At Last (Updated)

With all the hoopla surrounding a few stadiums closing this year, I decided to take another look through my scrapbooks. Why? To find a list of lasts at old Comiskey Park.

Some may be surprising, some may not. Either way, here are some of the lasts for that grand old park, now gone forever.

Last Sox player to come on the field to start the game: Carlton Fisk.

Last player to leave the field: Carlton Fisk.

Last ceremonial first pitch: By Mayor Daley to Steve Lyons.

Last Comiskey game time climate: sunny, 62 degrees, NW wind at 16 mph.

Last Comiskey roof shot by a left-hander: Dan Pasqua, May 30, 1989.

Last Comiskey roof shot by a right-hander: Ron Kittle, April 17, 1990.

Last grand slam: By Seattle's Alvin Davis, Sept. 28, 1990, off Steve Rosenberg.

Last no-hitter: Detroit pitcher Jack Morris, April 7, 1984.

Last triple: Dan Pasqua, Sept. 30, 1990, off Rich DeLucia.

Last double: By Seattle catcher Dave Valle, Sept. 30, 1990 (7th inning), off Jack McDowell.

Last homer: By Seattle's Alvin Davis, Sept. 29, 1990, off Eric King.

Last Sox victory: 2-1 over Seattle, Sept. 30, 1990.

Last Sox loss: 13-4 to Seattle, Sept. 28, 1990.

Last pitch: at 4:23 PM by Bobby Thigpen to Seattle's Harold Reynolds.

Last out: Seattle's Harold Reynolds groundout from second baseman Scott Fletcher to first baseman Steve Lyons.

Last songs: Kiss Him Goodbye and Auld Lang Syne.

Last strikeout: Seattle's Tino Martinez (8th inning), Sept. 30, 1990, by Jack McDowell.

Last Sox strikeout: Carlton Fisk (6th inning), Sept. 30, 1990, by Seattle's Rich Delucia.

Last wild pitch: by Jack McDowell to Seattle's Alvin Davis (6th inning), Sept. 30, 1990.

Last double play: by Seattle from second baseman Harold Reynolds to shortstop Omar Vizquel to first baseman Tino Martinez (hit by Lance Johnson forcing Ivan Calderon), in the 7th inning, Sept. 30, 1990.

Last Sox hit: Frank Thomas (8th inning), Sept. 30, 1990, off Seattle's Rich DeLucia.

Last hit: by Seattle pinch hitter Scott Bradley off Bobby Thigpen (9th inning), Sept. 30, 1990.

Last winning pitcher: Jack McDowell (14-9)

Last losing pitcher: Seattle's Rich DeLucia (1-2)

Last save: Bobby Thigpen, number 57, Sept. 30, 1990.

Last length of game: 2 hours, 43 minutes.

OK, how many of you lost money by not knowing that Dan Pasqua hit the last triple in old Comiskey Park? Yeah, me too.

***Update***

I used a vintage list from a local paper from 1990 when compiling this list. Since then, Andy Hawkins no-hitter on July 1, 1990 has been declared not an official no-hitter. I honestly had forgotten about that ruling. The list has been updated to reflect that.

A few more lasts that I have found.

Last hit by pitch: Eric King hit Seattle's Jay Buhner, Sept. 29, 1990.

Last cycle: Milwaukee's Robin Yount, June 12, 1988.

Last balk: Greg Hibbard, Sept. 26, 1990.

Last inside the park home run: Milwaukee's Robin Yount, Spet. 13, 1988.

Last sacrifice fly: Scott Fletcher, Sept. 29, 1990.

Last umpires: Joe Brinkman, Derryl Cousins, Rick Reed, Terry Cooney

Last managers: Jeff Torborg (White Sox), Jim Lefebvre (Mariners)

Last attendance: 42, 849

Remembering Harold

Growing up, Harold Baines was probably my favorite player. He and Carlton Fisk would flip flop for the top spot, depending on my mood. Harold was always #1 or an extremely close second. If I had to trace it back to a moment that solidified that feeling for me, it would have to go back to the Sunday day games that my dad took me to.

I always had fun at old Comiskey Park. It didn't really matter if the Sox won or lost, I still had a great time. The air was always buzzing with excitement of some kind. Sometimes it was the game, sometimes it was the fans themselves. Either way, it was a guaranteed good time.

I can only remember certain things from my childhood. That tends to happen the older you get. I concentrate on moments rather than details, when it comes to that period of time. Those are usually enough to spark my brain to reveal a little more information.

I distinctly recall sitting in the lower level on a Sunday and hearing a bunch of drunk Hispanics, a few rows behind me, shouting for Ozzie Guillen. I'm not sure if they were cheering for him or taunting him, but it always added to the atmosphere. If I wasn't into the game more, I might have been more concerned when security started to hang out by their rows a little more often that game. I was a kid watching baseball with my dad, eating a hot dog, drinking a soda and decked out in a White Sox t-shirt and pegged adjustable hat. I was in heaven.

One moment I will remember until my final days was one of Harold's finest moments. The Sox were trailing by two in the bottom of the ninth. I don't recall how many outs there were or who the White Sox were playing. All I remember is that two men got on somehow, by the skin of their teeth. Harold Baines stepped up to the plate. He swung and gave it his all, but only managed a long strike into the stands. It looked like the game was all but over. Then it happened.

Out of nowhere, the crowd started chanting, "Harold! Harold!", and it just kept kept going. Even my dad started chanting with the crowd and he rarely does things like that. He got another strike and the chanting got louder and louder. The whole park stopped and just focused their attention to Harold Baines. Security guards and park employees started chanting too. I had never seen anything quite like this. Nothing came close. It was the best feeling in the world until I heard something that shattered the chanting.

I heard the most beautiful, perfect sound coming from Harold's bat. As soon as the crack of the bat sounded, the crowd fell deathly silent. The crowd, who was already standing, stood on their tiptoes to watch this baseball fly off of Harold's bat. It felt like a movie. Only it was better because I was right there enjoying the whole scene as it played right in front of me.

The instant that ball went over the fence for a home run, the crowd erupted. I had never heard another crowd like that until the 2005 World Series. That is a moment I was always remember and always cherish. That is why Harold has never shied away from my top 2 spots. That is why I continued to follow his career away from Chicago. That is why his uniform was retired by the White Sox in 1989. That is why he deserves to be elected to the Hall of Fame.