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All-Century Roster: White Sox
By Gary Brooks
SportsLine Baseball Editor
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Though there hasn't been a great amount of success on the South Side of
Chicago, with the White Sox having not won the World Series in 83 years,
picking a lineup of the century is a difficult task.
 | | | Frank Thomas won back-to-back MVPs in the '90s.(Allsport) | |
In the middle infield, depending on your generational preference, you
could easily make a case for Nellie Fox and Luis Aparicio, who led the
Go-Go Sox of the late 1950s. The duo was among the greatest ever and the
biggest factor in Chicago's appearance in the 1959 World Series.
But with 100 years of perspective, Fox and Aparicio each ended up on the
bench of this team that is dominated by players from the first quarter of
the century, especially in the pitching staff. Hall of Famers Eddie Collins
and Luke Appling became the starting middle infield. But that's not where
the debates end.
At catcher, Ray Schalk is a Hall of Famer and Sherm Lollar had a dozen
solid seasons, half of them All-Star campaigns. But the starting spot went
to Carlton Fisk, who caught the most games in history.
A spot could have been made for Dick Allen at first if Frank Thomas was
used at designated hitter, but then, what do you do with Harold Baines? And
Minnie Minoso was a fan favorite and certainly productive in the outfield.
But would anyone rather have him in the lineup instead of Albert Belle of
Al Simmons, whose White Sox careers were short but outstanding?
And in the pitching staff, a quality arm had to be left out. In this
case, it was Ted Lyons. He won 260 games for generally down teams but lost
his battle with Wilbur Wood for the fifth spot in the rotation.
In all, there wasn't a harder team to pick throughout. That doesn't mean
the White Sox have had the best players through time, though they are
better than most. Simply, they had very comparable players at several
positions over 100 years.
Lineup
| Carlton Fisk, C, 1981-1993 |
| The dominant images of Fisk's career came in a Boston uniform but he played
more games with the White Sox and eventually set records for most games
caught and most home runs by a catcher. He drove in at least 60 runs eight
times for the White Sox. His best career power numbers came in 1985 with 37
home runs and 107 RBI. Of the 37 homers, 33 came while playing catcher,
setting a record at the time. Like with most catchers, his career was
halted often by injuries, but Fisk remained durable into his 40s. He was a
four-time All-Star in Chicago. |
| Frank Thomas, 1B, 1990-99 |
| Despite poor years in 1998 and '99 compared to his earlier standards,
Frank Thomas completed his first 10 years with numbers that have him
destined for the Hall of Fame. He's the best all-around hitter in White Sox
history and one of five players to win AL MVP in consecutive seasons.
Thomas hit .320 with 301 homers and 1,040 RBI. Thomas is the only player in
history to have seven consecutive seasons (1991-98) of at least a .300
average, 20 homers, 100 RBI, 100 runs and 100 walks. His consistent
production had him labeled the best right-handed hitter in the game. |
| Eddie Collins, 2B, 1915-26 |
| Historian/statistician Bill James once said Collins' career "was the most
valuable career that any second baseman ever had." His original stardom
came with the 1909-14 Athletics and when he was sold to the White Sox in
1915, Chicago quickly became a contender. In the 1917 World Series he hit
.409. After a year in the Marines in 1918, he returned to help the Sox back
to the Series in 1919. His .331 average is second best in team history. His
368 steals are No. 1 in Sox history. |
| Luke Appling, SS, 1930-1950 |
| "Old Aches and Pains" was one of the finest leadoff hitters of the first
half of the century and an eight-time All-Star. He was patient at the plate
and had a keen ability to foul off pitches he didn't like. One story had
him fouling off 17 pitches before hitting a triple. Appling hit .300 15
times including a career best of .388 in 1936 which earned the first
batting title ever for a White Sox player. His 1,116 RBI are the most in
team history as are his 1,319 runs, 2,749 hits, 3,528 total bases, 1,302
walks and 440 doubles. |
| Robin Ventura, 3B, 1989-1998 |
| Only Harold Baines and Frank Thomas had more 20-homer seasons in Chicago
than Ventura's five. And only Buddy Bell and Brooks Robinson won more Gold
Gloves at third base in the AL than Ventura's five. He drove in 90 or more
runs six times including a team record for third baseman of 105 in 1996
when he hit 34 homers. He went 2-for-2 in his only All-Star appearance in
1992. |
| Joe Jackson, OF, 1915-1920 |
| Jackson's .339 average is the best for a White Sox career. In 1919, he was
a key cog in the Sox's World Series offense, hitting .351 with 96 RBI.
Unfortunately, he chose to accept gambler's money as the Sox lost the World
Series to the Reds even though Jackson hit .375. Hitting his prime as a
31-year-old in 1920, before the Black Sox case led to
his banishment from the game, Jackson had his best season with career highs
of 12 homers, 121 RBI and an average of .382. |
| Al Simmons, OF, 1933-35 |
| Simmons had already compiled Hall of Fame statistics by the time he joined
the White Sox but he continued to add to them with three All-Star seasons.
In 1933 he hit .331 with 119 RBI and his sixth 200-hit season. In 1934 he
hit .344 with 104 RBI, his 11th consecutive season of more than 100. |
| Albert Belle, OF, 1997-98 |
| With 30 home runs and 116 RBI in 1997, Belle had what had become an average
season for him. In 1998, he made Sox fans much happier by returning to his
status as one of the best hitters in the game when he hit .328 with 49
homers and 152 RBI. The homers and RBI set Sox records as did his 399 total
bases, 49 doubles and 99 extra-base hits. The previous total base club
record was 336 by Joe Jackson in 1920. Belle finished in the top three in
each of the Triple Crown categories. His post-All-Star break performance in
'98 (.387, 31 HR, 86 RBI) was arguably the best ever. |
| Harold Baines, DH, 1980-90, '96-97 |
| Baines' 220 homers are second in team history and his 966 RBI third. The
left-handed hitter with moderate power but a consistent swing could be
counted on for 20-25 homers and 90-100 RBI each season. His 373 homers are
the second most among players who have never hit 30 in a season. He had his
number retired before his career was over after he left the team in a trade
to Oakland late in the 1990 season. Baines represented the White Sox in
four All-Star games. |
Pitchers
| Ed Walsh, SP, 1904-16 |
| "Big Ed" used a deceiving spitter along with an overpowering fastball to
compile the lowest ERA (1.81) of any pitcher in history with at least 1,500
innings. In 1908, Walsh pitched a major-league record 464 innings,
completed 42 games and became the last 40-game winner. The White Sox didn't
have much punch at the plate during Walsh's career. In 1910, he led the AL
with a 1.27 ERA and went 18-20. Having been overworked for the first 10
seasons of his career, Walsh faded after 1913 and finished with 195 wins. |
| Billy Pierce, SP, 1949-1961 |
| Pierce was a seven-time All-Star and is the only Sox pitcher to start an
All-Star Game, having been chosen in 1953, '55 and '56. He was named the AL
pitcher of the year in 1956 and '57 by The Sporting News. His 186
wins are fourth in team history. His 1,796 strikeouts are No. 1. He pitched
35 shutouts including a league-leading seven in 1953 when he put together a
51-inning streak without allowing an earned run. |
| Eddie Cicotte, SP, 1912-20 |
| Among pitchers with 200 wins, Cicotte has the fourth-lowest earned-run
average (2.37). He was an outstanding pitcher whose reputation was tainted
by his involvement in the Black Sox scandal. In the Sox's two greatest
seasons, 1917 and 1919, Cicotte was at his best. He won 28 games with a
1.53 ERA -- both league bests -- in 1917. In 1919 he won 29 games with a
1.82 ERA. He won 21 games in 1920 before the Black Sox were banned from the
game. |
| Red Faber, SP, 1914-33 |
| Faber won 254 games, led the AL in ERA twice and had four 20-win seasons in
his 20 years with the White Sox. His three wins in the 1917 World Series
led the Sox to their last title. From 1920 through '22 he went 69-45, a
.605 winning percentage, nearly 100 points better than the team's winning
percentage (.508) in the same period. Faber actually got his first
experience against major-league players against the White Sox. Before his
professional career began, he was signed out of a minor league by the New
York Giants who needed a pitcher to replace Christy Mathewson who had
backed out of a world tour between the Giants and White Sox. Faber was so
good on the tour that Giants manager John McGraw offered Chicago owner
Charles Comiskey $50,000 for him. |
| Wilbur Wood, SP, 1967-78 |
| If Wood had been made a starting pitcher earlier in his career, he might
have wound up being a 300-game winner. The knuckleballing lefty didn't
start until his 10th season and wound up winning 164 games, all but one
with the White Sox. Pitching often on two days rest, Wood became the first
White Sox pitcher to win 20 games in four consecutive seasons when he went
90-69 from 1971-74. In 1971, he finished third in AL Cy Young voting after
a 22-13 season with a 1.91 ERA. |
| Bobby Thigpen, RP, 1986-93 |
| Thigpen saved 30 or more games four times including a major-league record
57 in 1990. The previous record was 46. He finished fourth in AL Cy Young
voting in 1990. Though he saved 30 games in 1991, his ERA ballooned and by
1993 he was a situational reliever. He had a record 201 saves in his Sox
career. |
| Bench |
| Nellie Fox, Luis Aparicio, Minnie Minoso, Dick Allen, Ray Schalk,
Jim Landis, Harry Hooper, Sherm Lollar, Buck Weaver, Zeke Bonura, Carl
Reynolds, Tommie Agee, Chet Lemon, Ray Durham, Chico Carrasquel, George
Davis, George Kell, Bibb Falk, Jack Fournier, Greg Luzinski, Ron Kittle,
Eddie Robinson, John Mostil, Bill Melton, Ralph Garr |
| Best season |
| Only one White Sox team reached 100 wins and it also happens
to be the team's last World Series winner. The 1917 team beat the New York
Giants in a six-game World Series after finishing nine games ahead of the
Red Sox. Happy Felsch led the team with a .308 average and 102 RBI. Joe
Jackson and Eddie Collins also helped the offense lead the league in runs.
The pitching staff, led by Cicotte and Faber, led the league with a 2.16 ERA. |
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| Worst season |
| The 1970 White Sox went through three managers in a 106-loss
season. Don Gutteridge was fired when the team was 49-87. Bill Adair
managed for 15 games until Chuck Tanner, the manager at Triple-A affiliate
Hawaii, had finished the minor-league season and could take over. |
| Best individual season, player |
| In the strike-shortened 1994 season, Frank
Thomas had a 1.217 OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging percentage).
Considered the most telling statistic of an all-around hitter, Thomas' OPS
was the highest in 37 years. His slugging percentage (.729) and on-base
percentage (.487) set Sox records and his .353 batting average is second
best. He led the league with 106 runs and added 38 homers and 101 RBI. |
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| Best individual season, pitcher |
| Ed Walsh in 1908 pitched 11 shutouts in
becoming the last pitcher to win 40 games. He also led the league with six
saves, and on Sept. 29, in the heat of a pennant race, pitched both ends of
a doubleheader beating the Red Sox 5-1 and 2-0. |
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