THIS DATE IN WHITE SOX HISTORY: MARCH 9TH/Strike?/Loaiza

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THIS DATE IN WHITE SOX HISTORY: MARCH 9TH

 

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TRAGEDY STRIKES

1927: A suicide attempt on this date cost White Sox star outfielder Johnny Mostil all of the 1927 season. It happened in the Sox spring training hotel in Shreveport, La. According to Rich Lindberg’s “Total White Sox,” Mostil inflicted 13 razor cuts to his wrist, arms and neck. The wounds put him near death for days but he slowly recovered his strength and will to live, according to Lindberg. Press reports of the day claimed that Mostil complained of neuritis though rumors circulated that the engaged Mostil was depressed and the cause of that depression was an affair he was having with a teammate’s wife. Mostil came back in 1928 and played briefly in 1929 before leaving the game. He returned to the Sox in 1949 as a scout and thrived for two decades in that role.

 

A DIFFERENT KIND OF STRIKE

1972: The White Sox were the first team to authorize a strike while the union and owners were in negotiations. The Sox voted 31-0 to authorize the stoppage. The main issues in the conflict were health and pension benefits for the players.

 

LAYING THE GROUNDWORK

2003: In his bid for the fifth spot in the rotation, non-roster invitee Esteban Loaiza fired four scoreless innings in the White Sox 5-3 Cactus League loss to Oakland in Tucson. Loaiza went on to go 4-2 in the spring and became the first non-roster invitee to make the Sox Opening Day roster since Danny Darwin in 1997. Loaiza won 21 games and started the All-Star Game at US Cellular Field in 2003.

 

TUCSON POWER

2006: The defending World Champion White Sox got home runs from Ryan Sweeney, Ross Gload, Josh Fields and Darren Blakely in blasting Seattle 10-3 in a Cactus League game in Tucson, Ariz. Sweeney’s blast was his team-leading third of the spring while Fields’ and Blakely’s dingers were three run shots.