Chicago White Sox

The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are in the Central Division of the American League.

Franchise history

As described in Lee Allen's book, The American League Story (Putnam, 1962), the team began as the Sioux City franchise in a minor league called the Western League. The WL had reorganized itself in November, 1893, with Ban Johnson as President. Johnson, a Cincinnati-based reporter, had been recommended by his friend Charles Comiskey, former major league star with the St. Louis Browns in the 1880s, who was then managing the Cincinnati Reds. After the 1894 season, when Comiskey's contract with the Reds was up, he decided to take his chances at ownership. He bought the Sioux City team and transferred it to St. Paul, where it enjoyed some success over the next 5 seasons.

Related Topics:
Ban Johnson - Charles Comiskey - St. Louis Browns - 1880s - Cincinnati Reds - 1894

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In 1900, the Western League changed its name to the American League. It was still officially a minor league, a part of the National Agreement and an underling of the National League. The NL actually gave permission to the AL to put a team in Chicago, and Comiskey moved his St. Paul club to the south side. After the season, the AL declined to renew its membership in the National Agreement, and the war was on.

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The club adopted the name "White Stockings", the original name of the Chicago Cubs, and acquired a number of stars from the National League, including pitcher and manager Clark Griffith, who paced the White Sox to the AL's first pennant in 1901. The White Sox would continue to be built on pitching and defense in the following years, led by pitching workhorse Ed Walsh, who routinely pitched over 400 innings each season in his prime.

Related Topics:
Chicago Cubs - Clark Griffith - 1901 - Ed Walsh

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The Hitless Wonders

Walsh, Doc White and Nick Altrock paced the White Sox to their 1906 pennant and their first World Series victory, a stunning upset over the Cubs who had won a record 116 regular-season games. The Sox, dubbed the "Hitless Wonders" for having the lowest team batting average in the American League that year, nevertheless took the Series, and intercity bragging rights, in six games.

Related Topics:
Doc White - Nick Altrock - 1906

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"Say it Ain't So, Joe!"

The White Sox contended over the next decade, but did not bring home a pennant until 1917. Led by second baseman Eddie Collins and outfielder Shoeless Joe Jackson, the White Sox now had offense to go with the pitching of Eddie Cicotte and Red Faber. After an off-year in the war-shortened season of 1918, the club bounced back to win the pennant in 1919 and entered the World Series heavily favored to defeat the Cincinnati Reds. However, this was the year of the infamous Black Sox scandal, in which eight White Sox players, including Cicotte and Jackson, were barred from organized baseball for life for taking part in a plot by gamblers to "fix" the World Series. The White Sox have never entirely overcome the stigma of being the only team to take a dive in the Fall Classic. The official evidence relating to participation in the 'fix' by the various accused players vanished mysteriously. A criminal trial ended in acquittals of all the players. Judge Landis, Commissioner of Baseball, banned all the accused nonetheless. As the players were leaving a hearing, a boy fan (said by some to have been a newsboy) is claimed to have yelled out to Shoeless Joe, "Say it ain't so, Joe!" The phrase has become famous.

Related Topics:
1917 - Eddie Collins - Shoeless Joe Jackson - Eddie Cicotte - Red Faber - 1918 - 1919 - Cincinnati Reds - Black Sox scandal - Fix - Judge Landis

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The next four decades saw the White Sox lapse into mediocrity, particularly as the Yankees rose to become the American League's dominant team. The franchise would not win another American League pennant until 1959; in the meantime, the White Sox finished in the second division (fifth place or lower) 22 times, until the team rebuilt under managers Paul Richards, Marty Marion, and Al Lopez. In 1959, the team won its next (and, as of October 8th, 2005, last) pennant, thanks to the efforts of several eventual Hall of Famers -- manager Lopez, shortstop Luis Aparicio, second baseman Nellie Fox, and pitcher Early Wynn. In 1967, the White Sox remained in contention for the American League pennant until the final weekend of the regular season.

Related Topics:
Paul Richards - Al Lopez - Luis Aparicio - Nellie Fox - Early Wynn

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"Winning Ugly"

In 1983, the Chicago White Sox had a fantastic run. They started the season very poorly, but still went on to win 99 games and the AL West title. This team was led by catcher Carlton Fisk, outfielder Harold Baines, eventual Rookie of the Year outfielder Ron Kittle, designated hitter Greg Luzinski, and pitchers LaMarr Hoyt (who won the Cy Young that year), Britt Burns, Floyd Bannister and Richard Dotson. Manager Tony La Russa also won the Manager of the Year award. A catchphrase of the team was "Winning Ugly" for the style of play, which reflected a tendency to win games through scrappy play rather than consistently strong hitting or pitching. That tag was put on them derisively by Doug Rader, then manager of the Texas Rangers. Chicago media and Sox fans picked up on it and turned it their way. While they had a great run in the regular season, they were not able to carry that over into the postseason as they lost to a powerful Baltimore Orioles team 3 games to 1 in the AL Championship Series.

Related Topics:
Carlton Fisk - Harold Baines - Ron Kittle - Greg Luzinski - LaMarr Hoyt - Britt Burns - Floyd Bannister - Richard Dotson - Tony La Russa - Doug Rader - Texas Rangers - Baltimore Orioles - AL Championship Series

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In the late 1980s, the franchise threatened to relocate to Tampa Bay, but frantic lobbying of the state legislature resulted in approval (by one vote) of public funding for a new stadium. New Comiskey Park, now known as U.S. Cellular Field, built in a 1960s style similar to Dodger Stadium, opened in 1991 to rave reviews, but was soon outdone by the wave of "nostalgia" or "retro" ballparks, beginning with Oriole Park at Camden Yards. It is often criticized for its sterile appearance and steep upper deck. In recent years there have been renovations made in order to make the park more fan friendly. Most notable were the moving of the bullpens to be parallel to the field of play, extending the seats further to the field of play, renovating the concourse areas to establish a more friendly feel. In addition, the top third of the upper deck was removed in 2004 and an overhang was placed over most of it. The Renovation plan is a 5-phase plan and it will be complete next year with the 5th and final phase.

Related Topics:
Tampa Bay - Dodger Stadium - Oriole Park at Camden Yards

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"Good guys wear black"

In anticipation of the move to the new ballpark, the White Sox of the 1990s adopted classic pinstriped uniforms and the occasional use of black jerseys, instantly jumping to the top of the league in merchandise sales. The 1990s teams also contended well, led by pitcher Jack McDowell and first baseman Frank Thomas. The team reached the ALCS in 1993 and the American League Division Series in 2000. Under manager Jerry Manuel, the White Sox fielded a talented but chronically under-achieving squad.

Related Topics:
1990s - Jack McDowell - Frank Thomas - 1993 - American League Division Series - 2000 - Jerry Manuel

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On July 31, 1997, with the White Sox only 3.5 games back of the Cleveland Indians for the division lead, they traded veteran pitchers Wilson Alvarez, Danny Darwin and Roberto Hernández to the San Francisco Giants in exchange for 6 minor leaguers, most notably Keith Foulke. Many fans saw this as their ownership (led by Jerry Reinsdorf) betraying them and trading away their chance to win the division in exchange for next to nothing. This trade was deemed as the "White Flag Trade" by the Chicago newspapers due to the perception that the White Sox organization essentially surrendered to the Indians without a fight that year. This trade did considerable harm to the already small White Sox fan base.

Related Topics:
July 31 - 1997 - Cleveland Indians - Wilson Alvarez - Danny Darwin - Roberto Hernández - San Francisco Giants - Keith Foulke - Jerry Reinsdorf

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In the year 2000, the White Sox had one of their best teams since the 1983 club. This team, whose slogan was "The Kids Can Play," won 95 games en route to an AL Central division title. The team scored runs at a blistering pace, which enabled them to win all of these games despite a mediocre pitching staff led by Mike Sirotka. Frank Thomas nearly won the AL MVP award with his offensive output; he was helped by good offensive years from Magglio Ordóñez, Paul Konerko, Carlos Lee and Jose Valentin. A big key for this team was that they seemed always to get the clutch hit whenever they needed it. This team, like 1983, also could not carry any success over into the postsesaon, getting swept by the wild-card Seattle Mariners in 3 games in the AL Division Series round.

Related Topics:
2000 - Mike Sirotka - Magglio Ordóñez - Paul Konerko - Carlos Lee - Jose Valentin - Seattle Mariners

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"Win Or Die Trying"

In 2004, the Chicago White Sox hired former White Sox shortstop Ozzie Guillén as manager. In late 2004, general manager Ken Williams vowed to change the makeup of the team from one that relies on the home run to one that has good pitching and defense. They traded outfielder Carlos Lee for center fielder Scott Podsednik. They also signed outfielder Jermaine Dye and former Yankee pitcher Orlando Hernandez to complete a rotation that includes Freddy Garcia and Mark Buehrle. Additionally, former Minnesota Twin and San Francisco Giant A.J. Pierzynski was signed to fill the catching spot, which had not been adequately filled since the departure of Hall of Famer Carlton Fisk over 10 years earlier. Finally, to complete the make-over, Williams signed Japanese second baseman Tadahito Iguchi to a contract.

Related Topics:
2004 - Ozzie Guillén - Ken Williams - Home run - Scott Podsednik - Jermaine Dye - Orlando Hernandez - Freddy Garcia - Mark Buehrle - A.J. Pierzynski - Carlton Fisk - Tadahito Iguchi

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The changes made an immediate impact on the team. In 2005, the White Sox posted the best record in Major League Baseball for much of the year, before a late season slump saw the St. Louis Cardinals overtake them (100 wins vs. 99 wins). Though a serious challenge for their dominance of the division was mounted late in the year by the Cleveland Indians (the Tribe actually reduced what was once a 15 1/2-game lead for the Sox down to 1 1/2 games at one point), Chicago scored a 4-2 victory over the Detroit Tigers on September 29 to win their first AL Central Division title since 2000. Finishing 99-63, a .611 percentage, tied their 1983 record. The last time they had a higher percentage than that was 1920, when they finished second in the league thanks to the late-season "Black Sox" suspensions. The combination of the league's best record (second in the Major Leagues to the Cardinals by one game) with the American League victory in the All-Star Game gave the White Sox the home field advantage throughout the 2005 post-season.

Related Topics:
2005 - St. Louis Cardinals - Cleveland Indians - Detroit Tigers - September 29 - 2000

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In the first round of the 2005 playoffs, the White Sox took on the wild-card winning Boston Red Sox, who also happened to be the defending World Series champions. However, the ChiSox overpowered the BoSox, sweeping the defending World champs three straight in the best-of-five ALDS. They won the first two games of the Series at home before going to Fenway Park and claiming a 5-3 victory. In Game 3, their cause was helped by a two-run home run over the Green Monster by Paul Konerko, as well as some clutch relief pitching by Orlando Hernandez.

Related Topics:
Boston Red Sox - ALDS - Fenway Park - Green Monster - Paul Konerko - Orlando Hernandez

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