KevHead0881 Posted July 11, 2005 Share Posted July 11, 2005 This actually made the main section in the Tribune editorials. Pretty cool. A White Sox election heist July 11, 2005 Tampa Bay Devil Rays left fielder Carl Crawford whined about how the best in the majors White Sox were "bush league" for openly campaigning to get their speedy left fielder, Scott Podsednik, voted into the final American League All-Star team slot for Tuesday's game. That's the same Carl Crawford whose team skulked out of town after being thumped three straight last week by Podsednik and Co. Bush league, Carl? That's the way they do it in Bridgeport, the major league of politics where electioneering is an art form. At the risk of jinxing it all, there may be no better proof this is a magical season for the South Siders than the selection of Podsednik in the last phase of the arcane All-Star selection process. It works like this: Fans vote online for the starters, then the rest of the American and National League rosters--except for one spot on each--are picked by players, the team managers and the leagues. Another quickie round of fan voting then goes on for those last two slots. The White Sox aren't national media darlings like the Cubs or the Yankees, so their players rarely do well in fan voting. Podsednik's name was slipped onto the final five-man ballot last week because he is leading the major leagues in stolen bases. But few expected fans around the country to go for a Punch-and-Judy hitter when the competition included superstar sluggers like Yankee shortstop Derek Jeter. That's when the White Sox dug into their 11th Ward roots to pull out all the stops. During the Tampa Bay series, U.S. Cellular Field was adorned with "Vote for Scott" T-shirts and signs, one of them planted behind home plate so it appeared prominently on TV during each pitch. Sox management implored fans at the park to text message their votes on cell phones during the games, and pitcher Mark Buehrle--one of three Sox named to the team in the player-manager selection round--twice got on the public address system to encourage votes for Podsednik. A laptop computer was even set up in the White Sox dugout so Podsednik's teammates could pretend to be fans and vote for him over and over again when they weren't on the field. Podsednik squeaked past Jeter with just under 4 million of 15 million votes cast. In an era marked by surly and greedy pro athletes, the 30-year-old Podsednik was genuinely awestruck. "The response has been amazing and humbling," he wrote in a thank-you to fans posted on the White Sox Web site. "Being named to the All-Star Team is a dream every 10-year-old enjoys when growing up playing baseball." Bush league? Try classy. Swipe one for us, Scotty. Copyright © 2005, The Chicago Tribune Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balta1701 Posted July 11, 2005 Share Posted July 11, 2005 I wish they'd tell us a definition of "Squeaked by". 4 million out of 15 million is not a small chunk, especially since the guy in the NL won with like 2 million. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milkman delivers Posted July 11, 2005 Share Posted July 11, 2005 Bush league? Try classy. Swipe one for us, Scotty. That part was awesome. I hope he gets a huge steal in a close game that leads to the AL winning. That would be amazing, and absolutely everyone would have to eat their words. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoxFan1 Posted July 11, 2005 Share Posted July 11, 2005 QUOTE(Milkman delivers @ Jul 11, 2005 -> 01:42 PM) That part was awesome. I hope he gets a huge steal in a close game that leads to the AL winning. That would be amazing, and absolutely everyone would have to eat their words. Hell yeah. Although the guy was dissing him pretty much throughout the hole piece, I appreciate it. Besides, he was just stating what was on everyones minds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted July 11, 2005 Share Posted July 11, 2005 It was awesome to see Sox fans come together and work so hard to win that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nitetrain8601 Posted July 11, 2005 Share Posted July 11, 2005 Awesome article. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnB Posted July 11, 2005 Share Posted July 11, 2005 seeing scott get elected was one of those things sox fans will remember for a long time. Bush league carl? no, that's your team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RibbieRubarb Posted July 11, 2005 Share Posted July 11, 2005 QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Jul 11, 2005 -> 11:47 AM) It was awesome to see Sox fans come together and work so hard to win that. Yeah... Now go screw yourself! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevHead0881 Posted July 11, 2005 Author Share Posted July 11, 2005 (edited) Scotty Pods is getting some national attention as well. Here's an article from the New York Times: The Art of the Steal: Podsednik Keeps Pitchers on Edge Edited July 11, 2005 by KevHead0881 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texsox Posted July 12, 2005 Share Posted July 12, 2005 After Frank was passed over a couple years ago both by the Manager and then by the fans I swore I would never pay attention to the AS game again. I did vote early and often for Pods, but truly felt I was wasting my time. Thank you Francona. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackie hayes Posted July 12, 2005 Share Posted July 12, 2005 ...go for a Punch-and-Judy... At least the Trib's been reading soxtalk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.