StatManDu Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 Editor's Note: Been busy at park since Friday ... Here is today's almanac plus highlights below from the days that I missed. ... For the complete date, see www.whitesoxalmanac.com. ... Hope everyone enjoyed the opener. THIS DATE IN WHITE SOX HISTORY: APRIL 8TH For more, see www.whitesoxalmanac.com SOX WAIVE BYE TO McLAIN 1963: The White Sox placed minor league pitcher Denny McLain on waivers. The Sox signed the future two-time Cy Young winner out of Chicago’s Mt. Carmel High School on Jan. 1, 1962. At age 18, the right-hander went 1-0 for Harlan of the Appalachian (Rookie) League and 4-7 for Clinton of the Class-A Midwest League in 1962. Under the rules of the day, the Sox were allowed to keep only one first-year bonus player. The Sox had to decide between fellow right-handed pitcher Bruce Howard and McLain. The Sox pitted the two against each other in an exhibition game. Howard was the winner and was assigned to Double-A Knoxville. McLain was placed on waivers and ultimately claimed by the Detroit Tigers where he embarked on a memorable journey which would include a 31-win season and plenty of controversy. SNOW, SNOW GO AWAY 1982: For the third consecutive time, the White Sox had their Opener postponed by snow. The Sox were scheduled to host the Boston Red Sox but a snowstorm wouldn't allow it. Three days later, the Sox finally opened 1982 with a doubleheader sweep at Yankee Stadium. THE FIRST OF 99 1983: After three losses, the “Winning Ugly” Sox finally posted their first victory of the season with a 6-3 triumph of Detroit before 51,350 at Tiger Stadium. The Sox broke a 3-3 tie with three in the seventh. Tony Bernazard’s RBI single gave the Sox the lead for good while Harold Baines and Greg Walker added insurance ribbies. Dennis Lamp started and got the win but Jerry Koosman was the pitching star. The veteran lefty tossed three shutout innings for the save. A LEGEND DEBUTS … WITH AN ‘L’ 1984: In his first start with the White Sox, future Hall of Famer Tom Seaver was tagged with the loss in a 7-3 Detroit win before 20,478 at Comiskey Park. THREE WINS IN FOUR TRIES 1988: Dan Pasqua drove in the winning run in the bottom of the ninth in the Sox 3-2 win over Seattle before 10,524 at Comiskey Park. The victory improved the Sox, who weren’t predicted to do much of anything this season, to 3-1 for their best start since the 1982 squad began 8-0. John Davis hurled two hitless innings of relief for his first win in a Sox uniform. SOX WRECK BALTIMORE BASH 1991: The White Sox spoiled the final Opening Day at Baltimore’s Memorial Stadium with a 9-1 trouncing of the Orioles before 50,213 disappointed onlookers. Sammy Sosa was the hitting star. He clubbed two roundtrippers in becoming the first Sox player to accomplish that feat in an Opening Day game since Minnie Minoso in 1960. Jack McDowell went the distance while striking out 10. It was the Sox first complete game in an Opener since 1976 when Wilbur Wood blanked the Royals on six hits. The Orioles were bound for Camden Yards next season. 2-FOR-2 IN ’92 1992: Robin Ventura's eighth-inning single scored Tim Raines with the go-ahead run in the Sox 4-3 win at California. Greg Hibbard earned the win with relief help from Bobby Thigpen as the Sox improved to 2-0. SOX STOMP TWINS 1993: Alex Fernandez fashioned eight strong innings and Tim Raines and Ron Karkovice each homered in the White Sox 9-4 win over the Twins in the Metrodome. Fernandez limited the Twins to two runs on five hits in his first start of the season. BIG CROWD, BAD RESULT 1994: A crowd of 42,890, the largest Opening Day crowd in New Comiskey Park history, watched the Boston RedSox rally by the White Sox for an 8-6 win. The Sox lost despite getting two homers from Tim Raines and one each from Julio Franco and Robin Ventura. WINNING STREAK REACHES FOUR 2000: The White Sox extended their winning streak to four by trampling the A’s 7-3 at Oakland. Frank Thomas’ three-run homer, his second of the year, gave the Sox some breathing room. Thomas finished with three hits boosting his career total to 1,577th which moved him past Luis Aparicio into sixth place on the Sox all-time list. Mike Sirotka earned his first win of the season. TRIUMPH OVER THE TRIBE 2003: The White Sox scored two in the top of the 10th on a Jose Valentin single and Frank Thomas sacrifice fly to beat host Cleveland 5-3 for their fourth consecutive victory. SOX POWER PAST TWINS 2005: Sixth-inning home runs by Paul Konerko and Aaron Rowand gave the White Sox the lead for good in a 5-1 win at Minnesota. Orlando Hernandez fired seven strong innings for the victory. THIS DATE IN WHITE SOX HISTORY: APRIL 7TH DH DEBUT 1973: Utilizing the new-fangled designated hitter, the White Sox opened the 1973 campaign by edging the Texas Rangers 3-1 in Arlington. A day after the Yankees’ Ron Blomberg became the first DH in history, Mike Andrews went 1-for-3 with a double in that role while hitting sixth for the Sox. Wilbur Wood went the distance and gave up four hits and an unearned run with six strikeouts in outdueling future Sox pitching coach Dick Bosman. Dick Allen homered and Eddie Leon and Carlos May also drove in runs for the Sox. O CANADA … THE SOX USHER IN BASEBALL IN TORONTO 1977: The White Sox inaugurated American League baseball in Canada by losing to the Toronto Blue Jays 9-5 before 44,649 who braved the snow and freezing temperatures at Exhibition Stadium. The White Sox Ralph Garr was the first American League batter in Canada and Sox announcer Harry Caray pulled a rare double in announcing both the inaugural National League game in Canada (with St. Louis vs. Montreal) and the first AL game in the Great White North. For the record, Garr scored the first American League run on foreign soil when he crossed on the first American League homer on foreign soil – a blast by Richie Zisk, who was making his White Sox debut. Also, Ken Brett took the loss while ex-Sox pitcher Pete Vuckovich was the winner. ... The Sox also signed veteran knuckleballer and author Jim Bouton on this day. He pitched in the team's farm systembefore being released on June 1. BLOMBERG BEGINS WITH A BANG 1978: The White Sox treated an Opening Day crowd of 50,754 at Comiskey Park to a dramatic 6-5 win over the Boston Red Sox. The White Sox trailed by one heading into the ninth but Ron Blomberg, making his White Sox debut, tied the game with a home run off Dick Drago. Chet Lemon followed with a single and scored one out later when Wayne Nordhagen’s bloop double fell between three fielders. Lerrin LaGrow got the win with two shutout innings in relief of starter Steve Stone. MORRIS NO-HITS THE SOX 1984: Jack Morris fired what turned out to be the final no-hitter at Old Comiskey Park in the Detroit Tigers’ 4-0 win over the White Sox in the season’s third game. Morris tossed the “no-no” before 24,616 on the South Side and on national television. Morris walked six but he struck out eight in helping the Tigers win their fourth straight in a streak that would reach nine. ONE LAST BOMB FOR PUDGE 1993: On his first swing of the season, Carlton Fisk launched the final home run of his Hall of Fame career. The blast, the 376th of Fisk’s career, came off Jim Deshaies in the third inning of the Sox 6-1 loss at Minnesota. AIR JORDAN DELIVERS 1994: The White Sox and Michael Jordan fought the Cubs to a 4-4 tie in an exhibition game before 37,825 at Wrigley Field. Jordan started in right field and went 2-for-5 with a double and two RBIs as the Sox remained unbeaten against the Cubs since the resumption of the crosstown rivalry in 1984. Jordan touched relievers Dave Otto and Chuck Crim for hits but was also charged with an error in right field. WIN NO. 1 FOR OZZIE 2004: After a crushing loss to start the season, theWhite Sox got Ozzie Guillen his first win as manager with a 4-3 triumph at Kansas City. Miguel Olivo, Carlos Lee and Magglio Ordonez all homered in support of winning pitcher Esteban Loaiza, who pitched into the seventh inning. In his first plate appearance of the season, Frank Thomas fouled off 13 pitches, including 12 in a row, before drawing a walk in the first inning. THIS DATE IN WHITE SOX HISTORY: APRIL 6TH A BIG FOURTH DOES IT 1993: A six-run fourth carried the eventual American League West champion White Sox to an easy 10-6 win over the Minnesota Twins in the season-opener at the Metrodome. The Sox entered the frame trailing by one but a double by Lance Johnson tied the game and a sac fly by Ozzie Guillen put the Sox ahead to stay. Tim Raines’ three-run homer added to the lead and Joey Cora capped the scoring when he crossed on a wild pitch. The six-run outburst was the Sox largest on Opening Day since they dropped a seven-spot on the St. Louis Browns in a 17-3 win in the 1951 curtain-raiser at Sportsman’s Park. A GRAND DAY FOR ROBIN 1994: Robin Ventura socked two homers, including a grand slam, in powering the White Sox to a 9-2 win over the Blue Jays at SkyDome in Toronto. Ventura's grand slam, which came in the seventh, was the fifth of his career, tying the Sox all-time record. NAVARRO Ks 11 1997: Tony Phillips led off the White Sox first with a homer and Jaime Navarro fanned a career-high 11 batters in a 5-3 windy win over the Detroit Tigers before 19,259 at Comiskey Park. Navarro fired seven shutout innings in notching his first victory with the White Sox. Winds gusting to 43 mph ripped a sign off the scoreboard in the third, prompting a seven-minute delay and causing much consternation in the Scoreboard Control Room high above Comiskey Park. TWO TOUCHDOWNS ENOUGH 2002: The White Sox scored four runs in the first inning en route to a 14-0 win at Kansas City. A 16-hit attack fueled the White Sox most lopsided shutout victory since a 17-0 win at Cleveland July 5, 1987. Magglio Ordonez and Sandy Alomar Jr. homered and Paul Konerko doubled twice and drove in three as the Sox improved to 2-3. Mark Buehrle (2-0) dropped his lifetime ERA to 1.80 against Kansas City by tossing six shutout innings with four strikeouts. SOME OF THAT ’05 MAGIC 2005: The White Sox improved to 2-0 with an improbable 4-3 win over the Indians before 10,520 at US Cellular Field. Trailing 3-0 heading into the ninth, the Sox scored four times to win it. Juan Uribe’s sacrifice fly was the game-winner and came after a two-run homer by Paul Konerko and a game-tying solo shot by Jermaine Dye. The victory went to Damaso Marte and marked the first time the White Sox started 2-0 since 1999. THIS DATE IN WHITE SOX HISTORY: APRIL 5TH NOT A GOOD DEAL 1960: In one of the worst trades in team history, the White Sox acquired slugging first baseman Roy Sievers from the Washington Senators for catcher Earl Battey, infielder Don Mincher and $150,000. Sievers, who led the American League with 42 homers and 114 RBIs for the 1957 Senators, hit .295 with a team-high 28 homers and 93 RBIs for the 1960 White Sox. The 29 homers were the most by a Sox player in nine years and tied for the third-highest output in franchise history. Battey and Mincher were considered prospects at the time and blossomed into productive Major Leaguers in the 1960s. This swap did not turn out so well for the good guys. In the first printing of “The White Sox Encyclopedia,” Rich Lindberg labeled this the sixth-worst trade in franchise history. A WEIRD BEGINNING 1974: Nolan Ryan bested Wilbur Wood before 30,041 on Opening Day at Comiskey Park. Ryan got the win in the Angels’ 8-2 victory. Ryan, coming of his record-setting 383-strikeout campaign of 1973, fanned just four and walked 10. The Angels broke the game open with a five-run eighth off Terry Forster. The Opener’s sideshows may have been more interesting than the game. In the stands, there was a strolling stripper, many streakers and a bevy of fights. “Did all that really happen?” Sox manager Chuck Tanner asked afterwards. “I didn’t see any of it. ... What causes people to act like that?” BO KNOWS SURGERY 1992: Bo Jackson underwent reconstructive hip surgery, thus setting the stage for one of the great comebacks in baseball history. Despite the painful hip, Jackson went 4-for-7 (.571) with three RBI in three spring training games. After the surgery, Jackson was placed on the disabled list and then placed on the emergency disabled list on Aug. 6. After rehab, Jackson capped his comeback the following April when the first swing of his return resulted in a home run. … Also on this date, the White Sox signed right-handed side-winding reliever Terry Leach as a free agent. Leach went on to have a stellar year out of the bullpen especially at Comiskey Park. The 38-year old Leach went 6-5 with a 1.95 ERA in 51 outings for the 1995 White Sox. At Comiskey Park, Leach was 3-0 with an 0.84 ERA. CLOSING THE CENTURY ON OPENERS 1999: The White Sox captured their final Opening Day game of the 20th Century by toppling the Seattle Mariners 8-2 at the Kingdome. Darrin Jackson’s two-run homer in the fifth inning gave the White Sox the lead for good. James Baldwin got the win in improving his lifetime record to 10-0 in domes. Frank Thomas clubbed two doubles giving him 579 extra-base hits which moved him past Harold Baines into third place on the Sox all-time list. Paul Konerko made his White Sox debut a successful one, homering off Jeff Fassero in the sixth inning. THAT WIN HURT 2007: The White Sox picked up their first win of the season in painful fashion with a 4-3 decision over Cleveland before 24,141 at US Cellular Field. AJ Pierzynski was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to force Rob Mackowiak home with the winning run in the ninth inning. According to whitesoxalmanac.com research, the walkoff win via the HBP was the White Sox first since Sept. 2, 1966 when Tommie Agee was plunked by a Stu Miller pitch to give the Sox a 9-8 win over the Baltimore Orioles. Incidentally, Dennis Higgins was the winning pitcher. Joe Crede, Higgins’ cousin, was 1-for-2 with two walks in the win over Cleveland which improved the Sox to 1-2. THIS DATE IN WHITE SOX HISTORY: APRIL 4TH BAD START FOR A GOOD TEAM 1983: The eventual American League West champion White Sox scored three in the first inning but couldn’t hold on in falling to the Texas Rangers 5-3 in the season-opener at Texas. The Sox scored in the first when Greg Luzinski was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, Greg Walker drove home a run with a fielder’s choice and Carlton Fisk plated a run with a single. The Rangers got two in the bottom of the first and then took command with single runs in the sixth, seventh andeighth innings. LaMarr Hoyt took the loss. DEBUT DAY A DANDY 1988: It was a day of debuts at Comiskey Park. The 1988 White Sox debuted with an 8-5 win over the California Angels before a sundrenched crowd of 35,899 on the Southside. Kenny Williams, making his debut at third base, went 2-for-3 with a homer and three RBI; Lance Johnson, making his White Sox debut, had a single, run and RBI and Ricky Horton, also making his White Sox debut, was the winning pitcher. OLD BATTERY CHARGES SOX 1989: The White Sox opened their 89th season by downing the California Angels 9-2 inAnaheim. Winning pitcher Jerry Reuss and Carlton Fisk formed the oldest Opening Day battery in Major League history. Their combined age of 81 years (Fisk 41, Reuss 39) and 22 days surpassed Johnny Niggling and Rick Ferrell of the 1944 Washington Senators. The Washington duo was “only” a combined 79 years and 3 days old. After Devon White homered in the first, Reuss did not allow a run. Meanwhile, the Sox cruised behind home runs from Fisk and Harold Baines. After Baines homered in the ninth, Angel reliever Bob McClure plunked Ivan Calderon, who charged the mound setting off a bench-clearing melee. THE FIRST OF 21 2003: Esteban Loaiza foreshadowed his stellar 2003 campaign in getting the victory in the White Sox 5-2 win over the Detroit Tigers before 40,395 in the U.S. Cellular Field opener. Loaiza gave up two runs on three hits while walking three and striking out five to get the first of his 21 victories. Loaiza’s only mistake was yielding a two-run homer to Eric Munson in the fifth. Gary Glover helped out Loaiza with 1.1 perfect innings of relief and Billy Koch struck out the side in the ninth for his first White Sox save. THE FIRST OF 110 2005: The White Sox opened their World Championship season by defeating the Cleveland Indians 1-0 before 38,141 at US Cellular Field. Mark Buehrle got the win with eight strong innings while Shingo Takatsu earned the save. The Sox scored the game’s only run in the seventh when PaulKonerko doubled and scored on Aaron Rowand’s RBI. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 Wow, we were that close to having Denny McClain? Wow how history would have been different with him on that late 60's pitching staff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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