December 31, 200718 yr THIS DATE IN WHITE SOX HISTORY DEC. 30: HAPPY BIRTHDAY AJ PIERZYNSKI! GO TELL IT TO THE MOUNTAIN 1926: The Chicago Tribune reported the Detroit Tigers threw a four-game series to the White Sox in 1917 which aided the Southsiders’ march to the pennant and ultimately the World Series championship. Within a week, Commissioner Kennesaw Mountain Landis launched an investigation into the claims which were put forth by Swede Risberg, one of the eight players booted from the game for his role in the 1919 “Black Sox” scandal. Landis was unable to find any witnesses to corroborate Risberg’s claims and eventually dropped the investigation. BRING ON THE BLOTTER 1944: The White Sox picked up one of the great nicknames in their history when they purchased Floyd “The Blotter” Baker from the St. Louis Browns. Baker was the White Sox regular third baseman from 1947 to 1949 and earned his colorful monicker for his prowess around the bag. Dubbed “vastly underrated” by Rich Lindberg in “Total White Sox,” Baker led A.L. third basemen with a .977 fielding percentage in 1949. Not a bad hitter, Baker hit at least .264 in four of his five full seasons on the Southside. After seasons as a part-timer in 1950 and 1951, Baker was dealt to Washington for infielder Willie Miranda on Oct. 24, 1951.
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