This Day In Sox History 5/2...

Five factoids today:

May 2, 1901 - The White Sox were part of the first forfeit in American League history.

After the Tigers took the lead with five runs in the top of the ninth, rain began. White Sox players began stalling, hoping to have the game wash out and be called as of the top of the eighth, with the White Sox getting the win.

Umpire Tom Connolly caught on to the scheme and forfeited the game to Detroit, as soggy Sox fans stormed the field in protest. Connolly had to be given a police escort to get out of the ballpark. The final score was 7-5 Tigers.

May 2, 1983 - It isn’t often that one of the all-time greats in a different sport comes to town to help present an award to a member of the White Sox but such was the case on this night as Wayne Gretzky, “The Great One” came to Comiskey Park to help honor Ron Kittle by handing him the 1982 Minor League Player of the Year Award.

That season, Kittle, playing in Edmonton, smashed 50 home runs and drove in 144 RBI’s. He led all minor league players in home runs, RBI’s and slugging percentage. Kittle became friends with Gretzky who was the superstar center for the Oilers and used to throw batting practice to him when he’d come out to the Edmonton ballpark to work out with the team.  

May 2, 1984 - It was the finest regular season performance by LaMarr Hoyt as he one-hit the Yankees winning 3-0 at Comiskey Park.

The reigning Cy Young Award winner lost his no-hitter on a single by Don Mattingly with one out in the seventh inning. Mattingly’s hit was a bloop that got caught in the wind and fell in between shortstop Jerry Dybzinski and left fielder Ron Kittle.

Hoyt only threw 101 pitches on the night and faced the minimum 27 batters.

May 2, 2021 – Seasons can change in a heartbeat and on this day the high expectations for the White Sox took a stunning turn for the worse.

Five tool outfielder Luis Robert, the Gold Glove outfielder and runner up in the 2020 Rookie of the Year voting completely tore his right hip flexor when beating out a ground ball in the first inning in a 5-0 loss to the Indians.

The White Sox were already without the services of Robert’s teammate Eloy Jimenez, one of the top young sluggers in the game, because of an injury that happened late in spring training.

Robert wasn’t even able to try to resume baseball activities for a period of a few months. His loss left a gaping hole both offensively and defensively in the White Sox lineup but remarkably after a grueling rehab he returned to the team on August 9 in Minnesota and helped contribute to the club winning the Central Division with a total of 93 victories. His injury-luck though continued into the 2022 season when he missed time with vertigo, blurred vision and worst of all, a sprained left wrist that never properly healed and was so bad at times he was swinging a bat one-handed. And then in 2024 he would hurt that same hip again running to first base. Injuries would just hamper his career and limit his potential. He was traded to the Mets before the 2026 season and promptly suffered a herniated disc with them.

May 2, 2022 – Dylan Cease became the second White Sox pitcher ever with a start of at least seven innings, with 11 or more strikeouts and just one hit allowed, with no runs or walks. The Angels Taylor Ward got the only hit off Cease, a double in the fourth inning.  He went seven innings in the Sox 3-0 win at home.

Gary Peters was the first White Sox hurler to accomplish this feat, on July 15, 1963 in a 4-0 win over the Orioles at Comiskey Park.

Edited May 2May 2 by Lip Man 1