August 6

1980 TCMA All-Time White Sox #5 - Billy Pierce

On this day in 1959, Billy Pierce pitches sixteen innings against the Baltimore Orioles.

One could say that eleven hits were scattered from the starter, when the starter gives up one run and pitches sixteen innings. The Sox and the Orioles were deadlocked in a 1-1 tie ever since Baltimore tied the game up in the bottom of the eighth inning. When Turk Lown came on in relief in the seventeenth inning, it was part of a double switch that was made in the top of the seventeenth inning, when Jim Rivera was sent to pinch run for third baseman Billy Goodman. Rivera was replaced by pitcher Turk Lown in the lineup and Pierce was replaced by Sammy Esposito at third. The strategy worked in the top of the eighteenth inning, when Esposito hit a single as the second batter up. The Sox couldn't get a run across and the game was called after eighteen innings, resulting in a tie.

Pierce spent the majority of his career on the South Side, residing in the rotation and the bullpen from 1949 until 1961. His record with the ChiSox was 186-152 with a 3.19 ERA. The White Sox honored Billy by retiring his number nineteen in 1987.