Best of Chicago: Part 5 – White Sox

In the final piece of the five-part series containing the best teams in Chicago sports history, I examine four of the greatest teams to don the White Sox uniform.

A team from the past three decades appear along with one of the best stretches by a team in the 19-teens before the “Black Sox Scandal.” 

Number four: 1993 White Sox

A team not often talked about in the baseball community is the 1993 White Sox, most likely because of losing in the ALCS to eventual back-to-back World Series champ Toronto.

Digging into this team, you can find some pretty cool stats and information. Just before the steroid-era began its run in Major League Baseball, here was Frank Thomas destroying baseballs.

“The Big Hurt” ripped 41 home runs and 36 doubles, while also slashing .317/.426/.607 with 112 walks compared to only 54 strikeouts. In his age-25 season and arguably his worst season in a total five-season stretch, Thomas was named the AL’s MVP, which would be the first of consecutive honors.

Beginning the downfall of his stolen base career, Tim Raines still swiped 21 bags. At the plate, he accumulated a .401 on-base percentage and had a 138 OPS+, second best on the team among qualified hitters. Third baseman Robin Ventura’s extra base hit percentage was near 35% while also winning the gold glove at the hot corner

The White Sox had three pitchers start at least 31 games, including Cy Young winner Jack McDowell. The hurler threw 10 complete games, including four shutouts, while having a 3.37 ERA. Alex Fernandez arguably had a better season, one in which he 135 ERA+ and a 1.164 WHIP.

Roberto Hernandaz was dominant at the back of the bullpen, saving 38 games in 78.2 innings of work. His 8.1 K/9 led the team, and he only issues walks to 20 hitters throughout the course of the season.

The team won 94 games, winning the AL West by eight games. Although this was the least amount of wins among each division winner in 1993, this White Sox team is definitely one of the best teams in franchise history.

Number three: 1983 White Sox

Similar the the 1993 team, the ’83 squad had a 25-year old hitter who took the league by storm. This time it was Ron Kittle, who was honored with the AL Rookie of the Year award.

Hitting 35 home runs and driving in 100 runs, Kittle received 15 first-place votes in the Rookie of the Year voting outlasting Julio Franco. Kittle slugged .504 on the season, but also led the league in strikeouts with 150.

In his age-35 season, Carlton Fisk had a magical season in which his finished third in the MVP voting. 26 home runs plus 26 doubles led to a slash line of .289/.355/.518. Contributing to one of the best seasons out of a catcher 35 or older was his .874 OPS and 134 OPS+.

Harold Baines also hit 20 home runs, while Greg Luzinski drilled 32.

On the rubber, LaMarr Hoyt won the Cy Young after throwing 11 complete games and finishing with a 1.024 WHIP. He totaled a 4.77 K:BB ratio, but also gave up 27 home runs. Richard Dotson also threw eight complete games, and led the team in ERA at 3.23.

The White Sox had five guys finish with at least five saves, four with seven, and two in double digits. Dennis Lamp threw 116.1 innings accumulating 15 saves, the team lead. Dick Tidrow, who the team received in a trade in the prior off-season, finished 27 games and struck out 6.05 hitters per nine innings.

The team won 99 games that season, but lost the series 3-1 in the ALCS to Baltimore.

Number two: 1917 White Sox

Led by Eddie Collins, Joe Jackson, and Eddie Cicotte, the 1917 White Sox would go on to win 100 games in the regular season en route to a World Series title.

The White Sox, who won the American League by nine games, defeated the New York Giants in six games to claim the World Series. Through the course of the season, Cicotte threw 346.2 innings and had a 1.53 ERA, leading the entire league. Cicotte also accumulated a .912 WHIP and threw 29 complete games.

Red Faber threw a 1.92 ERA in his 248 innings of work. The entire team ERA was 2.16. Dave Danforth – in the beginning time of closers – led the league with nine saves and pitched 173 innings.

Offensively, Jackson led the team with the least amount of strikeouts at 25. “Shoeless Joe” also slashed .301/.375/.429 while recording 162 hits and 91 runs scored. Happy Felsch led the team with 177 hits and six home runs.

Collins stole 53 bases and 12 triples. He also scored 91 times with his .389 on-base percentage.

In a different era where low ERA’s were relatively common, this team was simply amazing having four pitchers post a sub-2.00.

Number one: 2005 White Sox

The 2005 team was the best team in the American League most of the season, and even better than 100-win Cardinals. Posting 99 wins in the regular season, the White Sox went 11-1 in the playoffs – including a 4-0 sweep of Houston in the World Series – to hoist their first World Series trophy since 1917.

Under the leadership of Ozzie Guillen, the White Sox began April 17-7 and off to a hot start. 28 games above .500 at the All-Star break, they ended July 68-35 and a 14.5 game lead in the AL Central. Finishing the regular season with 99 wins, the White Sox would end up having a better road record than home as they won 52 games away from US Cellular Field.

Every player in the starting lineup had at least 13 home runs at season’s end, except Scott Podsednik, who stole 59 bases. Surprisingly enough, the only award the White Sox received at the end of the season was Manager of the Year.

Paul Konerko posted a .909 OPS with 40 home runs and 24 doubles. He led the team with 10 intentional walks. Tadahito Iguchi proved to a valuable sign as he was a 15-15 player with six triples and a.342 on-base percentage.

Big free agent signings the team made in the 2004 off-season was outfielder Jermaine Dye and closer Dustin Hermanson. Dye hit 31 home runs and 29 doubles while recording 74 runs scored.

The pitching staff had four starters who totaled at least 200 innings. Mark Buehrle led the way with 236.2 and a 144 ERA+. Freddy Garcia, Jon Garland, and Jose Contreras all started 32 games and combining for six complete games.

Hermanson tallied 34 saves in his 57 appearances. His 2.04 ERA and 1.099 WHIP was among the best in baseball with relievers. Cliff Politte was a big-time relief option at the back end of the bullpen. In 67.1 innings, Politte had a .936 WHIP and 7.6 K/9.

If this was a top-five list, the 1906 White Sox – the team who beat the best Cubs team, and one of the best baseball teams ever – would’ve ranked in at number five.

The top two teams on my list are the last two White Sox teams to win the World Series. Although the 1917 squad has a solid case against 2005, I think the latter just sneaks by to be crowned the best team from the South Side.

Well, that’s it for the series. What did you think? How much did you agree or disagree with any of the lists? Let us know, and I hope you enjoyed!