March 26, 200818 yr http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story...whitesox/080226 1993 White Sox: The Big Hurt, the strike and the white flag By Jonah Keri You could forgive the White Sox and their fans for getting excited. The team hadn't won a World Series in 76 years. It hadn't won a pennant since the Go-Go White Sox of 34 years earlier, with that team the only pennant winner since the Black Sox scandal of 1919. Only once in the 24 years since baseball's 1969 expansion had the franchise claimed a division title. So when the Pale Hose finally broke through with a 94-win season and an AL West crown in 1993, the South Side was pumped. MORE...
March 26, 200818 yr QUOTE(greasywheels121 @ Mar 26, 2008 -> 06:51 PM) http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story...whitesox/080226 i have a feeling i'm not going to like that story.
March 26, 200818 yr It was a good read. For me it doesn't hurt as much as it used to since the Sox have a World Series now. What hurts the most for me is the strike of '94 still. I was too young to understand why they'd not want to play a fun game like baseball.
March 26, 200818 yr 1994 sucked. We lose to Toronto in 1993 who end up winning the WS, and were even better in 1994, ugh. Thomas wound up having the best year of his career and one of the best seasons by a hitter in the history of the game: .353/.487/.729, with Nintendo-like totals of 38 homers, 101 RBIs and 106 runs scored in just 113 games, winning his second straight MVP award. Edited March 26, 200818 yr by RME JICO
March 26, 200818 yr Author QUOTE(RME JICO @ Mar 26, 2008 -> 03:04 PM) 1994 sucked. I really wish we could have seen that play out; who knows what those numbers would have looked like with almost 50 more games.
March 26, 200818 yr That 1994 team was fantastic....probably better than the 2005 Sox, but that's an argument I'm not sure I want to start! I remember sitting in a hotel with my Dad in to visit during my freshman year of college to watch the 1993 playoffs (yep, old guy alert). One argument I will start is that these "failed dynasties" are great examples of why the game is played on a diamond, not on paper. All those teams were supposed to be transcendent...and look what happened. Things can go wrong in a hurry.
March 26, 200818 yr The only reason I wish I were 10 years older is so that I could see Frank Thomas hit in his prime.
March 26, 200818 yr I remember having fourth row seats behind homeplate for one of the ALCS games in '93. Damn shame we couldn't do more that year, but 2005 more than eases the pain.
March 26, 200818 yr QUOTE(greasywheels121 @ Mar 26, 2008 -> 01:06 PM) I really wish we could have seen that play out; who knows what those numbers would have looked like with almost 50 more games. keeping that average over 162 games.... 54 hrs (at the time it happened , would have been 6th best single season total of all time) 144 RBis 151 runs 156 Walks (at the time it happened , would have been tied for the 4th best single season total of all time)
March 26, 200818 yr QUOTE(rangercal @ Mar 26, 2008 -> 03:25 PM) keeping that average over 162 games.... 54 hrs (at the time it happened , would have been 6th best single season total of all time) 144 RBis 151 runs 156 Walks (at the time it happened , would have been tied for the 4th best single season total of all time) Thats why I idolized this guy growing up. Seriously, he was insane.
March 26, 200818 yr QUOTE(TitoMB345 @ Mar 26, 2008 -> 03:46 PM) Thats why I idolized this guy growing up. Seriously, he was insane. Him and Griffey, yeah. I was obsessed with them as a kid. 1994 really did a lot of damage to me as a baseball fan and I never really fully recovered until 2005.
March 26, 200818 yr QUOTE(lostfan @ Mar 26, 2008 -> 03:56 PM) Him and Griffey, yeah. I was obsessed with them as a kid. 1994 really did a lot of damage to me as a baseball fan and I never really fully recovered until 2005. I didn't really follow baseball (since I was only 6) but I definitely followed Thomas. I always wore his number and wanted to be just like him.
March 26, 200818 yr I love reading about that team, Frank especially. He was a man among boys in his prime. I can't wait to see him get into the Hall wearing a Sox hat.
March 26, 200818 yr QUOTE(TitoMB345 @ Mar 26, 2008 -> 03:58 PM) I didn't really follow baseball (since I was only 6) but I definitely followed Thomas. I always wore his number and wanted to be just like him. In that year I was 12, Frank was my favorite player by default because he was a Sox. I remember a season when Frank was chasing .400 for a little while, it was ridiculous. But in Little League I tried to teach myself to bat left-handed so I could have a stance and swing like Griffey. It's a lot harder than it looks. I was also into the Cubs a little bit around that time, I don't think I completely chose sides until '93 or '94. So I liked Sandberg, Grace, and Dawson a lot too at the beginning of the '90s.
March 26, 200818 yr QUOTE(BaseballNick @ Mar 26, 2008 -> 04:01 PM) I love reading about that team, Frank especially. He was a man among boys in his prime. I can't wait to see him get into the Hall wearing a Sox hat. True or false: Frank Thomas has had one year in his entire career in which his OPS+ was sub-100? Here's a hint, its not false What a stud.
March 26, 200818 yr QUOTE(rangercal @ Mar 26, 2008 -> 01:25 PM) keeping that average over 162 games.... 54 hrs (at the time it happened , would have been 6th best single season total of all time) 144 RBis 151 runs 156 Walks (at the time it happened , would have been tied for the 4th best single season total of all time) Not to mention the .350BA .700+ SLG and 1.200+ OPS he was sporting at the time 1994...such a shame
March 26, 200818 yr The only cub I ever liked was because he was so under appreciated, by drunken idiot cubs fans, jacque jones. Its not like he was a super star, but I hated that they would actually boo their own player while he was trying to bat.
March 26, 200818 yr QUOTE(TitoMB345 @ Mar 26, 2008 -> 03:04 PM) Here's a hint, its not false Haha, I didn't think it was.
March 26, 200818 yr You know, the Sox(Reinsdorf particularly) take a shot in this article for being hypocritical for letting Fernandez walk and signing Albert Belle, but Fernandez' arm completely fell apart after the 97 season, he didnt even pitch in the World Series IIRC, and he only pitched in 64 games from 1997 until he retired after 2000. And that is including taking off the 98 season to recover. However, the return value for McDowell and Raines was inexcusable, I have no idea what Schueler was thinking
March 26, 200818 yr That was a great read and man was that loss to Toronto heartbreaking. I was also at game six with the rally socks when toronto won and celebrated on our field. I was 11 years old at the time but still remember it pretty clear. That season and BIG FRANK are the main reasons why I'm still a Sox fan today.
March 26, 200818 yr Bonds is the only player I've ever seen who was similar...of course, given what we know is true with the late 90s sluggers, Frank should be seen as that much more dominant. Just pure talent. Man, the number of times I'd cheer to myself for Frank to come through with a big fly and sure enough, he would...including his first game back at US Cellular with the A's.
March 26, 200818 yr But ESPN has said in the past that the Yanks were gonna go to the series, not us.
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