While Anderson has never led off a game with a walk (in 70 plate appearances) aren’t a .483 on-base percentage or a .406 mark (which is his career output) hard to ignore?
Plus his power (Tuesday was his fourth career game-starting homer and third this season) and the prospects of a quick 1-0 lead are tempting.
*HE’S NO. 1: After serving as the Sox first batter, Anderson’s average as a leadoff hitter drops.
This season, he is batting .254 with a .276 on-base percentage overall in 29 starts as the Sox No. hitter this season. His career numbers in 70 starts there are .269 and .272.
*MORE TIM: Anderson is a .285 hitter (.287 on-base percentage) leading off innings in his career. … This season those numbers read .285 and .288.
*HIS TOP SPOT: Anderson’s best spot in the lineup is No. 7 where he is hitting .277 with a .295 on-base percentage there lifetime and .270/.291 this season.
*SOX ALMANAC, TODAY IN 1919, BABE’S BIG BLAST NOT ENOUGH: On this day in 1919, the White Sox overcame Babe Ruth’s tape measure blast in edging the Red Sox 7-6 at Comiskey Park.
Four innings after Ruth homered over the right field bleachers, Hap Felsch scored on Ray Schalk’s squeeze to end it.
Eight years later on this day, Babe hit the first roof shot homer at Comiskey Park.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY: The White Sox face the Dodgers’ Yu Darvish on his 31st birthday today.
This will mark the 51st time (since 1913) the Sox will face a starting pitcher on his birthday.
The Sox are 23-27 vs. starters celebrating a birthday.
The last time that happened was when the Sox lost to the Twins and Phil Hughes, celebrating his 29th bday, 6-1 on June 24, 2015 at U.S. Cellular Field.
The Sox last win over a birthday boy starting pitcher was on July 27, 2011. On that day in Chicago, the Sox and John Danks outdueled Max Scherzer, who was marking his 31st birthday.
*ON FIRE! Rookie Nicky Delmonico raised his average to .400 with three hits in Wednesday’s night’s win over Houston at Guaranteed Rate Field.
At this moment in time, Delmonico is the Sox all-time average leader among those with 25-or-more at bats.
I posted the above graphic on the Sox video board after Delmonico’s second at bat on Wednesday. There will be more tonight!
Behind Delmonico are Joe Hall .393 (28 at bats), John Russell .385 (26 at bats) and Clint Courtney .378 (37 at bats).
*SWEEP: The Sox are going for their fourth sweep of the Astros tonight.
The first?
GAMES ONE THROUGH FOUR OF THE 2005 WORLD SERIES!
*DOUBLE/HR: The emerging Kevan Smith executed a rarity in Tuesday night’s win.
The Pitt product, who once played quarterback for former Bears coach Dave Wannstedt, became the first Sox rookie catcher to double and homer in the same game since Miguel Olivo on May 1, 2003.
Others who have done this (since 1913): Josh Paul on Aug. 29, 2001; Ron Karkovice Oct. 2, 1986; Bill Nahorodny April 21 and June 2, 1978; Ed Herrmann June 4, 1969; Joe Tipton May 3, 1949 and Buck Crouse July 17, 1924.
*THANKS! A shout out to Kevin Luke @tvdirguy who pointed out that the White Sox Tyler Saladino and Astros pitcher James Hoyt, who squared Tuesday, were teammates at 2008 at Palomar (Calif.) College in 2008.
*1974, KAAT, ALLEN DERAIL RYAN EXPRESS: Lefty Jim Kaat bested Nolan Ryan, who carried a no-hitter into the ninth, in the White Sox 2-1 win over California before 11,636 at Comiskey Park.
Kaat’s only mistake was a second-inning home run ball to Frank Robinson.
The Sox made Kaat a winner in the ninth when Ken Henderson drove in Dick Allen with the tying run and Bill Sharp brought home B.B. Richard with the game-winner.
Allen ruined Ryan’s no-hitter with a one-out single in the ninth.
Kaat gave up six hits with three strikeouts in improving to 13-8. Kaat, who was 4-0 against California, was 21-13 in 1974.
Ryan struck out 13 in falling to 14-12.
More from this date …
*1910, NO. 1 SHUTOUT: Future Hall of Famer Ed Walsh fired a two-hitter in logging the first shutout at the Comiskey Park in the White Sox 4-0 win over Washington. The Sox tallied single runs in the second, third, sixth and eighth inning in improving to 38-58.
*1915, ODD POSITIONING: With Hall of Fame pitcher Walter Johnson in right field and Hall of Fame outfielder Sam Rice on the mound for the Senators, the White Sox prevailed 6-2 in Washington. The victory halted the Sox six-game losing streak.
*1916, PITCHER STEALS HOME! Pitcher Reb Russell swiped home and got the victory in the third inning of the first-place White Sox 7-1 win over Boston. Chicagoan Jack Ness fell a double shy of the cycle as the Sox banged out 13 hits.
*1925, TED TERRIFIC: Future Hall of Famer Ted Lyons twirled a three-hitter in outdueling fellow future Hall of Famer Red Ruffing in the White Sox 2-0 win in Boston. Lyons walked four and fanned one in improving to 16-6. Willie Kamm and Earl Sheely each drove in a run as the Sox won by shutout for the second straight day.
*1931, TOUGH RED: The legendary Red Faber surrendered five singles in blanking the Browns in the White Sox 2-0 win at Comiskey Park. The future Hall of Famer also doubled and scored as part of his sixth win.
*1935, I CAN NOT TELL A LIE … SOX WIN IN OT: Outfielder George Washington’s two-run single in the 10th handed the White Sox a 2-1 win in Cleveland. Washington’s hit scored Al Simmons and Zeke Bonura and helped the Sox survive Cleveland’s rally in the 10th.
*1956, DROPO THE HERO: Veteran Walt Dropo scored the winning run in the first game and drove in the game-winner in the nightcap as the White Sox swept a doubleheader from Kansas City with a pair of walkoff victories before 5,397 at Comiskey Park. In Game 1, Dropo scored on Jim Rivera’s 10th inning triple to give the White Sox a 5-4 win. In the nightcap, Dropo drove in Sherm Lollar with a 10th inning for a 4-3 Sox win. Prior to Game 2, the White Sox Dave Philley was ejected for continuing an argument with Red Flaherty that started in the opener.
*1960, WALKOFF SWEEP: The White Sox scored a pair of walkoff wins – and Gerry Staley was the victor in both contests — in sweeping a doubleheader from Washington before 25,843 at Comiskey Park. Gene Freese’s two-run homer in the ninth powered the Sox to a 9-7 win in the opener while Minnie Minoso’s single in the ninth got the Sox a 3-2 victory in the nightcap.
*1966, MOOSE SPARKS COMEBACK: Chicagoan Moose Skowron’s homer in the ninth tied it and Wayne Causey’s two-run triple in the 10th broke gave the Sox the lead in a 9-8 win at California. The Sox had to survive an Angel usprising in the 10th as Dennis Higgins came on to get the game’s final out for his third save.
*1981, BASEBALL IS BACK: The White Sox and Cubs battled to a scoreless tie before 27,048 in an exhibition game at Comiskey Park as baseball finally returned to Chicago after the game’s first protracted work stoppage. The game was the first in Chicago since June 11. The players went on strike June 12. The Sox gave away 10,000 batting helmets and staged a Sox-Cubs old-timers game before the exhibition. The teams also played the next day, this time at Wrigley Field.
*1990, NO. 1 FOR ALEX: Rookie Alex Fernandez notched his first Major League victory in the White Sox 5-3 win at Kansas City. Fernandez scattered nine hits in six innings. Bobby Thigpen, on course for a record-setting season, tossed the final 1.1 innings for this 36th save. The White Sox erased a two-run deficit with a three-run fifth behind a two-run single by Sammy Sosa and an RBI triple by Phil Bradley.
*1993, BLACK JACK DEALING: Future Cy Young winner Jack McDowell won his sixth consecutive start in the White Sox 6-4 win over the Angels before 42,535 at Comiskey Park. The Sox improved to 60-49 and increased their lead to 4.5 games in the AL West. Ron Karkovice homered twice for his 14th and 15th dingers of the season. McDowell (18-6) got help from Roberto Hernandez, who fanned Chad Curtis with the tying runs on base in the ninth inning for his 23rd save.
*1994, SPANKY GOES DEEP: Catcher Mike LaValliere’s first homer with the White Sox, a two-run shot in the ninth, forced extra innings in the White Sox 10-5 win in 12 innings over the Angels in Anaheim. Jose DeLeon fired 4.1 innings of scoreless relief to earn the victory. Frank Thomas drove in two runs in reaching the century mark for the fourth consecutive season.
*1999, NO. 300 FOR FRANK: Future Hall of Famer Frank Thomas’ 300th home run accounted for the White Sox only highlight in an 11-1 loss to the Athletics in Oakland. Thomas reached the milestone off Kevin Appier in the sixth inning. Thomas became the 84th player in big league history and the 16th active player to reach the 300-homer plateau. Thomas also joined Barry Bonds, Fred McGriff, Mark McGwire and Cal Ripken Jr. as the only active players with 300 home runs, 1,000 RBI and 1,000 walks.
*2001, NO. 100 FOR MAGGS: Right fielder Magglio Ordonez hit his 100th home run in a 9-3 loss at Anaheim. Ordonez’s blast, a solo shot, came in the ninth off Mark Lukasiewicz. Ordonez became the 10th player in White Sox history to reach the century mark in dingers. He reached the milestone in his 585th game with the White Sox. Only Frank Thomas hit 100 homers with the White Sox in fewer games. “Big Frank” clubbed his 100th homer in his 506th game.
*2005, FUTURE CHAMPS WIN: The future World Series champion White Sox got a two-run homer from Paul Konerko and a solo shot from Joe Crede in downing Seattle 3-1 before 35,706 at US Cellular Field. Jon Garland got his 16th win and Dustin Hermanson pitched a perfect ninth for his 28th save.
*2013, A WALKOFF TRIPLE! Outfielder Alejandro De Aza’s two-run triple in the 12th delivered the White Sox a 6-5 win over the Yankees before 25,707 at U.S. Cellular Field. The Yankees took the lead in the top of the frame when Dylan Axelrod yielded a homer to Robinson Cano. The walkoff triple was the Sox first since Lyle Mouton came through with the game-winner on May 22, 1996.
Mrs. SoxNerd and I rarely pay face value for any baseball tickets but Friday night we made an exception for one reason:
BARTOLO COLON.
And the old (age 44), fat guy did not disappoint.
Colon went the distance in the Twins 8-4 win over the Rangers before a pulling-for-Bartolo crowd of 22,272 at Target Field in Minneapolis.
This was vintage late Bart as opposed to early blazing fastball Bart.
Colon was crafty, economical with his pitches (all 106 of them!) and let his defense work for him.
Bart has always been a bit of a legendary figure in my baseball world because of the results he has produced with the 285-pounds his 5-foot-11 frame supports.
His “this is who I am and I don’t care what anyone thinks” attitude just adds to his legend.
If fact, whenever Colon would pitch for the Sox, my co-worker, who was once mocked for his beefy appearance in a Chicago newspaper, would exclaim, “You ever wanted to know what I would look like on a baseball field, it’s right there on the mound.”
The fact that he doesn’t look like he’s expending much energy is also just plain comical to me.
Kudos to Twins manager Paul Molitor, who had two singles in eight at bats in his career vs. Bart, for sticking with the right-hander until the joyous end on Friday night.
When Colon got his 27th out, thanks to a nifty play by first baseman Joe Mauer, he became the oldest Twins pitcher to go to the distance and the oldest pitcher to do so since 1992.
Friday’s outing also highlights another aspect of baseball I love: In every game, no matter the importance, something incredibly special can happen. It could be so unique it may have happened before or never will happen again.
More on Colon …
*IS BART THERE? The White Sox were having a difficult time finding Colon during “Big Sexy’s” second stint on the south side in 2009.
Manager Ozzie Guillen found the situation both frustrating and humorous.
“To talk to Colon, you’ve got to talk to 20 different people,” Guillen said. “You got to talk to 30 different cousins, and then to his agent, who talks to his brother, his brother call his wife, his wife say he’s with Pedro, Pedro say he’s with Juan. I guarantee you I’ll call [President Barack] Obama, and we’ll have a talk before Colon answers the phone. Obama will put me on hold for one second.”
*SOX TIME! Colon was 36 when he appeared in the last of his two one-season stints with the White Sox in 2009.
Nothing more than a fifth starter, Colon was 3-9 with a 4.19 ERA in 12 starts for the ’09 Sox in an injury-shortened campaign that ended in July.
His 2004 Sox campaign was more Bart-like: 15-13 with a 3.87 ERA and team-bests in starts (34), innings (242) and batters faced (984).
*OLD SOX CG: The last 40-year old to twirl a complete game for the Sox was 41-year old Danny Darwin, who went nine in a 1-0 loss to Baltimore (a Cal Ripken Jr. RBI) on April 17, 1997 at Comiskey Park.
By the way, Darwin started one game with fellow 40-year old Tony Pena as his batterymate for the Sox that season.
*OLD SOX CG WIN: The last 40-year old to go the distance and win for the Sox was 44-year old Charlie Hough in 1992.
On June 22, the knuckleballer and the Sox bested Boston 7-1 in 2 hours and 20 minutes before 32,967 at Comiskey Park.
That was one of four complete games Hough would throw that season.
*40! The last 40-year old to appear in a game for the White Sox was 44-year old Omar Vizquel in 2011.
*THE FIRSTS: Colon gave up four runs in five innings and survived a first-inning home run by Frank Thomas in winning his first start against the White Sox on Sept. 6, 1997 in Cleveland.
Eight days later, Colon yielded two runs in six innings in getting a no decision in his first start vs. the Sox in Chicago.
An eight-run Indians outburst, highlighted by Jim Thome’s 40th homer (off Al Levine) took Colon off the hook.
*THE LAST: Colon’s last appearance vs. the Sox was a five-hit complete game shutout for Oakland on May 31, 2013.
That upped Colon’s record to 11-8 and dipped his ERA to 3.81 in 23 career outings (all starts) vs. the Sox.
That 2013 gem may not be his final outing vs. the Sox. The Twins invade Chicago for a five-game set beginning Aug. 21.
What we have learned the last few days, @soxnerd style!
*CLEANING IT UP: Prior to Yoan Moncada’s arrival, it had been a while since the White Sox had a second baseman break on through to the cleanup spot.
Moncada is the first @whitesox second sacker to hit fourth since Jim Morrison — the slugger not the singer — batted there on June 20, 1980 against Detroit at Comiskey Park. Ed Farmer took the loss that day, by the way.
Moncada made his third Sox start at cleanup in Thursday’s series opener in Boston.
Speaking of Boston …
Moncada is the first Sox second baseman to start out of the fourth hole vs. Boston since fellow former Red Sox Mike Andrews on Aug. 22, 1972 at Comiskey Park.
The last time a Sox second baseman started at cleanup in Boston prior to Moncada on Thursday was Cass Michaels on May 5, 1950.
*A CONSTANT: This will mark the 117th consecutive season the White Sox will battle their red counterparts in Boston.
The first White Sox game in Boston was June 17, 1901 when the home team win the first game as part of a doubleheader split.
This is the 107th year in a row the White Sox are playing in Fenway Park.
Did you know the White Sox spoiled the formal dedication of Fenway Park. On May 17, 1912, among parades, pomp, circumstance and dignitaries, the White Sox prevailed 5-2 with winning pitcher Ed Walsh going 3-for-3. The White Sox used a four-run ninth to win.
*NO. 634: Rookie Nicky Delmonico became the 634th player to homer for the White Sox with his first career homer on Thursday.
And this from Nerd pal @ckamka …
Last 3 #WhiteSox whose first MLB HR came at Fenway Nicky Delmonico tonight Tim Anderson 6/21/2016 Greg Norton 9/14/1996
*MORE NICKY: On Tuesday, Delmonico became the first Sox player to make his big league debut batting fifth since @TheBigHurt_35 aka Frank Thomas did it on Aug. 2, 1990 in Milwaukee.
Here’s the list of recent Sox 5-hole @mlb debuts flashed on the Guaranteed Rate Field scoreboard that night.
*CLEANUP KEVAN: Moncada wasn’t the only Sox player hitting in rare air in the fourth hole recently.
On Wednesday, Kevan Smith was the first Sox catcher to cleanup since A.J. Pierzynski on Sept. 27, 2011 and the first right-handed hitter to do it since Carlton Fisk on Oct. 1, 1991.
Digging deeper, Smith was the first Sox rookie catcher to start at cleanup since Matt Merullo on July 2, 1991. In addition, Smith was the first right-handed hitting rookie catcher to start out of the fourth spot since John Romano on Sept. 12, 1959.
*BACK-TO-BACK CHAMPS: The recently-completed sets vs. the @cubs and @Indians marked the first time the Sox had played the defending league champs in consecutive series at home.
This was the second time and second year in a row the Sox played the reigning World Series teams in back-to-back series. In 2016, the Sox played at Kansas City May 27-29 before heading to New York to play the Mets May 30-June 1 in the MATT ALBERS SERIES.
Other seasons in which the Sox played both of the previous years World Series teams were 2003 (Giants and Angels), 2004 (Marlins and Yankees), 2008 (Rockies and Red Sox) and 2011 (Cardinals and Rangers).
*A HIT BY A PITCHER: Here’s what I excavated in the wake of pitcher Carlos Rodon’s two-run double on July 25 at Wrigley Field:
–Rodon’s two RBI were one more than Sox pitchers amassed between 2013 and July 24, 2017
–Rodon’s double was the first by a Sox pitcher since reliever Matt Albers‘ rocked the Big Apple on June 1, 2016
–Rodon’s two-bagger was the first by a Sox pitcher since Mark Buehrle on June 29, 2011
–Rodon’s double was the first by a Sox pitcher IN CHICAGO since fellow starter Stan Bahnsen victimized Texas’ Dan Stanhouse in the second game of a doubleheader on Aug. 4, 1972 at Comiskey Park.
–Prior to Rodon, the last Sox pitcher to log an RBI in the second inning was Philip Humber on June 16, 2012 at Dodger Stadium
Rodón has both #WhiteSox RBI . Last time Sox pitcher accounted for all of team's RBI? 7/27/2016 – Anthony Ranaudo solo HR (8-1 L at Wrigley)
*SIR PAUL: Sir Paul McCartney played two songs on July 25-26 at the the Hollywood Casino and Amphitheater and Casino that he and The Beatles played during their Aug. 20, 1965 day-night doubleheader at Comiskey Park: Can’t Buy Me Love and A Hard Day’s Night.
*NOTE: The Baseball Reference website and Play Index rocks!
*Prior to Swarzak, the last Sox pitcher other than David Robertson to save a game vs. the Cubs was Matt Lindstrom on May 5, 2014 at Wrigley Field.
*The Sox lead the all-time series with the Cubs, 58-51.
*The Sox won their first game as defending champs vs. the Cubs. On May 19, 2006, Mark Buehrle and the Sox, backed by a Jim Thome homer, dumped Greg Maddux and the Cubs 6-1 at Wrigley Field.
*Rick Renteria and Robin Ventura are the only Sox managers to win their debuts vs. the Cubs. … Terry Bevington, Jerry Manuel and Ozzie Guillen all dropped their first games vs. the Cubs.
*Statcast finally determined Matt Davidson’s homer went 476-feet with an exit velocity of 110 mph.
Bases-loaded triples have fascinated me for a long time now.
I don’t know if it’s because the play can be a game-changer or the triple is the most exciting play in baseball but something about this situation prompted me to start logging these incidents years ago.
The same is true for one-out saves and 1-0 White Sox victories (256 of them by the way!).
I have logged every White Sox bases-loaded triple digging as deeply as I can before the lack of information delayed me.
For those of you scoring at home, that is 1947!
With that being said (and with some always-sensational contributions from the great Chris Kamka at @ckamka), here’s a deep look inside Moncada’s bases-loaded triple Friday in Kansas City, which was his first big league hit:
–Moncada’s bases-loaded triple came in a Sox loss, which is a recent rarity. Prior to Friday, the Sox had won three in a row and five of their last six games in which they had a bases-loaded triple. … In the last 10 seasons, the Sox are 15-3 in games in which they had a bases-loaded triple
–Along those same lines, the Sox SHOULD NOT lose the next game in which they have a bases-loaded. Dating to 1947, the Sox have NEVER lost consecutive games when they have logged a bases-loaded triple
–Moncada’s bases-loaded triple was the first by a Sox sixth-place hitter since Jose Valentin on May 27, 2000 vs. Cleveland at Comiskey Park
Yoan Moncada: first #WhiteSox bases loaded triple since Yolmer Sanchez 6/25/2015
–Moncada’s bases-loaded triple was the first by a Sox player in Kansas City since Conor Gillaspie on Sept. 16, 2014
–Moncada’s bases-loaded triple padded the Sox lead, which is a rarity based on recent history. Prior to Moncada, the last two and five of the last six Sox bases-loaded triples had given the Sox the lead. The only one that padded a Sox lead in that span was Marcus Semien’s three-bagger at Texas on April 20, 2014
Last 2 players with bases loaded triple within 1st 3 games with #WhiteSox: Yoan Moncada (2nd game) 7/21/2017 José Abreu (3rd game) 4/3/2014
–Three of the last four Sox bases-loaded triples (and four of the last seven) have been by second basemen (Brent Lillibridge Aug. 1, 2010, Moncada, Sanchez and Semien).
–Friday was the Sox first bases-loaded triple by a second baseman in Kansas City since Ray Durham on April 15, 1996
–2016 broke a string of three seasons in which the Sox had had a bases-loaded triple. … That was the longest streak since a 10-year run from 1994 to 2003
–The Sox did not have a bases-loaded triple between June 30, 1986 (Ozzie Guillen) and May 17, 1992 (Steve Sax)
–Among the more obscures players to notch bases-loaded triples with the Sox are Liu Rodriguez, Tony Muser, Bob Spence, Matt Batts, Phil Masi, Bob Souchock and …
JIM McANANY!
–July 12, 1959 was the greatest day in the history of White Sox bases-loaded triples. In fact, it could be argued that day is the greatest day ever in the history of bases-loaded triples. On that day at Comiskey Park, Jim McAnany logged a bases-loaded triple in each game of a doubleheader!
Latest blog from the @SoxNerd …
