Monday, June 18, 2012

June 18

1990 Topps #326 - Tom McCarthy

On this day in 1989, Tom McCarthy pitched six and a third innings of relief, giving up no runs, trying to keep the White Sox in the game against the Boston Red Sox at Comiskey Park.

The White Sox would turn around their club in 1990, but the seeds of that resurgence were found all over the dismal sixty-nine win season of 1989. One week after signing Frank Thomas, Steve Rosenberg gave up nine hits and seven runs in two and two-thirds innings. Rosenberg threw two wild pitches in his short time on the mound, but only managed to have two runs earned out of the seven, thanks in part to errors from Eddie Williams and Carlos Martinez.

One of the few bright spots on the field in the 1989 season for the White Sox happened when McCarthy took the mound. Although he scattered seven hits and walked one, not another run crossed the plate for the rest of the game. The Sox mounted their comeback with two-run homers by Fred Manrique in the third inning and Ivan Calderon in the sixth, but Boston relief pitchers Bob Stanley and Lee Smith prevented the ChiSox from hitting in the final three innings. Yes, the White Sox didn't win the game, but perhaps the seeds were planted for the team to embrace the "Comeback Kids" mentality of the early nineties.

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