2000 Chicago White Sox: South Side Slugging

2000 Chicago White Sox: South Side Slugging

2000 Chicago White Sox: South Side Slugging

The Chicago White Sox certainly never lacked the power to hit home runs, especially when players like Frank Thomas were around hitting the cover off the baseball. In the early 2000’s the White Sox mainly relied on home run hitting, or South Side Slugging, to win ballgames, and it would take a few years for the team to realize that playing some Small Ball was the key to winning more consistently.

The White Sox went 96-67 in 2000, winning the American League Central division by 5 games over the Cleveland Indians. The White Sox went 8-5 against the Indians in head-to-head play. The White Sox went 46-35 at home and 49-32 on the road. Except for the month of May the White Sox were consistently slugging their way to victory as they went 17-8 in April, 20-7 in June, 14-12 in July, 15-13 in August and 16-12 in September. In blowout games where the end result was by 5 or more runs, the White Sox went 36-23.

Designated Hitter Frank Thomas, nicknamed the “Big Hurt”, batted .328 with 43 home runs and 143 RBI’s off 191 hits and 44 doubles. Right fielder Magglio Ordonez batted .315 with 32 home runs and 126 RBI’s off 185 hits, 34 doubles, 3 triples and 18 stolen bases. Third baseman Herbert Perry batted .308 with 12 home runs and 61 RBI’s off 118 hits and 29 doubles in 109 games. Left fielder Carlos Lee batted .301 with 24 home runs and 92 RBI’s off 172 hits, 29 doubles and 13 stolen bases.

First baseman Paul Konerko batted .298 with 21 home runs and 97 RBI’s off 156 hits and 31 doubles. Second baseman Ray Durham batted .280 with 17 home runs and 75 RBI’s off 172 hits, 35 doubles, 9 triples and 25 stolen bases. Shortstop Jose Valentin batted .273 with 25 home runs and 92 RBI’s off 155 hits, 37 doubles, 6 triples and 19 stolen bases. Center fielder Chris Singleton had 11 home runs and 62 RBI’s off 130 hits, 22 doubles, 5 triples and 22 stolen bases. Catcher Charles Johnson had 10 home runs and 8 doubles in 44 games.

Starting pitcher Mike Sirotka went 15-10 with 128 strikeouts and a 3.79 ERA, recording 1 complete game. James Baldwin went 14-7 with 116 strikeouts, recording 2 complete games and 1 shutout. Jim Parque went 13-6 with 111 strikeouts. Cal Eldred went 10-1 with 97 strikeouts, recording 2 complete games and 1 shutout. Starting 3 games Mark Buehrle went 4-1.

Closer Keith Foulke went 3-1 with 34 saves, 91 strikeouts and a 2.97 ERA. Relief pitcher Bob Howry had 7 saves and a 3.17 ERA. Kelly Wunsch went 6-3 wit 1 save and a 2.93 ERA. Sean Lowe went 4-1 from the bullpen. Despite going 2-3 from the bullpen Bill Simas recorded a respectable 3.46 ERA. Lorenzo Barcelo went 4-2 with a 3.69 ERA. Jesus Pena went 2-1 with 1 save.

During the course of the regular season the White Sox found themselves in favorable positions since smashing home run balls came easy for them. The White Sox enjoyed an 8-game winning streak which began on June 12 with a close 8-7 victory over the Cleveland Indians at Jacobs Field, and the winning streak ended on June 19 with a 6-1 win over the Indians at the comforts of their home ballpark, Comiskey Park II.

Towards the end of this winning streak the White Sox had the pleasure of slugging the eventual 2000 World Series Champion New York Yankees into oblivion as they crushed the Bronx Bombers by the score of 17-4 on June 18 at Yankee Stadium II. In the top of the 1st inning Frank Thomas had an RBI double, Paul Konerko had an RBI single, Chris Singleton had a 2-run double, and Carlos Lee had an RBI single. However, the biggest blow of the game came off the bat of Jose Valentin as he obliterated a grand slam home run to complete an amazing 9-run inning.

The White Sox were far from done scoring, though. In the top of the 2nd Lee had a 2-run double, and then catcher Mark Johnson, who often split time behind the plate with Charles Johnson, had an RBI single. In the top of the 5th Singleton had an RBI single, Lee followed with an RBI groundout, and then Johnson capped things off with a 2-run single. The Yankees only had the 6th inning to smile as catcher Jorge Posada had an RBI single, and then third baseman Scott Brosius followed by crushing a 3-run home run. In the top of the 7th second baseman Tony Graffanino’s RBI single would finish a day filled with offensive firepower for the White Sox.

Unfortunately for the White Sox they ran into a buzz saw in the Seattle Mariners, a team in the process of legitimately contending for a spot in the World Series. The White Sox would be swept by the Mariners 3 games to none in the American League Division Series.

Even though the end result of the season wasn’t what they had in mind, the Chicago White Sox still managed to have a great season, making their first playoff appearance since 1993. Keeping his players motivated and directing them to play the style of ball that catered to their skills, manager Jerry Manuel’s coaching efforts would be rewarded as he would be named the Associated Press Manager of the Year. However, it would be after Manuel’s departure when the White Sox would challenge for the World Series trophy again 5 years later.