher Yasmani Grandal was the lone starter not to get a hit in a 16-4 beating of the Twins up in Minnesota. But he still landed on base four times via walks, scored three times and drove in a run with a sacrifice fly. Grandal, became the first player in White Sox history to have three games where he walked four or more times in a season. May 17, 2021 – In the Sox blowout win over the Twins in Minnesota, national controversy erupted centering around the ‘unwritten’ rules of baseball. With the Sox leading 15-4 the Twins used a position player, Willians Astudillo to pitch the ninth inning. He lobbed up a 47 miles per hour pitch to Yermin Mercedes who blasted it over the center field fence. Twins manager Rocco Baldelli took exception to it as well as many baseball traditionalists. White Sox manager Tony LaRussa wasn’t happy with it either saying what Mercedes did disrespected the game as well as he missed the take sign on that pitch. Some of Mercedes teammates and many Sox fans disagreed saying that using a position player instead of a regular pitcher also disrespected the game and that until the game is over players are expected to do their best regardless of the score. The next day, after the Twins threw at Mercedes, LaRussa ignited another controversy when he said that he didn’t think Twins pitcher Tyler Duffey deliberately did that, that it may have been a pitch that got away from him. Some Sox fans feel this was the moment when LaRussa began to lose the clubhouse and the Sox started sliding back towards mediocrity for the rest of the season and into the 2022 campaign.

Five home runs in a game generally will get the job done for you.

I remember that from the 1990 season. Sports Illustrated even mentioned it in the story they did on the Sox.

Four factoids today: May 16, 1900 – White Sox player-manager Dick Padden was clubbed over the head with a bat during a fight in the third inning at Detroit. The fracas started with the White Sox up, 4-2, after an uncalled balk by Chicago pitcher Chauncey Fisher that was then reversed under protest by the Tigers, scoring a run for Detroit. That in turn got the ire of Padden. After the arguments and consultation of the rule book, Padden returned to his position at second base as play resumed, but was getting cussed out by Detroit outfielder James “Ducky” Holmes — who wasn’t playing in the game, and not even in uniform! Padden threw a punch at Holmes and missed, and in the ensuing melee a Detroit player crowned Padden with a blow from a bat. Once things calmed again and play was to resume, Detroit manager George Stallings stormed onto the field with a policeman, demanding Padden be arrested; to no avail, and the White Sox prevailed in the game, 7-3. May 16, 1953 - White Sox pitcher Tommy Byrne, who was knocked out of the game in an eventual win against the Yankees two days earlier, was sent up to pinch hit for Vern Stephens in the ninth inning with the bases loaded and the Sox trailing 3-1. Byrne then slammed a 2-2 pitch from relief pitcher/sidewinder Ewell “The Whip” Blackwell into the lower deck in right field at Yankee Stadium for the only pinch-hit grand slam by a pitcher in team history! The Sox would win the game 5-3, scoring all their runs in the ninth inning. That was the only home run Byrne hit that year for the White Sox although he’d had 14 of them in his big-league career. May 16, 1978 - With the Sox record a dismal 9-20 and knowing that there was no way he was going to be able to re-sign him, Sox owner Bill Veeck traded slugger Bobby Bonds to the Rangers for Claudell Washington and Rosendo “Rusty” Torres. Bonds would only play in 26 games for the Sox, with two home runs and eight RBI’s. Making matters worse was that to get Bonds the previous December, Veeck traded three players including future All-Star Brian Downing to get him. Washington would become the target of fan displeasure because of his tendency to take it easy on the field while with the team. One fan made up a banner, hung over the right field wall, which expressed that sentiment “Washington slept here.” Torres’s claim to fame (and this is a great trivia question) was that he was on the field for all of the forfeited games in baseball during the 1970’s. Torres was with the Yankees when the final game in Washington was forfeited as fans rushed the field in 1971; he was in Cleveland for the dime beer night fiasco in 1974 and was with the Sox during the “Disco Demolition” forfeit in 1979. May 16, 1984 - Carlton Fisk had one of his finest games as he became the third player in franchise history to hit for the cycle in a game. It came against the Royals at Comiskey Park. Despite Fisk’s efforts the Sox would lose it 7-6. Carlton went 4 for 5 with two runs and two RBI’s in the game. The triple, by the way, was the only one he’d hit that season.

Cubs 6-14 RISP Sox 1-10 RISP There's your game right there along with a bad bullpen night.

https://chicago.suntimes.com/bears-stadium/2026/05/15/mayor-brandon-johnson-aide-jason-lee-chicago-bears-stadium-arlington-heights-northwest-indiana-lakefront-site

I've got Harry Caray's TV broadcast audio of the two batters Stone struck out in my library.

EIGHT factoids today: May 15, 1929 - Sox outfielder Art “The Great” Shires (Shires by the way gave himself that nickname) and manager Lena Blackburne got into a fistfight during a game at Comiskey Park won by the Sox 8-4 over Boston. Before the game Blackburne had suspended and fined Shires for wearing a red felt hat during batting practice and for not taking the game seriously. Shires left the park but later returned and confronted Blackburne where the two men exchanged blows. The two men would get into another fist fight later that season in September in a Philadelphia hotel room. May 15, 1941 - In a game in New York, Sox pitcher Edgar Smith allowed a hit to Yankee great Joe DiMaggio in the first inning. It would be the first hit in his record setting 56 game hitting streak. The Sox won the game though 13-1 with outfielder Taft “Taffy” Wright driving in four runs. That year he’d hit .322 and knock in 97 RBI’s. May 15, 1951 – It was a testament to the managerial genius of Sox skipper Paul Richards. It had been 30 years since the league saw a move like this. In the ninth inning of a game in Boston where the White Sox were winning 7-6, relief pitcher Harry Dorish was removed in favor of Billy Pierce to face the left-handed hitting Ted Williams, only Dorish wasn’t removed from the game, he was moved to third base! Pierce retired Williams on a pop up, then was taken out of the game and Dorish put back on the mound. Boston eventually tied the game but the White Sox would have the last laugh, winning 9-7 in 11 innings. The victory marked the start of a 14-game win streak, with 11 of the wins on the road. On May 30 after sweeping the St. Louis Browns, the Sox record stood at 26-9. May 15, 1954 – With a 7-6 come from behind win over the Philadelphia Athletics at Comiskey Park, the White Sox secured the franchises 4,000th win. It was catcher Carl Sawatski’s single with two out in the ninth inning that won the game. That year the Sox went 94-60-1…and still finished 17 games back of the pennant winning Indians! May 15, 1983 – You certainly don’t see this every day. In the seventh inning at Yankee Stadium with the Sox leading 5-1 pinch hitter Greg Walker sent a George Frazier pitch into the deepest part of the ballpark. Center fielder Jerry Mumphrey ran a long way and made the catch but his momentum was taking him away from the infield. Mike Squires scored easily from third base but catcher Marc Hill standing on second, kept right on going and beat the throw home with a slide. Walker got credit for two RBI’s on a single sacrifice fly! The Sox would go on to win the game 7-3. May 15, 1988 – It is an obscure record and one that probably will never be broken. Outfielder Dave Gallagher was picked up over the winter by the Sox after he was released by the Mariners and was called up to the club the day before. Playing in only his second game in a White Sox uniform he hit a walk-off home run in the 11th inning to beat the Blue Jays 6-5 at Comiskey Park. The hit came off Toronto’s sidewinder Mark Eichhorn. It is the team record for fewest games played before hitting a walk-off home run. May 15, 1990 - Bobby Thigpen became the White Sox all-time saves leader in a 3-2 win over Baltimore at Comiskey Park. Thigpen pitched a scoreless ninth inning in nailing down his 100th career save, surpassing Hall of Famer Hoyt Wilhelm on the White Sox all-time list. The save was Thigpen’s ninth of the year… before the remarkable season was over Bobby would nail down 57 saves which set the Major League record and be named Relief Pitcher of the Year. May 15, 1996 - The Sox scored 20 runs in a game. They easily handled the Brewers in Milwaukee 20-8. The Sox scored 20, yet only hit two home runs. Frank Thomas had one of them and knocked in six runs on the night. Harold Baines and Robin Ventura had three RBI’s each as well.

On the Sox website under injury updates they listed him as having thrown four pitches in his rehab start then leaving with an "injury." (Direct quote). That's all the notation said.

Welcome back to the land of the living (over .500) White Sox. After so many years of the Royals sticking it up Sox teams rear ends it's nice to see a change in fortune. Now please guys don't roll over and die to the Cubs.

That's a very valid point of view in my opinion. I'd assume they'd go for it (assuming JR allows them to) but your comment has made me double-think the original position of mine.

SEVEN factoids today: May 14, 1943 – Sox pitcher Lee “Buck” Ross threw a one-hitter at the Yankees, giving up a single to Nick Etten with one out in the second inning but shutting New York down from there. The game was played at Comiskey Park. The White Sox kept the outcome in some suspense, failing to crack the scoreboard until the seventh inning, when Wally Moses and Jimmy Grant tapped out run-scoring singles as part of the 3-0 win. The game only took 1:37 to play. Ross would end up 11-7 in 1943 — his only winning record in 10 MLB seasons. He had seven complete games and a 3.19 ERA for the year. May 14, 1963 - Sox pitcher Ray Herbert fired his fourth consecutive shutout beating the Tigers 3-0 at Comiskey Park. Herbert allowed six hits and struck out seven. His shutout streak began on May 1 when he blanked the Orioles. That was followed by shutouts over the Senators and the Yankees. In the shutout stretch he only allowed 15 hits in 36 innings with 22 strike outs. The previous season Ray won 20 games and was the winning pitcher for the American League in the second All-Star Game played that year. It took place at Wrigley Field. May 14, 1967 - Sox pitching great Gary Peters authored his second career one-hitter beating the Angels 3-1 at Comiskey Park. It was the second game in a double header sweep. Peters allowed only a second inning home run to former Sox first baseman Bill “Moose” Skowron and struck out 10. Peters would make the All-Star team for the second time in his career that season going 16-11 with a 2.28 ERA throwing 260 innings. May 14, 1977 - The Sox hammered the Indians 18-2 in a game that started at 10:30 in the morning in connection with a promotion for McDonald’s restaurants Egg McMuffin sandwich. Sox first baseman Jim Spencer would tie the franchise mark with eight RBI’s on the day. Spencer went 3 for 3 with two home runs including a grand slam along with a two-run shot and a two RBI single. Spencer would drive in eight runs in a game again later that season versus Minnesota in a 13-8 win on July 2. He is one of only five Sox players to ever drive in eight runs in a game and the only man to ever do it twice. May 14, 1998 - The Sox Greg Norton became one of only a handful of players to hit two home runs in the same game off Randy Johnson. Norton homered in the third and fifth innings of the Sox 5-3 win at Comiskey Park. He’d go 2 for 3 in the game with three RBI’s. May 14, 2005 - Sox speedster Scott Podsednik swiped four bases in a game against the Orioles at U.S. Cellular Field. Just a week earlier he grabbed four bases versus Toronto. He’s the only player in franchise history to steal four bases in a game three times, doing it again in 2006. In 2005 Podsednik swiped 59 bases in making an All-Star appearance. May 14, 2017 – As part of an eight run, eighth inning against the Padres, Sox third baseman Todd Frazier scored from third on an infield pop-up! Tyler Saladino popped up a bunt attempt which was caught by San Diego’s Wil Myers near first base. Myers though then turned his back and hesitated and when Frazier saw that he broke for the plate. The return throw was off line and high and Frazier scored sliding in. It delighted the Sox home crowd as part of a 9-3 win. 15 Sox players batted in the big inning, getting four hits, five walks, a hit batsman and an error.

Doesn't matter, it's not helping the kid at all if he can't control his stuff yet and the pressure starts to build on him mentally. He's got a great future and it's not worth screwing him up.

Since MLB can't or won't fire incompetent umpires like C.V. Bucknor and back in the day Joe West and Angel Hernandez, we need the ABS system more than ever.

I can't remember the last time they were at .500 or better...guess it was at the end of the 2022 season. Man that's a long time to be really bad. I'm thinking if Schultz has one or two more outings like tonight where he couldn't command his pitches he needs to go back to Charlotte. That's 10 of the last 14 for the Sox.

Much is going to depend on where the Sox are at the deadline and more importantly what JR decides given the almost sure lockout coming. He probably won't want to take much risk, if any until he knows what the next CBA will be like. Should they? If they are close...of course...but this is JR remember.

Bill was one of the finest people I ever got to know. I visited him at his home in Lamont one year he and his wife picked me up at the train station. My uncle and mom then drove out later in the afternoon to pick me up since I didn't have a car when I returned to Chicago. Bill came out and talked with both of them for I guess 20 minutes. Miss him, Roland Hemond and Jeff Torborg very much.

Three factoids today: May 13, 1957 - Sox pitcher Billy Pierce became the first member of the team and the first Chicago athlete, to ever appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated. The caption read, “Pride of Chicago, Billy Pierce.” In 1957, the year the magazine cover came out; Pierce went 20-12 with an ERA of 3.26. It was his second straight 20-win season. He led the league with 16 complete games, had four shutouts, two saves, threw 257 innings and had 192 strike outs. May 13, 1975 - Sox pitcher Jim Kaat’s 12-game winning streak ended as he was beaten 3-2 in Baltimore. Kaat had won his first five decisions in 1975 and his final seven decisions in 1974. He’d become a 20-game winner in both seasons averaging 290 innings pitched in those years. He’d also make the All-Star team in 1975. May 13, 1982 - SportsVision made its debut. The first regional pay cable service devoted exclusively to sports began operations with a game at Comiskey Park versus Milwaukee. The service was the brainchild of Sox co-owner Eddie Einhorn and while brilliant, was ahead of its time. The technology wasn’t there and more importantly, the attitude on the part of the fans wasn’t ready to pay for something they had been getting for free all their lives. At best roughly 20,000 fans subscribed to it. The service also included broadcasting games of the Bulls, Blackhawks and Sting (professional soccer). The decision to go to a pay service caused popular announcer Harry Caray to leave the team after 11 seasons and go to the Cubs despite an offer by the Sox that was worth more before the 1982 season began. SportsVision, in its original version, lasted until the end of 1983, then it was sold to the Cablevision Company and turned into SportsChannel-Chicago. The Sox blew out the Brewers in the game 13-2.

Sox have won 9 of their last 13 games now.

I wouldn't say it was a ho-hum win not after giving up the lead but they came up with the big hit at the right time. Most of their batting averages are still poor but I guess it doesn't matter if you can score when you need to. Like Hawk used to say, "Don't tell me what you hit, tell me when you hit..."