June 17, 200421 yr Dick Allen once again made the WhiteSox a factor in the West race, hitting .301 with 32 homers and 88 RBI's in 128 games, but then on sept 13, when it seemed the team was out of the race, he announced he was "retiring from baseball". Althrough Allen eventually wound up playing for the phillies the following season, his departure helped slide home 80 - 80 in fourth place, nine games out of first. Jorge Orta played a complete season, hitting .316 (second best in the league) and Ken Henderson (.292) hit 20 homers with 95 RBI's. Bill Melton struggled much of the year but finished at .240 with 21 homers and 63 RBI's. Veteran Lefty Jim Kaat, Obtained from Minnesota, led pitchers with a 21-13 record and a 2.92 ERA: Wilbur Wood was 20-19 with a 3.60 ERA in 42 starts and Young Bart Johnson, who also quit at the start of the season returned to compile a 10-4 record and 2.73 ERA in the second half.
June 17, 200421 yr The game is so different today. Last year Roy Halladay led the majors with 260 innings, many are now saying he was abused and blaming over use for his slow start this year. The '74 Sox team was led by Wilbur Wood with 320 innings, followed by Kaat's 277. And that wasn't Wilburs career high, he pitched 377 in 1972, part of stretch of 5 consecutive years with 290+, 4 of them 300+! Another favorite of mine, Stan Bahnsen, was on that team. Ed Hermann, Dick Allen and Wilbur all made the All-star team in '74.
June 17, 200421 yr .. A 20 Game winner is considered to be prestigious these days, 20 game winners would awesome back then too, just not as rare. So different..
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