The Chicago White Sox started playing in the American League in 1901. Despite long history the Sox have relatively little success, winning only three World Series and six AL Pennants in that time. The Sox began as a good team that consistently put up winning records. The Sox only had two losing records in the first fourteen seasons. That only amounted to two first place finishes, one of which resulted in a World Series victory in 1906 when they defeated the cross-town Cubs in 4-2.
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Those teams were remarkable for the ability to win without much offense. The Hitless wonders had the lowest batting average in 1906 when they took their first World Series and had 93 wins.
After the series the team began to collect the core of the team that would play very well in the late 1910s. Catcher Ray Schalk, shortstop Buck Weaver and pitchers Eddie Cicotte, Red Faber, and Reb Russell would be joined by outfielder Shoeless Joe Jackson, second baseman Eddie Collins, outfielder Happy Felsch, and pitcher Lefty Williams.
The strong team finished third in 1915 despite posting 93 wins, but would make back to the World Series in 1917 on the strength of 100 victories. The White Sox defeated the Giant in six games for their second World Series title. Times were looking good for the Sox, but scandal soon destroyed the team.
The Black Sox are famous for throwing the 1919 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds. The Sox were heavily favored and dominated the season with a .629 winning percentage.
The eight players who took money, including Shoeless Joe Jackson, were banned from baseball by Commissioner of Baseball Kenesaw Mountain Landis. The loss of their best players sent the Sox into a tail spin for nearly three decades. The White Sox would not become serious contenders again until the 1950’s.
The “Go-Go Sox” were a club under new ownership, Bill Veek. The club surged back into contention with outfielder Minnie Minoso, shortstop Luis Aparicio, second baseman Nellie Fox, pitcher Billy Pierce, pitcher Virgil Trucks, and catcher Sherm Lollar.
The White Sox captured a pennant in 1959, but lost to the Dodgers in the World Series. The team consistently finished in the top three in the American League posting 17 straight winning seasons. The “Bridesmaid’s” years were followed by a rough ‘70s and troubled ‘80s. The lone division title in the AL West in 1983 seemed more a fluke than a sign of good times.
The White Sox would take the rest of the ‘80s to build a club that competed throughout the ‘90s. The Sox never finished lower than third in that decade and won the AL Central twice, in 1993 and 1994. The team lost to the Blue Jays in 1993 in the ALCS and did not get to play in the playoffs due to the player’s strike in 1994.
The Sox of that decade has an amazing pitching staff with Jack McDowell, Alex Fernandez, and Wilson Alverez and All Star offense weapons in Frank Thomas and Robin Ventura.
The Sox would briefly rebuild in a weak AL Central that saw them finish second despite finished below .500. The Sox of the 21st century featured more offense than defense, as Magglio Ordonez, Paul Konerko, Carlos Lee, and Jose Valetin provided fire works.
The offense landed the White Sox in second place for three straight seasons before Ozzie Guillen took over as manager. The Sox had assembled a starting pitching staff that put together a fabulous year in Jose Contreras, Orlando Hernandez, Mark Buerhle, and Jon Garland. The offense was not dominant but well-timed with Jermaine Dye, Paul Konerko, Jim Thome, and Scott Podsednik.
The Sox carried the best record in baseball into the playoffs and dominated, defeating the Angels 4 games to 1 in the ALDS, sweeping the Red Sox in the ALCS, and sweeping the Astros in the World Series.
The White Sox failed to repeat the next season despite a 90-win season and have struggled to make it back to the playoffs since.
The Chicago White Sox had a very disappointing 2007 season. The team quickly fell out of the pennant race in the American League Central after struggling to score. The White Sox only scored 693 runs last season, which was the lowest total by any AL team and the third lowest in all of baseball. Management forced the need to make some major changes and shipped Jon Garland off to the Angels, got shortstop Orlando Cabrera in return, traded for Nick Swisher, and added setup man Scott Linebrink.
The questionable pitching rotation has Mark Buerlhe as the ace and has filled the rest of the slots with Javier Vazquez, John Danks, Jose Contreras, and Gavin Floyd. Floyd and Danks need to make large strides after their rookie year last season and Buerhle and Vazquez need to return with similar form as last season for the White Sox to have any success. The bullpen is pretty strong with Bobby Jenks and his overpowering fastball as the closer and Scott Linebrink and Matt Thorton as powerful middle relievers.
The offense hopes that 2007 was simply a season long rut and the designated hitter Jim Thome, first baseman Paul Konerko, third baseman Joe Crede, and rightfielder Jermaine Dye can raise their averages and continue to hit for power. New additions Swisher and Cabrera are being counted on to some spark to the lineup. The White Sox are also looking forward to the continued development of prospect Josh Fields, who hit 23 home runs but batted .244 last season.
The White Sox have been hoping that the Ozzie Guillen-era leads back to the success of the 2005 World Series season. The team has seen several roster changes in his short tenure, including the jettisoning of Magglio Ordonez, Frank Thomas, and Carl Everett from the roster. The Chicago White Sox hope to field a competitive team for fans to see at U.S. Cellular Field and hope to rise again in the ultra-competitive AL Central. This season's schedule includes must-see baseball all summer long, with meaningful games going deep into the season.
Chicago White Sox Archive