THIS DATE IN WHITE SOX HISTORY: MARCH 11TH/Bunning, Minnie

[StatManDu]

THIS DATE IN WHITE SOX HISTORY: MARCH 11TH

 

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BATTERING A HALL OF FAMER

1971: The White Sox, coming off a 106-loss season, showed no mercy on future Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Bunning in a Grapefruit League game in Florida. The Sox lit up the Phillie right-hander, who went on to become a member of the House and a U.S. Senator, for six runs on 10 hits in an exhibition victory.

 

ANOTHER DECADE FOR MINNIE

1991: White Sox legend Minnie Minoso received a boost from an old friend in his quest to play professional baseball in a sixth different decade. Mike Veeck, president of the Florida State League’s Pompana Beach Miracle, announced that Minoso would play April 13 against the Ft. Lauderdale Yankees. Minoso, who played for Mike’s dad Bill in both Cleveland and Chicago, had appeared in at least one game in each of the previous five decades. Bill Veeck afforded Minnie the opportunity to extend the streak in 1976 and 1980 with the White Sox. Commissioner Fay Vincent denied Minoso’s quest on April 10 but he did get his chance in 1993 and 2003 for Mike Veeck’s independent St. Paul Saints.

 

YOUMANS … HE GONE

1991: The White Sox cut once-promising pitcher Floyd Youmans. The Sox invited the enigmatic right-hander to spring camp as a non-roster invitee in February but he failed to impress. Youmans had been one of the most promising pitchers in the National League in the mid-1980s but everything from a bulge battle to injuries to a stint in a drug rehab derailed him. Youmans, who attended the same high school -- Hillsborough in Tampa -- as the Mets’ Dwight Gooden, was 13-12 with a 3.53 ERA with 202 strikeouts in 219 innings as a 22-year old for the Expos. After winning nine games in 1987, Youmans won just four times over the next two seasons. He had been out of the game in 1990 and 1991 when the Sox came calling. The next time Youmans appeared in professional baseball was for a five-game stint with independent Saskatoon in 2003.

 

REMEMBER HIM? SOX POUND PARQUE

2007: The White Sox battered Jim Parque for six runs in two-thirds of an inning en route to a 12-7 win over Seattle in Peoria, Ariz. The Sox plated six of their eight runs in the seventh inning off Parque, who pitched for the Sox from 1998 to 2002.

Edited March 11, 2008 by StatManDu