StatManDu

Statement by the President on the Passing of Minnie Minoso For South Siders and Sox fans all across the country, including me, Minnie Minoso is and will always be “Mr. White Sox.” The first black Major Leaguer in Chicago, Minnie came to the United States from Cuba even though he could have made more money elsewhere. He came up through the Negro Leagues, and didn’t speak much English at first. And as he helped to integrate baseball in the 1950s, he was a target of racial slurs from fans and opponents, sometimes forced to stay in different motels from his teammates. But his speed, his power – and his resilient optimism – earned him multiple All-Star appearances and Gold Gloves in left field, and he became one of the most dominant and dynamic players of the 1950s. Minnie may have been passed over by the Baseball Hall of Fame during his lifetime, but for me and for generations of black and Latino young people, Minnie’s quintessentially American story embodies far more than a plaque ever could. Michelle and I send our thoughts and prayers to his family and fans in Chicago, Cleveland, and around the world.

Statement by the President on the Passing of Minnie Minoso For South Siders and Sox fans all across the country, including me, Minnie Minoso is and will always be “Mr. White Sox.” The first black Major Leaguer in Chicago, Minnie came to the United States from Cuba even though he could have made more money elsewhere. He came up through the Negro Leagues, and didn’t speak much English at first. And as he helped to integrate baseball in the 1950s, he was a target of racial slurs from fans and opponents, sometimes forced to stay in different motels from his teammates. But his speed, his power – and his resilient optimism – earned him multiple All-Star appearances and Gold Gloves in left field, and he became one of the most dominant and dynamic players of the 1950s. Minnie may have been passed over by the Baseball Hall of Fame during his lifetime, but for me and for generations of black and Latino young people, Minnie’s quintessentially American story embodies far more than a plaque ever could. Michelle and I send our thoughts and prayers to his family and fans in Chicago, Cleveland, and around the world.

THANKS! I am also @SoxNerd on the Twitter FYI

MAX SUKRONT: THE WHITE SOX FIRST FAT SIGNAL 1950: Before there was Bobby Jenks, there was Max Sukront. On this date, the White Sox demoted portly pitcher Max Sukront, who – like Jenks -- was summoned from the bullpen by a manager using the “wide” sign. Sukront, listed by baseballreference.com at 6-foot-1, 195-pounds, was shipped to minor league Sacramento “with no strings attached,” according to the Chicago Tribune after leading the 1949 White Sox with 44 appearances. While Ozzie Guillen affectionately used the signal to ID Jenks in the 2005 World Series, there was no jolliness attached to Sukront’s beef. “Sox release Sukront and his appetite” blared the Tribune headline of Feb. 5. The Tribune reported Sukront’s “tendency toward heft not only handicapped the righthander, but sometimes was a source of family embarrassment, according to accounts.” One such source was manager’s Jack Onslow using the “fat signal” to bring in Sukront from the pen. Sukront asked for a halt to the practice because it offended his wife. Said the Tribune, “The situation, however, did not cause Max to stay away from the chuckwagon and that’s the main reason he’s departed.” The 27-year old Sukront was 3-5 with a 4.78 ERA for the 1949 Sox wearing No. 16, the number Ted Lyons made famous. Sukront won 18 games at Sacramento in 1950 but never pitched again for the White Sox. He went to pitch in the National League through 1957.

Aug. 20, 1923: The White Sox lost to the Yankees and Babe Ruth, who made a barehanded catch in left, 16-5 at Comiskey Park. Babe executed his catch in the ninth when a dog wandered onto the field. Ruth tossed his mitt to chase the dog away but the dog grabbed it and ran. At that point, Sox rookie pitcher Paul Castner hit a fly to left and Babe hauled it in barehanded.

JACKIE ROBINSON AND THE WHITE SOX 1942: The White Sox were in position to change the course of baseball history but passed. On this date, White Sox manager Jimmy Dykes watched African American athletes Jackie Robinson and Nate Moreland work out at his team’s spring training facility in Pasadena, California. According to Jules Tygiel’s 1983 book “Baseball’s Great Experiment,” Robinson, best known as a football star at UCLA, and Moreland, a Negro League pitcher, requested a tryout, which Dykes granted. History tells us that nothing came of the tryout but Dykes, who stated he was willing to accept black players, was impressed even though Robinson was hobbled by a charley horse, according to Tygiel. “I’d hate to see him on two good legs,” Dykes said. “He’s worth $50,000 of anybody’s money. He stole everything but my infielders’ gloves.” After a stint in the army and with the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues and the minor league Montreal Royals, Robinson broke baseball’s color barrier with Brooklyn in 1947. Robinson did not mention this tryout with the White Sox in his 1972 autobiography “I Never Had It Made.” Minnie Minoso broke the White Sox color barrier on May 1, 1951.

DEALING WITH THE ENEMY 1983: Faced with the prospect of being embarrassed or being swindled by his crosstown rival, Cubs general manager Dallas Green chose the latter. Some would say both happened. The White Sox and general manager Roland Hemond acquired infielders Scott Fletcher and Pat Tabler and pitchers Dick Tidrow and Randy Martz from the Cubs for starting pitcher Steve Trout and reliever Warren Brusstar. The biggest swap between Chicago's Major League teams came after the White Sox flirted with selecting Fergie Jenkins, who was the Cubs' best pitcher in 1982 and one of the most popular players in franchise history, as compensation for losing free agent outfielder Steve Kemp. The compensation for free agent loss was born out of the 1981 players strike and would net the Sox Tom Seaver a year later. The Cubs got to keep Jenkins (the Sox chose pitcher Steve Mura from the Cardinals instead) but had to surrender three promising players and established setup man in exchange for the enigmatic Trout and adequate Brusstar. When the whole matter was settled Green said he was “relieved.” Fletcher and Tidrow were contributors to the Sox A.L. West title team in 1983 and Trout was a member of the Cubs’ 1984 N.L. East Division title team but none of the members of this trade ever blossomed into star.

In honor of his 65th birthday today, here's a look back at Carlton Fisk's "greatest hits" with the White Sox: April 10, 1981: In his White Sox debut and in the stadium he called home for the previous 10 seasons, Fisk launched a dramatic three-run homer in the eighth inning that gave his new Sox the lead for good in a 5-3 win over the Boston Red Sox on Opening Day at Fenway Park. April 14, 1981: In his White Sox home debut, Fisk thrilled an Opening Day crowd of 51,560 with a grand slam in a 9-3 triumph of the Milwaukee Brewers. June 15, 1983: A fifth-inning RBI triple fronted the Sox for good in a 5-2 win at Anaheim. The hit came with Fisk starting in the No. 2 spot and ignited a streak which would see him bat .329 the rest of way in leading the White Sox to the A.L. West title. May 16, 1984: First inning double, second inning single, fourth inning home run and a seventh inning triple made Fisk just the third White Sox player to hit for the cycle and the first to do it at Comiskey Park. Despite the history, the Sox lost to the Royals 7-6. Aug. 2, 1985: Fisk tagged out both Bobby Meacham and Dale Berra on the same play at the plate in the seventh inning of the White Sox 5-3 win at Yankee Stadium. Sept. 25, 1985: Fisk tied Dick Allen’s 1972 franchise record with his 37th home run of the season. The solo shot came off Ron Romanick in a 7-4 loss at California. The dinger was also Fisk’s 33rd while playing catcher, breaking Lance Parrish’s 1982 league record for roundtrippers at the position. Aug. 19, 1988: Fisk caught his 1,807th American League game, setting the record in that category. He celebrated the occasion with his first career five-hit game. June 21, 1989: Fisk cracked his 307th home run as a catcher, passing the Yankees’ Yogi Berra as the American League’s all-time leader in that department. Fisk accomplished the feat in a 7-3 win at Yankee Stadium. July 17, 1989: Fisk collected his 2,000th hit -– a 28 bouncer up the middle -– before an appreciative crowd at Comiskey Park. The milestone came off the Yankees’ Andy Hawkins, the same pitcher he victimized with his record homer about a month earlier in the Bronx. May 22, 1990: Fisk scolded and lectured the Yankees’ Deion Sanders on Yankee Pride at homeplate during the Sox 5-2 loss to New York. Fisk’s lecture was apparently over Sanders’ lack of hustle and his lackadaisical demeanor on baseball’s hallowed ground and prompted both benches to clear but no punches were thrown. Aug. 17, 1990: With one swing of the bat, Fisk became the most prolific home run-hitting catcher in big league history and the White Sox all-time home run leader. Fisk’s second-inning roundtripper off Charlie Hough in Texas gave him 328 as a catcher and 187 with the White Sox. He eclipsed Johnny Bench’s mark for catchers and Harold Baines’ White Sox record. The historic homer came in the White Sox 4-2 win. Sept. 3, 1990: Fisk hit the last of his 87 home runs at the original Comiskey Park in a 4-2 win over the Kansas City Royals before 25,236 on the Southside. Fisk finished tied for second all-time in Old Comiskey Park home runs with Harold Baines, one behind leader Bill Melton. Twenty-seven days later, Fisk would start the final game at the old park behind the plate and go 0-for-4. July 9, 1991: Fisk made his fourth and final All-Star team as a member of the White Sox and his 11th and last overall. … Joined Yogi Berra and Johnny Bench as the only catchers to play in at least 10 All-Star Games (Fisk did not play in the 1974 game because of an injury). … Replaced Sandy Alomar Jr. at catcher in the fifth inning to become the oldest White Sox player, the third-oldest player overall player and the oldest American League position player to play in an All-Star Game … Finished the game behind the plate. … Went 1-for-2. … Singled off Pete Harnisch to center with two out in the sixth to become the oldest player (43 years, seven months, 13 days) to hit safely in an All-Star Game. … Struck out by Mike Morgan in the eighth in what turned out to be his final All-Star at bat. … Handled five chances (all putouts) without an error. … Caught teammate Jack McDowell in the fifth and sixth inning to form the third All-White Sox battery in All-Star history and the first since Duane Josephson caught Tommy John in the 1968 game in Houston. … Tagged out a sliding Will Clark at home for the second out in a scoreless sixth. Aug. 6, 1991: Fisk hit his 200th home run in a White Sox uniform. The four-bagger came off the Yankees’ Wade Taylor in a 14-5 win at “new” Comiskey Park. April 7, 1993: On his first swing of the season, Fisk socked what turned out to be 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. June 19, 1993: Fisk notched the 2,356th and last hit of his career – a fifth inning single off Mark Langston in a 5-4 loss at California. June 22, 1993: Fisk became the all-time leader by catching his 2,226th game in the Sox 3-2 win over Texas before 36,757 at Comiskey Park. Prior to the game, the White Sox presented Fisk with several gifts, including a special-edition Harley-Davidson motorcycle and a $25,000 donation to the Chicago Botanic Garden. Fisk helped give the Sox the lead with a sacrifice in the fifth that led to a run. After Texas tied the game in the sixth, Lance Johnson drove in the winning run with a two-out single in the ninth. Six days later, the Sox released Fisk.

I post this every year ... Merry Christmas everybody. From, StatManDu aka @SoxNerd on Twitter A WHITE SOX CHRISTMAS STORY The only player in Major League history with the last name Christmas played 12 of his 24 big league games with the 1986 White Sox. Catcher Steve Christmas hit .364 with a double, a clutch home run and four RBIs in his time with the White Sox. The Sox “Christmas Story” began on Nov. 21, 1983 when the left-handed hitter was acquired from the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for infield prospect Fran Mullins. Christmas, who hit .059 in nine games with 1983 Reds, was a non-roster invitee to spring training in Sarasota, Fla., but began 1984 at the White Sox Triple-A affiliate at Denver where his teammates included Jerry Manuel, Ron Karkovice, Tim Hulett, Daryl Boston, Joel Skinner and Larry Rothschild. Christmas’ first stint with the Sox came from June 12 to June 22. The native of Orlando, Fla., was brought to Chicago when Carlton Fisk went on the disabled list. Christmas didn’t see any time behind the plate as the Sox went with the highly-touted Skinner in Fisk’s absence. Christmas’ first action with the Sox finally came on June 14 when he grounded out as a pinch-hitter for Jerry Dybzinski. Two days later, Christmas delivered a pinch-RBI single in the ninth inning of a 6-4 loss at Oakland. Christmas was hitting for Scott Fletcher and got his hit off of Oakland closer Bill Caudill. In his next appearance, Christmas came through again, this time notching a one-out pinch-double off future Sox “gas can” Mike Stanton in the ninth inning of an 8-2 loss at Seattle June 19. Christmas was returned to Denver after the White Sox 8-6 win over the Twins June 22 in Minnesota. Christmas finished the season at Denver where he helped the Bears earn a spot in the American Association playoffs. Denver upset the Cubs’ Iowa affiliate in five games in the semifinal round before bowing to Louisville in five games in the championship series. Christmas, who shared time behind the plate with Skinner, Karkovice and Jamie Quirk, hit .278 with four homers and 29 RBIs during the regular season for Denver. He returned to the White Sox for the rest of the season in early September. Christmas made his Comiskey Park debut in a 5-4 loss to Oakland on Sept. 5, 1984 when he was retired for the second out pinch-hitting for Vance Law in the ninth. After another unsuccessful pinch-hitting appearance Sept. 8, 1984 against the Angels at Comiskey Park, Christmas made his lone defensive appearance with the Sox. On Sept. 16, 1984 in Anaheim, Christmas entered the game in the eighth inning at catcher. He played one inning in the 4-2 setback, catching Richard Dotson and could not throw out Gary Pettis trying to steal. The next time Christmas took the field he made things merry for the Sox. On Sept. 19, 1984, Christmas, pinch-hitting for Marc “The Booter” Hill, launched a three-run pinch-homer in the seventh inning to break a 3-3 tie in a 7-3 win at Minnesota. The blast, which victimized the team that drafted and signed Christmas, came off Mike Smithson with Greg Walker and Dybzinski on base as the defending American League West champs barely stayed alive in the division race (nine games back with 11 to play). The next day, Christmas posted what turned out to be his final hit with the Sox. He led off the 13th with a single off Ron Davis batting for Hill and was then lifted for pinch-runner Rudy Law. The Sox couldn’t parlay Christmas’ last gift to the Sox into a run and wound up losing 5-4 to the Twins in the next inning. That hit peaked Christmas’ average and on-base percentage at a whopping .571 and placed his slugging percentage at a more-than-robust 1.143. From there, Christmas went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts to close out his Sox career. Christmas first time ended for the Sox on Dec. 10 when they released him. A little more than a month later, it was Christmastime again for the Sox as they signed him with a free agent. Christmas received another non-roster invitee to spring training but he did not make the club nor did he appear with the Sox during the 1985 season. Christmas spent 1985 at the Sox Triple-A affiliate in Buffalo where he manned third base and appeared some at designated hitter. Playing for John Boles, who would later manage the Flordia Marlins, Christmas finished fourth in the American Association with a .298 average while finishing second on the Bisons to Joe DeSa (17) with 16 home runs. Following the season, Christmas was granted free agency and signed with the Cubs thus closing the book on the Sox “Christmas Story.”

THANKS! I'll make the adjustments!

I have previously posted on this excellent board as StatManDu (& on the JumboTron at the Cell during the season)! I Tweet Sox Nuggets many times throughout the day as @SoxNerd. Here's what I have posted since the season finale (Please excuse the Twitter languague) #JakePeavy (194)/#ChrisSale (192) are just the 2nd pair of #WhiteSox teammates w/ 190+Ks in a yr (71, 72, Bradley/Wood) George "Catfish" Metkovich, 1 of just 3 players with at least 4 RBI in his #WhiteSox debut, would have been 92 today #ChrisSale won 17 games at age 23 for the 2012WhiteSox The last pitcher to to do that was #MarkBuehrle in 2002 #ChrisSale won 17 games this season. The last Sox pitcher to win that many? #GavinFloyd in 2008 Ex#WhiteSox minorleague manager named CLE skipper. Managed #MichaelJordan #MikeCameron #JamesBaldwin #RayDurham #MikeSirotka in Sox system #TerryFrancona was 298-266 in 4 seasons as a manager in the #WhiteSox minor league system (1 A South Bend; 3 seasons AA Birmingham) #JimKaat, who is on MLBTV 2day, & the #WhiteSox beat the #Tigers 6-0 in 1 hour & 45 minutes on 7-16-74 @ Comiskey Park (9-2-0-0-2-5) #JimKaat, on MLBTV, logged 1 of the great AllStar outings by a #WhiteSox P in '75 (2 perfect IP retired Brock Morgan Bench Garvey Smith Cey #WhiteSox were 23-28 against the playoff field. Winning records vs. Yankees (5-2) and Rangers (6-3). .500 (3-3) vs. Oakland #RayDurham in 2001 (150) was the last #WhiteSox player to log more games at 2nd than Beckham's 149 in 2011 and 2012 #2012WhiteSoxNugget: The only player in #WhiteSox history w/ a higher avg & more AB than #HectorGimenez's .455/11 is #TerryForster (.480/25) #2012WhiteSoxNugget: #HectorGimenez's 3hit game on 10-3 was the first by a Sox switch-hitting catcher since #BenDavis on 8-18-04 #2012WhiteSoxNugget: When #JoseQuintana drew a walk on 6-12 @ STL, it was the 1st by a Sox rookie pitcher since 7-14-72 (DaveLemonds @ BAL) #WhiteSox2012Nugget: The #WhiteSox emerged from 2012 with 249 1-0 wins. The only 2012 1-0 W was on June 24 vs MIL (Escobar RBI; Bruney W) #2012WhiteSoxNugget: The last time a #WhiteSox LF had more assists than #DayanViciedo's 13 was in 1960 when #MinnieMinoso had 14 #2012WhiteSoxnugget: #DayanViciedo was the first #WhiteSox LF to reach double figures in assists (13) since #CarlosLee in 2004 #WhiteSox 2012 nugget: #AJPierzynski hit 27 HR in 2012. It took #WhiteSox regular catchers 33 seasons to surpass that total #WhiteSox 2012 nugget: #AJPIerzynski's .501 slugging pct was the highest by a Sox catcher not named #CarltonFisk (.542 in '88; .518 in '83) #WhiteSox 2012 nugget: The #WhiteSox finished 2nd for 20th time. Most frequent finish is 3rd (23) Also finished 5th 20 times (1st 11 times) #WhiteSox 2012 nugget: The 29 triples this year were the most by a #WhiteSox team since '02 (29). The last Sox team to have more: 2000 #WhiteSox2012nugget: #AlexRios 184 hits were the most by a #WhiteSox player since #MagglioOrdonez's 192 in 2003 #WhiteSox 2012 nugget: #AlexRios' 156 games were the most by a #WhiteSox right fielder since #HaroldBaines' 159 in 1985 #GusZernial and #DanJohnson are the only #WhiteSox players with a 3HR game in October pic.twitter.com/SNEWPXXz #WhiteSox 2012 nugget: #AlexeiRamirez's 158 G @ SS are tied for 4th in Sox history (Cabrera 161 2008; Guillen 159 1990; Hansen 161 in 1965) #WhiteSox 2012 nugget: #AlexRios' 8 triples were the most by a #WhiteSox right fielder since #SammySosa's 10 in 1990 #DanJohnson first #WhiteSox player with a multiHR game in a finale since 19yearold #BrianMcCall went deep twice @ NY in 1962 closer

A few gems on Adam “Medicine Ball” Dunn *Five RBI game Friday was the first by a White Sox player in Seattle since Carl Everett on Aug. 1, 2003 *Multi-HR game Friday was the first by a Sox player in Seattle since Jim Thome on Aug. 10, 2007 *Friday Dunn had two homers and five RBI which equaled his HR total and was half of his RBI total of April 2011. *Friday was Dunn’s first 5-RBI game since Aug. 28, 2010 vs. St. Louis *Friday was Dunn’s multi-HR game since Sept. 24, 2010 vs. Atlanta

MAY 31, 1970: WHITE SOX 22, RED SOX 13 AT FENWAY PARK 1970: The White Sox had their best offensive game in 15 years and their second best overall in hammering the Boston Red Sox 22-13 at Fenway Park. The 22 runs were the most by a Sox team since they scored a club record 29 in a win at Kansas City April 23, 1955. The 35 runs by both teams tied the club mark set on Sept. 9, 1921 and April 23, 1955. The Sox banged out 24 hits but their only home run came from Bill Melton, who hit a solo shot in the sixth. Melton finished with four RBIs. Leadoff man Walt Williams went 5-for-7 with five runs, a double and two RBIs while Luis Aparicio was 5-for-5 with three runs, a triple and three RBIs. Duane Josephson was 3-for-6 with two doubles and three RBIs and Ossie Blanco, who started at first base and batted third, was 2-for-5 with three RBIs. The Sox scored six in the first off Boston starter Gary Peters, who lasted just two-thirds of an inning. The Sox scored one in the third, three in the fourth, one in the fifth, seven in the sixth and four in the eighth.

Oct. 7, 2005, White Sox 5, Red Sox 3: Game 3 of the AL Division Series Clinging to a 4-3 lead, "El Duque" enters in the sixth with the bases loaded and no outs. Jason Varitek, pop out. Tony Graffanino, pop out. Johnny Damon, strikeout. Thus ended not only one of the great White Sox innings in Fenway but one of the greatest in team history as well. ... The Sox went on to win 5-3 for the sweep and the club's first postseason series win since 1917.

GROUNDING THE PILOTS FOR THE FIRST TIME 1969: Thanks to the robust bat of Bill Melton, the White Sox swept a doubleheader from the Seattle Pilots for the Sox first victories over the expansion team in Chicago. Melton’s walkoff homer in the 10th inning delivered the Sox a 3-2 win in the first game of a doubleheader. Melton hit one of the Sox four homers in the sweep-completing 13-3 win in the nightcap before 12,579 at Comiskey Park. Ron Hansen, Duane Josephson and Buddy Bradford also went deep as part of a 10-hit attack