January 22

1996 Collector's Choice #513 - Danny Tartabull

On this day in 1996, Danny Tartabull was traded to the White Sox from the Oakland Athletics for Charles Poe and Andrew Lorraine.

Danny spent one season with the White Sox, batting .254, while hitting 27 home runs and 101 RBI, playing in 132 games. It was a career resurgence for Tartabull, who had been slowed by injuries in previous years. The Sox chose not to re-sign him in 1997, which turned out to be a stroke of luck. The Phillies threw two million dollars at him, which he originally scoffed at, but thought differently when the Cincinnati Reds turned out to be the only other team interested in his services with a five hundred thousand dollar offer.

Tartabull played three hitless games with Philadelphia, broke his foot and never played again. The White Sox dodged an expensive bullet there.


White Sox January 22nd birthdays:

1880 - John O'Neill
1889 - Amos Strunk

January 21

1987 Topps Traded #106T - Jerry Royster

On this day in 1987, the White Sox signed Jerry Royster.

While with the Sox, Jerry played at third base, left field, second base and designated hitter during the course of fifty-five games. Royster hit an unhealthy .240 with the Sox before he was traded to the New York Yankees in August 1987. Jerry was on par with the rest of the 1987 White Sox batters, as no one that season hit over .293, with most hitting in the .250 range or lower.

Royster was signed as infield insurance by GM Larry Himes. He could play second, third, shortstop and the outfield. He was the third infielder added by Himes, after Donnie Hill and Fred Manrique. After third baseman Tim Hulett was sent to the minors in June 1987, Royster platooned with Steve Lyons at third. The plan was to play Lyons against right-handed pitchers and Royster against lefties.

Jerry was a popular player in the clubhouse and thought that the 1987 White Sox were the best group of guys he had played with, at the time he was traded. The Sox obtained pitcher Ken Patterson and infielder Mike Soper from the Yankees. Pat Keedy took Royster's roster place on the Sox, as manager Jim Fregosi liked Keedy's versatility.


White Sox January 21st birthdays:

1886 - Joe Benz
1899 - Lew Fonseca
1922 - Sam Mele
1947 - Bill Stein
1965 - Matt Stark

January 20

1966 Topps #486 - Tommy John

On this day in 1965, Tommy John came to the White Sox from the Cleveland Indians in a three team trade that also saw Tommie Agee and Johnny Romano land on the White Sox. Cam Carreon was traded to Cleveland by the Sox and Jim Landis, Mike Hershberger and Fred Talbot were traded to the Kansas City Athletics in the deal. The Indians got Rocky Colavito from the Athletics in the three team deal.

Tommy spent seven seasons with the White Sox, compiling a 2.95 ERA with the Pale Hose with an 82-80 record, fifty-six complete games, twenty-one shutouts, eight hundred eighty-eight strikeouts and three saves.





White Sox January 20th birthdays:

1887 - Bill James
1917 - Joe Dobson
1920 - Sam Hairston
1933 - Gene Stephens
1964 - Ozzie Guillen
1983 - Matt Albers
1983 - Geovany Soto

January 19

2006 Upper Deck Special FX Purple #566 - Pablo Ozuna (/150)

On this day in 2005, the White Sox signed Pablo Ozuna.

Pablo appeared in a career high 70 games and also had career highs with 203 at-bats, 56 hits, and 11 RBI. Ozuna also had 14 stolen bases including a steal of home. During Game 2 of the 2005 ALCS, A.J. Pierzynski advanced to first base on a controversial dropped third strike call. Ozuna pinch ran for him, stealing second base on the second pitch of the at bat to Joe Crede. Ozuna scored the game winning run on a double by Crede.


White Sox January 19th birthdays:

1888 - Chick Gandil
1906 - Rip Radcliff
1948 - Ken Frailing
1962 - Chris Sabo

January 18

2011 Topps Update Cognac Diamond #US196 - Philip Humber

On this day in 2011, Philip Humber was waived by the Oakland Athletics and claimed by the Chicago White Sox.

Humber responded by having the best year of his career, to this point. Philip forced the Sox to keep him in the rotation, leading to a six man rotation that lasted a good chunk of the 2011 season. Humber crushed a career high 21.2 innings pitched with the Kansas City Royals in 2010, by pitching 163 inning with the White Sox in 2011.








White Sox January 18th birthdays:

1932 - Mike Fornieles
1950 - Bill Sharp
1970 - Mike Bertotti
1990 - Brett Lawrie

January 17

1960 Topps #256 - Dick Brown

On this day in 1935, catcher Dick Brown was born.

Brown came to the White Sox through a trade with the Cleveland Indians, which saw Norm Cash, Bubba Phillips and John Romano go to Cleveland and Minnie Minoso, Don Ferrarese and Jake Striker come to Chicago. Dick only played in sixteen games with the White Sox in 1960 and batted a career low .163. Brown had seven hits, three home runs and five RBI for Chicago. He continued his career with the Detroit Tigers and Baltimore Orioles before being forced to retire due to a brain tumor, which eventually claimed his life at age 35.


White Sox January 17th birthdays:

1888 - Pete Johns
1935 - Dick Brown
1954 - Jerry Turner

January 16

1972 TCMA The 1930s #86 - Jo-Jo Morrissey

On this day in 1904, Jo-Jo Morrissey was born.

In fourteen games, Jo-Jo made three errors as a fielder. During a May 27 game against the Detroit Tigers, while replacing Jimmy Dykes at third base, Jo-Jo made an error that cost the game for the White Sox, when he allowed three runs to score. He was more adept at making errors in the field than being a prolific batter. He managed only seven hits, but made the most of them by getting six RBI, scoring three runs and walking twice. In an impressive feat, Morrissey only struck out three times. It wasn't enough to overcome his poor fielding as he hit a career low .184 for the White Sox in 1936, his last year in the majors and his only with Chicago.




White Sox January 16th birthdays:

1890 - Erskine Mayer
1891 - Ferdie Schupp
1892 - Fred Bratschi
1904 - Jo-Jo Morrissey
1966 - Jack McDowell
1985 - Junior Guerra

January 15

2011 SP Legendary Cuts #162 - Roger Peckinpaugh (06/10) (Auto)

On this day in 1927, Roger Peckinpaugh came to the White Sox in a trade with the Washington Senators. The Senators received Sloppy Thurston and Leo Mangum in exchange for Peckinpaugh.

Roger batted .295 for the Pale Hose in 1927, which would be his final year of playing in the majors. He only appeared in sixty-eight games, with sixty of those at shortstop. The next year, Peckinpaugh started his managerial career with the Cleveland Indians.



White Sox January 15th birthdays:

1885 - Grover Lowdermilk
1915 - Dick Culler
1937 - Bob Sadowski
1949 - Luis Alvarado

January 14

1996 Fleer #76 - Mike Sirotka

On this day in 2001, Mike Sirotka was dealt to the Toronto Blue Jays, along with Brian Simmons, Kevin Beirne and Mike Williams for David Wells and Matt DeWitt.

Damaged goods and underwhelming performances highlighted this trade. Dubbed "shouldergate", Mike Sirotka arrived to the Blue Jays with shoulder problems, which contributed to Sirotka never pitching again. It also sparked outcry from Toronto GM Gord Ash, which caused Bud Selig to rule that the trade stood as is.

Neither team really benefited from the trade, as David Wells had his worst year since 1994, in his lone year with the White Sox. Wells only won five games for the Pale Hose, which is only slightly better than the zero games played with the Jays for Sirotka.

White Sox January 14th birthdays:

1893 - Billy Meyer
1902 - Smead Jolley
1952 - Terry Forster
1976 - Pat Daneker
1984 - Mike Pelfrey

January 13

1993 Conlon #747 - Aaron Ward

On this day in 1927, the New York Yankees traded Aaron Ward to the White Sox for Johnny Grabowski and Ray Morehart.

Aaron would only spend one season with the Sox and it would be his last productive season in the majors, batting .270 in one hundred forty games. Before the 1928 season, Aaron was selected off of waivers by the Cleveland Indians and appeared in just six games with the Tribe. He faded into the minors until his retirement as a player in 1933.








White Sox January 13th birthdays:

1918 - Emmett O'Neill
1964 - Billy Jo Robidoux
1983 - Andy Sisco

January 12

2001 Pacific Extreme LTD #93 - Cal Eldred

On this day in 2000, the White Sox dumped problem child Jaime Navarro onto the Milwaukee Brewers with pitcher John Snyder for Cal Eldred and Jose Valentin.

Cal helped shape the 2000 playoff bound White Sox by showing the grit and determination to play through injury and the tenacity to put hardware in his elbow to help his team. After starting the 2000 campaign 10-2, Eldred, who had a history of elbow problems, had a screw put into his elbow in the fall. He petered out with the White Sox in 2001, but he caught on with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2003 and played three more seasons.





White Sox January 12th birthdays:

1876 - George Browne
1958 - Rod Craig
1960 - Tim Hulett

January 11

1931 W517 #43 - Art Shires

On this day in 1930, a lawsuit against Art Shires was dropped for a settlement of $500.

On December 28, 1928 a 53-year-old man from Shreveport, Louisiana man died from head injuries after being hit by a baseball thrown by Shires on May 20, 1928 in a game between Waco and Shreveport. Shires had allegedly thrown the baseball in anger at a group of disapproving Shreveport fans. On March 27, 1929, Shires was sued by the dead man's wife for $25,411. One day after the lawsuit was reported in the papers, Art was exonerated by a grand jury on March 29, 1929.

Art Shires played for the White Sox from 1928 until 1930.




White Sox January 11th birthdays:

1922 - Neil Berry
1929 - Don Mossi
1962 - Donn Pall

January 10

1992 O-Pee-Chee Premier #328 - Steve Sax

On this day in 1992, the White Sox acquired Steve Sax from the New York Yankees for Melido Perez, Domingo Jean and Bob Wickman.

Easily regarded as one of the worst trades for the Sox, Steve Sax didn't hit out of the .230 range for his duration with the South Siders. His fielding took a little bit of a dip from his days with New York, but it regressed to levels of his Los Angeles days.

Sax took a back seat to Joey Cora at second base and Tim Raines in left field by 1993. Steve never played in a postseason game in 1993, despite being on the roster all season.





White Sox January 10th birthdays:

1937 - Jim O'Toole
1958 - Pat Keedy
1959 - Richard Dotson

January 9

2010 Historic Autographs "In Memory Of" Update - Ray French

On this day in 1895, shortstop and second baseman, Ray French was born. Ray played briefly for the White Sox in 1924. He mostly played at shortstop, but played three games at second base for the Pale Hose. He managed 20 hits and 11 RBI, while batting .179.

Ray was purchased from the Brooklyn Robins on April 16, 1924 and played his last game on July 10, 1924.




White Sox January 9th birthdays:

1895 - Ray French
1982 - Tony Pena

January 8

1984 Donruss #379 - Julio Cruz

On this day in 1984, the White Sox re-signed free agent Julio Cruz.

After being the spark plug for the 1983 "Winning Ugly" team, the Sox signed Julio to a new contract in 1984. Unfortunately, Cruz did not return to form and slowly trailed off of his hot '83 finish. This was one of the reasons why the 1984 team underperformed and the beginning of a slow decline that would last for the rest of the decade.

The Sox finally cut ties with Julio before the 1987 season, but the damage was done and the Sox would find themselves near the cellar of the American League West until strong drafts led to a Pale Hose resurgence in 1990.

White Sox January 8th birthdays:

1921 - Marv Rickert
1927 - Jim Busby
1934 - Gene Freese
1973 - Mike Cameron