WSC Birth Years: Dioner Navarro

Card #202 - Dioner Navarro

Born: February 9, 1984

Dioner was signed as an amateur free agent by the New York Yankees in 2000. Navarro has improved on defense over the years, culminating in an All-Star appearance in 2008 with the Rays. While he has a little pop in his bat, Dioner never has hit for average, as he bounced around the majors.

The White Sox signed Navarro for $4 million. Before he was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays on August 26, 2016, Dioner hit .210 with six home runs and thirty-two RBI in eighty-five games. He committed eight errors with the White Sox.

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WSC Birth Years: Mat Latos

Card #201 - Mat Latos

Born: December 9, 1987

Mat was drafted by the San Diego Padres in the eleventh round of the 2006 amateur draft. Scouts considered him a first round pick, but immaturity issues allowed him to slip down to the three hundred thirty-third overall pick. Latos didn't actually sign with the Padres until a few days prior to re-entering the 2007 amateur draft. Mat demanded three million dollars as a signing bonus, which San Diego balked at, but settled at $1.25 million, after watching all of his junior college starts.

Latos found success with the Padres and Reds, including a twenty-one game streak without a loss. After knee and elbow injuries, Mat has bounced around the majors, with erratic effectiveness. He spent time with the Marlins, the Dodgers and the Angels before he came to the White Sox. His first four starts with the White Sox were brilliant, ending up with an ERA of 0.74. Then, everything fell apart for Latos and he gave up twenty-nine earned runs over the next thirty-six innings. On June 9, 2016, Chicago designated Mat for assignment after acquiring James Shields.

WSC Birth Years: Tim Anderson

Card #200 - Tim Anderson

Born: June 23, 1993

With the seventeenth overall selection in the 2013 amateur draft, the Chicago White Sox selected Tim Anderson, a toolsy infielder with a ton of potential. The White Sox viewed Anderson as the shortstop of the future. After a steady rise through the farm system, the future shortstop made his MLB debut on June 10, 2016 against the Kansas City Royals, in Chicago.

Tim did not disappoint in his first game. His first MLB hit was a double off pitcher Ian Kennedy in the bottom of the third inning, in his first at-bat. He later scored on a Jose Abreu single to left. Anderson finished with a single and a groundout to add to his double. He was also at the plate when an Avisail Garcia caught stealing ended the eighth inning. Tim finished the season with a .283 average and pretty respectable numbers across the board. He even had some brief consideration in the Rookie of the Year voting, coming in seventh.

WSC Birth Years: Michael Ynoa

Card #199 - Michael Ynoa

Born: September 24, 1991

Michael was called the crown jewel of the Best Latino Prospects of 2008. Compared to Felix Hernandez, a bidding war broke out, with Ynoa agreeing to a deal with the New York Yankees. While that deal fell through, the Athletics emerged the victor and signed him for 4.25 million dollars, a record for the club, at that time. He appeared in three games for the AZL Athletics before needing Tommy John surgery. After the 2014 season, he was traded to the White Sox with Jeff Samardzja for Marcus Semien, Chris Bassitt, Rangel Ravelo and Josh Phegley.

On June 14, 2016, Ynoa made his MLB debut with the White Sox against the Detroit Tigers, in the top of the seventh inning. Michael pitched for two innings, without giving up a run. Ynoa was mostly put into games that the Pale Hose were losing, but he did come out of twenty-three games with one win, one hold and a respectable 3.00 ERA. He will be looking to improve upon that in 2017.

WSC Birth Years: Todd Frazier

Card #198 - Todd Frazier

Born: February 12, 1986

Todd was drafted thirty-fourth overall by the Cincinnati Reds in the 2007 draft. Frazier made his MLB debut against the Phillies on May 23, 2011, striking out in his only at-bat. Todd blossomed into an All-Star for the Reds. He became the 2015 All-Star spokesman, when the game was held in Cincinnati. It was his second straight All-Star selection.

On December 16, 2015, Frazier was part of a three team deal between the Reds, the Dodgers and the White Sox, with the latter getting the services of the third baseman. Todd stabilized third base for the Pale Hose for the first time since the days his manager, Robin Ventura, called third base home. In fact, Frazier blew past Ventura's team record for home runs by a third baseman, clubbing forty in 2015 to Robin's thirty-four in 1996. On the other hand, the Toddfather had career lows in average (.225) and triples (0). With the team looking to rebuild, Frazier's time on the South Side may be short, but he has already made a positive impact in his first season for Chicago.

The First White Sox Card Of 2017 Is...

OK. Settle down. I know I haven't been posting on here as much as I or you would like. I apologize for that. Between a management position at my job and a new house to customize, it's been difficult to find the time to devote to one of my favorite hobbies (and blogs), but I did open some cards a few days after the Topps flagship release, so here are the first results.






The first White Sox card of 2017 is...

Lou Ferrigno? 

Well, that was unexpected! As luck would have it, a few cards further would produce the first 2017 White Sox PLAYER card...

 

Jose Quintana!

Eventually, I would get the entire base set of White Sox and most of the insert sets, but interestingly enough, no parallels of White Sox yet. While the flagship set is still somewhat new, there is still time to fill in the rest of the gaps with the inserts and parallels. The one thing that I have found a bit frustrating with this release is the parallel cards. They don't stand out at all. I actually passed up a parallel or two because I didn't recognize it right away.

Happy collecting, everyone!

2017 WSC Hall Of Fame Ballot

Here's a Hall of Fame that anyone can vote for: The White Sox Cards Hall Of Fame.



Yes, it's that time of year again, but this time around there will be a shorter window for voting.


You can vote for as many or as few players as you want. The rules are the same as the MLB Hall of Fame. 75% of the vote will get a player in. At least 5% of the vote will keep a player on the ballot for next year. A player has to be away from the White Sox for a minimum of five years for ballot consideration. If a player cannot get 75% of the vote after 15 tries, he is taken off the ballot.

Last ballot, three players were voted into the WSC Hall Of Fame. Who will make it in this year?

The 2017 ballot includes a player for each positional spot on the field, a designated hitter, a manager, and pitching has been split into spots for starter, middle relief and closer.


Joey Cora  – 2nd Base (1st year)
Joe Crede – 3rd Base (1st year)
Oscar Gamble - DH (7th year) 
Rich Gossage – P (1st year)
Dummy Hoy  – OF (4th year)
Frank Isbell – 1st Base (6th year)
Fielder Jones – OF (6th year) 
Al Lopez – MGR (7th year)
J.C. Martin - C (1st year)
Jack McDowell - P (1st year)
Minnie Minoso - OF (1st year)
Bobby Thigpen - P (6th year)
Buck Weaver - SS (5th year)

Voting will be through July 11, 2017, with the results announced shortly after. You can vote on the right sidebar. Any position left open due to election or cuts will be filled by another player next year.

The results should prove interesting. Have fun!

Congrats Tim Raines!!!

Hall of Fame Class of 2017

You deserve every bit of this, Tim.  When I was a kid just starting to collect baseball cards, I would wish that you were on the White Sox. I always had a soft spot for the Expos. Maybe it was those powder blue uniforms. Maybe it was the exotic (to a little kid) locale of Montreal, where they weren't just Canadian, they were FRONCH-Canadian. Then one day, in the middle of my freshman year of high school, I got my wish.

You never disappointed me. You, along with a fresh young group (and a couple of old timers), took the AL West by storm. The White Sox became a force to be reckoned with. Then it all came undone with the strike. You may have had your first World Series with the White Sox in 1994, but we'll leave that for another timeline where the strike doesn't happen. Still you got two with the Yankees and finally one, as a coach, with the White Sox. So, a little late, but better than never.

Soak it up and enjoy the ride. You deserve every bit of this.