1919
A day after she sold Babe Ruth to the Yankeescash-strapped Boston owner Harry Frazee could promise no further cuts to his roster. (The Red Sox were coming off a 66-71-1 season, but were just a year removed from a World series title.)
Frazee made one exception: Superstar outfielder Harry Hooper stayed put.
That promise lasted a year, when Hooper – after a career-best 5.2 WAR season – was traded to the White Sox. And while Hooper had 12 seasons under his belt and was a bit long in the tooth at age 33, he was really good for the White Sox over the last five seasons of his career: 14.9 WAR, .302/.383./.436, 114 OPS+. In fact, the split from Boston gave the White Sox a right fielder who remains the 45th best hitter in franchise history.
Hooper became a Hall-of-Famer in 1971 through the Veterans Committee.
1981
The first player (alphabetical) in White Sox history, David Aardsmawas born in Deventer. Aardsman, before Henry Aaron, is actually the first player (alphabetically) in Major League history.
While he may be first on the all-time alphabetical roster, Aardsma performed poorly in his lone season on the South Side (2207), with a -0.4 WAR that ranks as the worst of his nine years in the majors.
1994
After a fantastic season at DH (20 HR, 98 RBI, 3.0 WAR) for the White Sox in the shortened 1994 season, Julio Franco signed with the Chiba Lotte Marines of the Japanese Pacific League for an all-time record salary of $3.5 million.
Considering Franco’s production and the fact that he almost certainly would have made less than $3.5 million in the Majors and with a winning team like the White Sox, it seems clear that GM Ron Schuler Franco was seriously undermined with his contract offer. Schueler essentially admitted as much at the time, laughing heartily at the numbers and warning, “Just wait, you see the [Marines] numbers.”
Franco’s loss was infuriating Frank Thomaswho was helped into a second straight MVP season as the veteran cleaned up behind him. Thomas voluntarily sent a fax to the media with the news, admitting that the loss of Franco (and also Ace Jack McDowell) would hinder Chicago against the rising Cleveland club in the division: “I think it’s really a shame and a huge step backwards.”
The White Sox would not repeat their first-place finish in 1994 and did not manage to win another AL Central title until 2000. After a stellar year in Japan, Franco returned to the MLB – back with his original club, Cleveland. Although that 1996 campaign proved to be his last truly productive campaign in the Majors, he remained in the major leagues until 2007, at the age of 48 – 23 big league seasons in all.
2003
In a case that remains unsolved to this day, White Sox outfielder Ivan Calderon was murdered in a bar in his hometown of Loiza, Puerto Rico, dead at the age of 41.
Calderón was the best deal made during the match Ken Harrelson‘s long GM tenure, ripped away from Seattle Scott Bradley midway through the 1986 season. By 1987, the man whose flashy necklaces belied a gritty work ethic had established himself as Chicago’s go-to right fielder with a 4.2 career-high, punctuated by 28 home runs and 83 RBIs — all numbers that would rank as career-bests.
Iván the Terrible never approached that production again, but contributed 2.6 WAR to the surprising 1990 division contenders, which in turn helped GM Ron Scheuler to sell high this offseason, trading Calderón and pitcher Barry Jones to Montreal for Tim Rainesa huge step forward in a contentious window for the South Siders.
Calderón was fantastic for the Expos in 1991, nearly matching Raines’ production in Chicago with 3.3 WAR. From there, however, his career quickly declined, and after briefly reuniting with the White Sox in 1993, Calderón was out of the majors for good.
Over his career, Calderón hit .272 with 104 home runs, 97 stolen bases, 12.0 WAR, a .775 OPS and 113 OPS+.
Sadly, just ten years after the end of his career, Calderon was shot at least seven times in the back at the El Trompo bar after Christmas. He left behind his wife Elsabeth and seven children.
#Today #White #Sox #history #December