This Day In Sox History...May 16

[Lip Man 1]

May 16, 1953 - White Sox pitcher Tommy Byrne, who was knocked out of the game in an eventual win against the Yankees two days earlier, was sent up to pinch hit for Vern Stephens in the ninth inning with the bases loaded and the Sox trailing 3-1.

Byrne then slammed a 2-2 pitch from relief pitcher/sidewinder Ewell “The Whip” Blackwell into the lower deck in right field at Yankee Stadium for the only pinch-hit grand slam by a pitcher in team history! The Sox would win the game 5-3, scoring all their runs in the ninth inning. That was the only home run Byrne hit that year for the White Sox although he’d had 14 of them in his big-league career.

 

May 16, 1978 - With the Sox record a dismal 9-20 and knowing that there was no way he was going to be able to re-sign him, Sox owner Bill Veeck traded slugger Bobby Bonds to the Rangers for Claudell Washington and Rosendo “Rusty” Torres. Bonds would only play in 26 games for the Sox, with two home runs and eight RBI’s.

Making matters worse was that to get Bonds the previous December, Veeck traded three players including future All-Star Brian Downing to get him.

Washington would become the target of fan displeasure because of his tendency to take it easy on the field while with the team. One fan made up a banner, hung over the right field wall, which expressed that sentiment “Washington slept here.”

Torres’s claim to fame (and this is a great trivia question) was that he was on the field for all of the forfeited games in baseball during the 1970’s.

Torres was with the Yankees when the final game in Washington was forfeited when fans rushed the field in 1971; he was in Cleveland for the nickel beer night fiasco in 1974 and was with the Sox during the “Disco Demolition” forfeit in 1979.

      

May 16, 1984 - Carlton Fisk had one of his finest games as he became the third player in franchise history to hit for the cycle in a game. It came against the Royals at Comiskey Park. Despite Fisk’s efforts the Sox would lose it 7-6. Carlton went 4 for 5 with two runs and two RBI’s in the game. The triple, by the way, was the only one he’d hit that season.

 

[The Mighty Mite]

23 minutes ago, Lip Man 1 said:

May 16, 1953 - White Sox pitcher Tommy Byrne, who was knocked out of the game in an eventual win against the Yankees two days earlier, was sent up to pinch hit for Vern Stephens in the ninth inning with the bases loaded and the Sox trailing 3-1.

Byrne then slammed a 2-2 pitch from relief pitcher/sidewinder Ewell “The Whip” Blackwell into the lower deck in right field at Yankee Stadium for the only pinch-hit grand slam by a pitcher in team history! The Sox would win the game 5-3, scoring all their runs in the ninth inning. That was the only home run Byrne hit that year for the White Sox although he’d had 14 of them in his big-league career.

 

May 16, 1978 - With the Sox record a dismal 9-20 and knowing that there was no way he was going to be able to re-sign him, Sox owner Bill Veeck traded slugger Bobby Bonds to the Rangers for Claudell Washington and Rosendo “Rusty” Torres. Bonds would only play in 26 games for the Sox, with two home runs and eight RBI’s.

Making matters worse was that to get Bonds the previous December, Veeck traded three players including future All-Star Brian Downing to get him.

Washington would become the target of fan displeasure because of his tendency to take it easy on the field while with the team. One fan made up a banner, hung over the right field wall, which expressed that sentiment “Washington slept here.”

Torres’s claim to fame (and this is a great trivia question) was that he was on the field for all of the forfeited games in baseball during the 1970’s.

Torres was with the Yankees when the final game in Washington was forfeited when fans rushed the field in 1971; he was in Cleveland for the nickel beer night fiasco in 1974 and was with the Sox during the “Disco Demolition” forfeit in 1979.

      

May 16, 1984 - Carlton Fisk had one of his finest games as he became the third player in franchise history to hit for the cycle in a game. It came against the Royals at Comiskey Park. Despite Fisk’s efforts the Sox would lose it 7-6. Carlton went 4 for 5 with two runs and two RBI’s in the game. The triple, by the way, was the only one he’d hit that season.

 

Bad memories of Claudell Washington, my least favorite White Sox player ever though there is a guy on the current team that is coming close.