COUNTDOWN TO WHITE SOX OPENING DAY: 97 DAYS

97 days until Opening Day White Sox fans!

2020 marks anniversary No. 97 of the White Sox 1923 opener — a 6-5 loss at Cleveland.

While the game was a heartbreaker with the Indians winning on a walkoff, it did mark the first of Willie Kamm’s club-record nine Opening Day starts at third base.

In his big league debut, the 23-year old San Franciscan was 1-for-4 with a double while batting sixth.

Thus began the career of arguably the greatest fielding third baseman in Sox history. Kamm led AL third baseman in many defensive categories — most notably fielding percentage from 1924-29 and 1933-34 — in Sox flannels.

Kamm played 1,171 games in nine seasons for the Sox. He hit .279 with 25 homers and 588 RBI before being traded to Cleveland for Lew Fonseca on May 17, 1931.

While Melton, Ventura and Crede have overshadowed Kamm, he was recognized as the third baseman on the Sox all-time team, which was released in 1969 after a nationwide survey by Major League Baseball.

COUNTDOWN TO WHITE SOX OPENING DAY: 98 DAYS

98 days until Opening Day, White Sox fans!

2020 is the anniversary No. 98 of the White Sox 1922 Opening Day which is part of a battery-charged quirky nugget.

In that 3-2 loss to the St. Louis Browns, the Sox battery — catcher Ray Schalk and pitcher Red Faber — each had multi-hit games.

In the five Opening Day games a Sox pitcher has had a multi-hit game, his catcher has also had a multi-hit game in four of them.

How weird is that?

The only time a Sox catcher did not match his batterymate with an Opening Day multi-hit game was in 1951 when Billy Pierce went 2-for-5 and his catcher Phil Masi was only 1-for-4.

In addition to 1922, Sox pitchers and catchers each posted a multi-hit game in the 1908 (Doc White and Billy Sullivan), 1919 (Lefty Williams and Schalk) and 1962 (Juan Pizarro and Sherm Lollar) Openers.

COUNTDOWN TO WHITE SOX OPENING DAY: 99 DAYS

99 days until Opening Day, White Sox fans.

2020 will mark anniversary No. 99 of the White Sox 1921 home opener which was one for the dogs!

Prior to the game, the Sox received a new mascot from Russell Poole, the city food director.

The Airedale was named Kiwanis and “represents courage, loyalty and service,” the Tribune wrote.

Poole said that “you will love him and he will love you and cheer you on to victory.”

It worked that day as the Sox dumped the Tigers 5-3 before an estimated crowd of 25,000 at Comiskey Park.

It was one hail of a performance, too.

The White Sox were declared victors with two outs in the top of the eighth inning when Comiskey Park was pelted with a rain and hailstorm.

 

COUNTDOWN TO WHITE SOX OPENING DAY: 100 DAYS

100 days until Opening Day, White Sox fans!

2020 will mark anniversary No. 100 of the final Opening Day for star crossed Sox “Shoeless” Joe Jackson, Buck Weaver, Hap Felsch, Swede Risberg and Lefty Williams.

Those five plus Ed Cicotte, Fred McMullin and the departed Chick Gandil were given a lifetime ban from the game following the 1920 campaign for their involvement in the 1919 World Series scandal.

On April 15, 1920, the defending American League champion Sox defeated the Detroit Tigers 3-2 in 11 innings before 25,000 fans at Comiskey Park.

Some details from what the Chicago Tribune called “one of the most brilliant inaugurals Chicago ever witnessed.”

*Eddie Collins’ second double and third hit scored Weaver, who was 4-for-5, with the walkoff run in the 11th

*Jackson went 0-for-3 with a sac and a caught stealing batting fourth and playing left as the Sox opened their 20th official American League season

*Williams went the distance in his third Opening Day assignment

*The Tribune’s report on the game did tacitly mention the questionable 1919 World Series where the Sox “lost” to the Reds.

“(The fans in attendance) simply forgot all about the nasty rumors, the unexpected series defeats, the bum playing and all the other things and went back for more,” the Trib wrote.

*The game marked the debut of Comiskey Park’s increased ticket prices.

“The bleachers that in former years were filled with blue shirted working men at 25 a throw were packed with white collar fellows at four bits each, presumably unfortunates who have to work for a salary,” the Trib wrote.

100 days countdown 2019 https://soxnerd.wordpress.com/2018/12/18/countdown-to-white-sox-2019-opening-day-100-days/

LET THE COUNTDOWN

A FUN MARCH INTO SOX HISTORY

Along with making a long cold lonely off-season shorter, the early start to the 2020 White Sox season has me navigating in rarely-chartered territory.

I research and write the White Sox Almanacs (aka This Day In White Sox History) that are displayed during every game at Guaranteed Rate Field.

Here is a typical result of my research:

I have been doing this for at least 10 years so I have quite a catalog of information.

While I have some material on off-season dates, they obviously aren’t as “meaty” as the in-season dates.

Until 2018, late March dates fell in the off-season category so the Sox first series of the year needed a lot of attention.

After a deep dive, here are some of the more unique events from Sox history I unearthed from March 26, 27 (just in case of an Opening Day postponement), 28 and 29:

MARCH 26TH

*1911, WALSH IN THE WIND: Ed Walsh hurled five shutout innings and doubled as the White Sox won a shortened exhibition game 6-0 in Oklahoma City while battling a cyclonic sandstorm. Reports of the day had the Sox and “Mets” dodging real estate which was thrust at them by the wind before the game was halted after five innings

*1913, HOME WRECKERS: The White Sox spoiled the debut of the new stadium in Venice, Calif., with a 7-4 exhibition win over the Venice Tigers before a celebratory crowd of 5,000. Winning pitcher Frank Lange drove in two runs in a three-run fourth on the day Venice, “the Atlantic City of the west,” suspended business for the afternoon and closed schools in honor of the opening of the new park.

*1925, SOX TOP AN ODDITY: Leo Mangum and Dixie Leverett limited Louisiana Polytechnic Institute, which featured an ambidextrous pitcher, to two hits in a 7-0 win in an exhibition before 1,000 students in Ruston, La. The “switch-pitcher,” identified as Hein in press reports, wore a glove with two thumbs but threw mostly right-handed for his three innings.

*1927, BIG POWER IN BIG D: Bib Falk launched what was believed to be the longest home run in Steers Stadium in the White Sox 6-1 exhibition win in Dallas. The blast raised Falk’s preseason average to .450 with 10 of his hits going for extra bases.

*1952, I CAN NOT TELL A LIE: A HOMER: George Washington Wilson’s three-run homer in the eighth propelled the White Sox to an 8-5 exhibition win over Cleveland in Tucson, Ariz. Wilson, who hit 275 home runs in 16 minor league seasons but never played for the Sox, launched a massive roundtripper which scored Chico Carrasquel and Dixie Upright.

*1966, ONE OUT FROM A NO-NO: The White Sox came within one out of a combined no-hitter in a 1-0 exhibition win over the New York Mets in Sarasota, Fla. After Jack Lamabe threw five innings and Bruce Howard tossed three, Bob Locker got two outs before giving up a single to Ron Swoboda. John Romano jacked his spring average to .405 with an RBI single in the third.

*1989, BORGMANN POWER: Glenn Borgmann’s homer in the eighth powered the White Sox to a 1-0 win over the Yankees in a Grapefruit League game at Payne Park in Sarasota, Fla. Steve Trout threw eight sterling innings while Randy Scarbery got the save in the 1 hour and 50 minute game. The contest featured an intense shouting match between Sox manager Tony LaRussa and Yankees reliever Luis Tiant over Tiant’s pickoff move.

MARCH 27TH

*1913, SOX CHRISTEN OAKLAND PARK: The White Sox “B” team (known as “seconds” at the time) fell to Oakland 2-0 in the inaugural game at Oaks Ball Park. Kid Gleason had two of the five hits for the visiting Sox at the park, which would serve as the home of the minor league Oaks until 1955.

*1914, BIG DAY FOR EDDIE: Eddie Cicotte homered, doubled and went the distance for the win in the White Sox 14-4 victory over the Galveston Pirates in a hastily-arranged exhibition in Texas. Eddie Collins and Nemo Leibold each had three hits for the Sox who “were trying to get out at the finish so as to not miss their interurban car back to Houston for dinner,” according to press reports of the day.

*1946, AN IN-THE-PARK SLAM … BY A PITCHER! Pitcher Al Epperly’s in-the-park grand slam highlighted the White Sox 11-9 win over Pittsburgh in an exhibition game in El Centro, Calif. Epperly, who never pitched for the Sox in the regular season, hit his homer in the fifth to give the Sox an 11-2 lead.

MARCH 28TH

*1907, SUFFERING CATFISH!: White Sox ace Frank Smith got off the hook for a $1.50 fine when the ball he lost in the previous day’s game was extracted from the stomach of a 20-pound catfish. The fish was caught in the Pike River which flowed behind a stadium in Jackson, Miss., according to the Tribune.

*1933, GREGORY THE GREAT: Paul Gregory, tabbed “the second edition of Ted Lyons” by the Tribune, went the distance in the White Sox 3-0 exhibition win over the host Oakland Oaks. Gregory tossed a five-hitter in becoming the first Sox pitcher to go the distance in the spring. The righty out of Mississippi State never came close to realizing the Lyons-sized hype. He went 9-14 with a 4.72 ERA for the Sox in 1932 and 1933.

*1940, THE START OF A TRAGEDY: According to baseballlibrary.com, Sox second baseman Jackie Hayes caught a cinder in his eye during a 10-1 exhibition loss to the Cubs at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles. An infection ensued and Hayes, a top fielder, eventually lost sight in the eye. Hayes, who spent seven years with the Sox, played his final game on Aug. 29, 1940.

*1960, CHAMPIONSHIP BLING ARRIVES: Rings loaded with half carat diamonds commemorating their 1959 pennant were distributed to members of the White Sox in St. Petersburg, Fla. In addition to the players, club officials and long-time American League President Will Harridge were also recipients of the 40 rings.

MARCH 29TH

*1916, SHOELESS GOES DEEP: “Shoeless” Joe Jackson’s tape-measure homer -– his second blast of the game — helped the White Sox whip the Volunteers in an exhibition game before 3,000 in Weatherford, Texas. Jackson’s homer was so massive a police officer on a motorcycle was sent to retrieve it and the swing was so powerful it wrenched his back.

*1940, I LIKE MIKE: Mike Kreevich capped a huge game where he homered twice and tripled by scoring the winning run on Jimmy Webb’s single in the 10th in the White Sox 7-6 exhibition win over the Cubs in Tucson, Ariz. Kreevich’s steal in the 10th aided the rally as the Sox improved to 4-3 in the spring vs. the Cubs.

*1951, BUSBY BUSY MAKING A CASE: Rookie Jim Busby continued what would be a successful bid to make the roster with a two-run single, a decisive two-run homer and a bunt single in the White Sox 7-6 exhibition win over St. Louis in El Paso, Texas. Phil Masi added a homer as the Sox improved to 12-5 in the spring.

*1964, MINNIE MAKES THE TEAM: At age 41, Minnie Minoso made the White Sox roster for the third time in his career, according to a story in the Chicago Tribune. Minoso earned a spot on the team after being invited to spring training for a workout. Minoso, whose age for this season is listed at 38 by baseballreference.com, hit .226 with one homer and five RBI in 30 games before being released on July 17.

*1978, THAD IS RAD: Thad Bosley’s two-run single in the eighth got the Sox past Kansas City 3-2 in a Grapefruit League game before a record crowd of 5,112 in Fort Myers, Fla. Clay Carroll got the win while Steve Luebber, who spent 1978 at the Sox Triple-A Iowa affiliate, earned the save.

*1996, RECORD FOR ROBIN: Robin Ventura collected two RBI to tie the White Sox spring record with 20 in a 9-5 win over Montreal in Nashville, Tenn. Ventura, Ozzie Guillen, Frank Thomas and Ron Karkovice all homered as the Sox finished the spring 20-11.

*1998, BREAKING IN THE BANK: Frank Thomas had two hits as the White Sox closed out their inaugural spring training in Arizona by defeating the Diamondbacks 3-0 before 48,198 in the first game ever at Bank One Ballpark in Phoenix. With the retractable roof covering the $355 million facility, the Sox also got a run-scoring single from Mike Sirotka in finishing the spring 18-12.

*2002, CELEBRITY GUEST: With George and Barbara Bush in attendance, the White Sox used a three-run homer from Magglio Ordonez to top the Astros 5-0 in an exhibition game at Houston’s Minute Maid Park. The next time the former First Couple would watch a Sox game was Game 4 of the 2005 World Series.

TODAY IN SOX HISTORY: BYE BYE MINNIE, HELLO JERRY

A look at what happened on this date in White Sox history:

*1949, SOX PART WAYS WITH HAYES: In what must have been a gut-wrenching decision, the Sox cut ties with Jackie Hayes. The 34-year-old second baseman, who was overtaken by blindness during the season. His affliction started as an inflammation in spring training but worsened quickly and ultimately led to total blindness. A fan favorite, Hayes remained popular well after his retirement and received a touching tribute at Comiskey Park a decade after leaving the game.

*1957, A WYNN-ING DEAL: The White Sox acquired pitcher Early Wynn and outfielder Al Smith from Cleveland for popular outfielder Minnie Minoso and infielder Fred Hatfield. Wynn, a future Hall of Famer, went on to become the ace of the staff that helped the White Sox win the 1959 pennant. The deal cost the beloved Minoso a shot at the postseason but owner Bill Veeck awarded the “Cuban Comet” an honorary ring when he was re-acquired following the 1959 season. 

*1979, WALKER ARRIVES: In one of the most underrated moves in club history, the Sox picked up Greg Walker from Philadelphia in the Rule V Draft. For just a few thousand dollars, the Sox received a sweet-swinging first baseman who was a regular in the mid- and late 1980s.

*1990, A KING-SIZED SWAP: In his first swap as White Sox general manager, Ron Schueler sent pitchers Eric King and Shawn Hillegas to Cleveland for outfielder Cory Snyder. Schuler was hoping Snyder would give the Sox from sorely needed pop but Snyder proved to be a huge disappointment. After hitting just three homers (one that was helped over the fence by Luis Polonia) in 50 games, Snyder was shipped to Toronto for a pair of minor leaguers the following July

*1997, THE SOX PICKUP A MANUEL: The White Sox hired Jerry Manuel as manager. Manuel joined the Sox after serving as the bench coach for the World Champion 1997 Florida Marlins. Prior to that, Manuel served as the third base coach for the Montreal Expos from 1991 to 1996. The laid-back Manuel, who replaced the bombastic Terry Bevington, went 500-471 in six seasons on the Sox bench. The highlight of Manuel’s tenure came in 2000 when he guided the Sox to the American League Central Division title. Following the season, he was voted A.L. Manager of the Year. Manuel ranks fourth in club history in victories.

 

ANALYZING GRANDAL … @SOXNERD STYLE

Here’s a look — @SoxNerd style — at recent White Sox signee Yasmani Grandal:

NEW GUY!

—Grandal is on track to be the Sox Opening Day catcher.

This will mark the sixth consecutive season the Sox have started a different catcher on Opening Day (James McCann, Welington Castillo, Omar Narvaez, Dioner Navarro and Tyler Flowers).

Flowers, in 2013 and 2014, was the last catcher to start back-to-back Openers for the Sox.

The last time the Sox started different catchers in six Openers in a row was from 1974 to 1979 with Ed Herrmann, Brian Downing, Pete Varney, Downing, Wayne Nordhagen and Marv Foley.

The last time the Sox started six different catchers with no repeats in at least six consecutive Opening Days was between 1927 and 1935 with Ray Schalk, Moe Berg, Chick Autry, Johnny Riddle, Bennie Tate, Frank Grube, Charlie Berry, Merv Shea and Luke Sewell.

HE’S NO. 8!

—MLB.com has Grandal wearing No. 8 for the Sox.

If that holds, Grandal will be the first Sox player to don that number since Alex Cintron in 2007 and the first catcher to wear it since Miguel Olivo in 2004.

… AND IT FEELS SO GOOD

—Grandal will be reunited with manager Rick Renteria as a member of the White Sox.

The two were together in San Diego in 2012 and 2013 when Renteria was a bench coach for Grandal’s first two big league campaigns.

SMALL CLUB

—Grandal will join Adrian Nieto (2014) and Nelson Santovenia (1992) as the only Cubans to catch for the Sox.

POWER SURGE

—Grandal hit a career-high 28 homers for the Brewers last season.

The only Sox catcher to surpass that number was Carlton Fisk, who set the club mark for the position with 37 homers in 1985

GETTING ON

—Grandal posted a .380 on-base percentage in 2019.

The only Sox qualifying catchers with higher OBPs: Sherm Lollar 383 in 1956 and Ray Schalk .382 in 1925

HE’S NO. 1

—Grandal’s 141 home runs are the most among big league catchers born in Cuba

CUBAN CONNECTION

—The Grandal signing means four of the top nine Cuban home run hitters play or have played for the Sox.

Grandal is ninth while Jose Abreu is seventh with 171, Minnie Minoso is sixth with 186 and Jose Canseco is second at 462.

Rafael Palmeiro tops this list at 559.

Digging deeper, Alexei Ramirez is 13th with 115 and Yonder Alonso is 15th with 100 so six of the top 15 Cuban home run hitters of all-time have Sox ties.

FYI, Yoan Moncada and his 50 homers are 31st on this list.

WINDY CITY SHUTOUT

—Grandal has never homered in Chicago (23 games at Wrigley, two games at Guaranteed Rate Field)

BY POSITION

—Grandal has played 768 games at catcher, 70 at first base and two at designated hitter.

ALL-STAR REPORT

—Grandal is 0-for-2 in his two All-Star appearances.

In 2019, he was struck out by Aroldis Chapman to end the game in Cleveland.

The catcher who gloved strike three?

James McCann!

—Brewer All-Stars to play for the Sox: Grandal and Carlos Lee.

—Padre All-Stars to play for the Sox: Grandal, Jake Peavy, Roberto Alomar, LaMarr Hoyt and Rich Gossage.

PLAYOFFS!

—Grandal has slashed .115/.274/.244 in 33 postseason games while appearing in the playoffs in each of the last five seasons.

Twelve players have joined the Sox with more postseason games than Grandal.

They are Manny Ramirez at 111, Andruw Jones at 75, Jon Jay at 67, Roberto Alomar at 58, Omar Vizquel at 57, Jim Thome at 55, Jimmy Rollins at 50, Sandy Alomar Jr. at 49, Kenny Lofton at 48, Austin Jackson at 40, Moose Skowron at 39 and Alex Avila at 34.

SOUTH SIDE!

—Grandal was 0-for-5 in his only two games at Guaranteed Rate Field.

Pinch-hitter Grandal lined out off Chris Sale to Ramirez at shortstop in his GRF (then known as US Cellular Field) debut for the second out in the ninth of a 4-1 win over the Padres before 23,185 fans on June 1, 2014.

Sale got the next batter looking for his ninth strikeout to finish off the two-hitter.

On July 18, 2017, Grandal was 0-for-5 with a strikeout (by Dan Jennings) as the starting catcher in the Dodgers 1-0 win before 23,088 at GRF.

Grandal was on the receiving end of seven brilliant innings from winning pitcher Clayton Kershaw (seven hits, seven strikeouts) and one each from Pedro Baez and Kenley Jansen (24th save).

Defensively, Grandal was 0-for-1 vs. Sox stealers (Tim Anderson) and was charged with an error on catcher’s interference when Kevan Smith reached in the second.

ON THE DEFENSIVE!

—Speaking of defense, Grandal has been at or above the league average in percentage of runners caught stealing in each of the last five seasons.

On the downside, Grandal led the National League in passed balls in 2014, 2016 and 2017.

FAMILIAR FACE

—I bet you thought you were through hearing about … Odrisamer Despaigne.

Not so fast!

The Cuban right-hander is the only pitcher on the Sox 2019 roster Grandal caught.

Despaigne posted a 2.74 ERA in 12 games with Grandal behind the plate for the 2014 Padres.

With Grandal guiding him, Despaigne opponents slashed .221/.302/.308 in 302 plate appearances.

AND FINALLY … YAZ!

—Grandal will be the first YAZ to play for the Sox since farmhand Mike Yastrzemski, the son of Carl, scored the go-ahead run as a pinch-runner on game MVP Bobby Bonilla’s double in a 3-0 exhibition win over the Cubs on May 19, 1986 at Wrigley Field