StatManDu Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 THIS DATE IN WHITE SOX HISTORY: FEBRUARY 12TH FISK IS FREE 1981: An arbitrator declared Carlton Fisk a free agent paving “Pudge’s” way to sign with the White Sox. Arbitrator Raymond Goetz upheld the Players’ Association’s claim that Fisk should be free based on the fact that the Red Sox mailed the All-Star catcher his contract two days after the Dec. 20 deadline. This set in motion the White Sox’s pursuit of Fisk, which would culminate with his signing March 10. HAMMAKER SIGNS 1992: The White Sox signed the pitcher who gave up arguably the most famous home run in All-Star Game history when they inked Atlee Hammaker to a minor league contract. Along with the contract, the Sox gave the left-hander a non-roster invitation to spring training. Hammaker was in the middle of the best season of his career in 1983 and earned a spot on the National League All-Star for the Mid-Summer Classic at Comiskey Park. He entered the game in the third inning and gave up a home run to Jim Rice. Three batters later, he gave up another run. Five batters after that, Hammaker served up the first grand slam in All-Star Game history to Fred Lynn. When the smoke from the Comiskey Park scoreboard fireworks had cleared, Hammaker had given up seven runs on six hits in just two-thirds of an inning. Hammaker did lead the N.L. with a 2.25 ERA in 1983 but, aside from his injury-shortened season of 1984, he never had another winning campaign in the big leagues. Hammaker’s stint with the Sox didn’t last long. He was released on March 18. After sitting out the 1992 and 1993 seasons, the Sox gave Hammaker another chance. He signed with the Sox on April 12, 1994 and joined the team after going 3-1 with a 2.49 ERA in 44 relief outings with Double-A Birmingham and Triple-A Nashville. Hammaker got into two games for the 1994 Sox but had the misfortune of joining the team in early August right before the work stoppage which ended the season. The Sox brought Hammaker back for the 1995 campaign but released him after he posted a 12.79 ERA in 13 outings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knightni Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 The '83 A.S. game was one of the first I watched because it was at Comiskey. Ron Kittle was on that team IIRC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.