Workhorse

RED FABER

     The last Chicago team to win the World Series in the 20th Century did so with 82 years to spare.
     The 1917 White Sox won 100 games (still a franchise record) and cruised to the American League pennant by nine games. In the World Series against the New York Giants, they won the first two games at Comiskey Park, 2-1 and 7-2, with Eddie Cicotte going the distance in Game 1 and Red Faber doing likewise in Game 2.
     The Sox pounded out 14 hits in Game 2, and even Faber—an .058 hitter for the regular season—joined in the fun, rapping a single to right in the fifth inning. When Giant right fielder Davy Robertson threw home to hold Buck Weaver at third on the play, Faber alertly took second. Then, seeing that pitcher Pol Perritt was ignoring him, Faber took off for third on the next pitch. He slid in, apparently safe, only to come face-to-face with Weaver, who was still occupying the base. “Where the hell are you going?” Weaver asked. The sheepish Faber replied, “Why, back to pitch, of course.”
     Faber could afford to laugh at his baserunning blunder after the Sox scored an easy victory in the game, but the Sox weren’t laughing when they were shut out in Games 3 and 4 at New York. In the pivotal Game 5 on October 13, back at Comiskey Park, they were down 5-2 heading into the bottom of the seventh, and their hopes for a world championship seemed to be fading fast. But the Sox rallied for three to tie the score.
     When the Sox took the field for the eighth, manager Pants Rowland called on Faber, even though he had pitched seven tough innings just two days before. Faber set the Giants down in order. The Sox scored three times in their half of the eighth to take the lead. Faber was again perfect in the top of the ninth, and the Sox won 8-5. It was the turning point of the Series: the momentum had shifted back in Chicago’s favor.
     For Game 6 in New York, Rowland again elected to go with Faber. In the top of the fourth, the Giants fell apart defensively. Eddie Collins reached on a bad throw by third baseman Heinie Zimmerman, a former Cub who, it was said, “fielded by ear.” Joe Jackson lofted an easy fly ball that Robertson dropped. Then Happy Felsch hit a bouncer to Zimmerman, and it appeared that Collins was hung up between third and home. Inexplicably, however, catcher Bill Rariden and pitcher Rube Benton both left the plate unattended. With the unfortunate Zimmerman chasing him, Collins streaked home with the first run of the game. Jackson and Felsch scored on a single by Chick Gandil, and the White Sox were on their way. Faber went all the way, scattering six hits, as the Sox won 4-2 to claim the Series.
     Faber pitched 27 innings in the Series, winning three games and losing one. He and Cicotte pitched 50 of the 52 innings between them. Faber went on to star for the South Siders until 1933, but he missed the infamous 1919 World Series with an injury. “If Red had been available,” catcher Ray Schalk said, “there would never have been a Black Sox scandal.”

Reprinted from Heydays: Great Stories in Chicago Sports
(c) by Christopher Tabbert

White Sox WARs

WILBUR WOOD

     Of the many new statistics which have inundated baseball fans over the past decade or two, perhaps the most interesting is WAR (wins above replacement). This stat seeks to measure a player's value to his team by determining the number of wins he was responsible for. A WAR of 5.0, for example, means that the team won five more games with the given player in the lineup than it would have won with an average player in his place.
     Not including 19th-century pitchers who appeared in almost every game, the highest single-season WAR of all time was Babe Ruth's 14.7 in 1923. The Bambino is also the career leader in WAR with 190.0.
     What about White Sox WARs? In 1971, lefty knuckleballer Wilbur Wood went 22-13 with an earned-run average of 1.91, completed 22 of his 42 starts, tossed seven shutouts, and allowed exactly one baserunner (hits and walks combined) for each of his 334 innings. His performance on the mound earned him a WAR of 10.7, the highest figure for any pitcher or position player in club history.
     Alas, in those days before the designated hitter, Wood's contributions at the plate left something to be desired. He went 5-for-96 (.052), with no doubles, no triples, no homers, and no runs batted in. His WAR as a batter, even though it was measured against other pitchers, was minus 0.7, reducing his overall figure for the season to 10.0. In the list of all-time leading White Sox WARs below, we've cut Wilbur and his fellow hurlers some slack, listing their figures as pitchers only, and not docking them for their lack of hitting prowess.
     Among position players, unsung shortstop Ron Hansen cracked the top ten single-season White Sox WARs in 1964, largely on the strength of his 2.8 figure on defense. Hansen's 4.6 on offense gave him a total WAR of 7.4, tied for seventh place among all position players in club history. On the other side of the coin, Dick Allen, Frank Thomas, and Albert Belle all tallied negative scores on defense, but these were more than offset by their offensive production.

Top Ten White Sox WARs, single season (pitchers)

  1. Wilbur Wood (1971), 10.7
  2. Eddie Cicotte (1917), 10.0
  3. Red Faber (1921), 9.9
  3. Ed Walsh (1912), 9.9
  5. Wilbur Wood (1972), 9.7
  6. Ed Walsh (1908), 9.5
  7. Eddie Cicotte (1919), 8.8
  8. Ed Walsh (1910), 8.7
  9. Thornton Lee (1941), 8.2
10. Ed Walsh (1911), 8.2


Top Ten White Sox WARs, single season (position players)

  1. Eddie Collins, 2B (1915), 10.1
  2. Dick Allen, 1B (1972), 9.3
  3. Minnie Minoso, LF (1954), 8.3
  4. Eddie Collins, 2B (1920), 8.0
  5. Luke Appling, SS (1936), 7.7
  6. Frank Thomas, 1B (1992), 7.6
  7. Albert Belle, LF (1998), 7.4
  7. George Davis, SS (1905), 7.4
  7. Ron Hansen, SS (1964), 7.4
  7. Joe Jackson, LF (1920), 7.4
  7. Frank Thomas, 1B (1991), 7.4


Top Ten White Sox WARs, career (pitchers)

  1. Ted Lyons (1923-1942), 58.8
  2. Red Faber (1914-1933), 55.2
  3. Ed Walsh (1904-1916), 55.0
  4. Billy Pierce (1949-1961), 50.3
  5. Wilbur Wood (1967-1978), 44.9
  6. Eddie Cicotte (1912-1920), 43.1
  7. Mark Buehrle (2000-present), 42.9
  8. Doc White (1903-1913), 29.9
  9. Thornton Lee (1937-1947), 28.0
10. Tommy John (1965-1971), 22.5


Top Ten White Sox WARs, career (position players)

  1. Frank Thomas, 1B-DH (1990-2005), 70.6
  2. Luke Appling, SS (1930-1950), 69.3
  3. Eddie Collins, 2B (1915-1926), 66.0
  4. Nellie Fox, 2B (1950-1963), 42.7
  5. Minnie Minoso, OF (1951-1957, 1960-1961, 1964, 1976, 1980), 42.7
  6. Robin Ventura, 3B (1989-1998), 38.8
  7. Fielder Jones, OF (1901-1908), 35.1
  8. George Davis, SS (1902, 1904-1909), 33.4
  9. Luis Aparicio, SS (1956-1961, 1968-1970), 31.5
10. Carlton Fisk, C (1981-1993), 29.6

Bill James's Greatest Chicago Players

EDDIE COLLINS

     Bill James and his fellow sabermetricians--so named after the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR), through which they operate--seek to go beyond the traditional figures that have populated the sports pages for more than a century (batting average, home runs, runs batted in, wins, strikeouts, and earned-run average), in order to measure every aspect of a player's performance and value.
     Their work leads inevitably to the ranking of players, which is always interesting, often controversial, and sometimes changes considerably over time (for example, Ernie Banks was ranked 40th in an early version of James's list of the greatest players of all time, but has since slipped to 77th). The rankings have made James's books best sellers and are surefire conversation starters.
     The best Chicago player of all time, according to James, was Eddie Collins. "Collins is described by various sources," James wrote, "as the best bunter in the history of baseball, the best hit-and-run man in the history of baseball, the best defensive second baseman in the history of baseball, the best sign-stealer who ever lived, and the greatest World Series star who ever lived. Kid Gleason, who managed Collins on the White Sox, said that Collins was the greatest team player who ever lived. Connie Mack [who managed Collins with the Athletics] said that Collins was the greatest team player who ever lived."
     Below is a list of all the Chicago players in James's most recent top 100. (Note that some of them played only briefly in Chicago, and therefore earned their ranking elsewhere.) Notable by his absence from this list is Sammy Sosa, whose steroid-tainted career remains difficult to evaluate at present.

18. Eddie Collins, White Sox 1915-1926

20. Grover Alexander, Cubs 1918-1926

22. Rogers Hornsby, Cubs 1929-1932

29. Jimmie Foxx, Cubs 1942, 1944

38. Tom Seaver, White Sox 1984-1986

58. Ryne Sandberg, Cubs 1982-1994, 1996-1997

66. Joe Jackson, White Sox 1916-1920

71. Al Simmons, White Sox 1933-1935

73. Ken Griffey Jr., White Sox 2008

75. Frank Thomas, White Sox 1990-2005

77. Ernie Banks, Cubs 1953-1971

78. Steve Carlton, White Sox 1986

80. Roberto Alomar, White Sox 2003-2004

81. Tim Raines, White Sox 1991-1995

83. Mordecai Brown, Cubs 1904-1912, 1916

85. Minnie Minoso, White Sox 1951-1957, 1960-1961, 1964

87. Ron Santo, Cubs 1960-1973; White Sox 1974

92. Greg Maddux, Cubs 1986-1992, 2004-2006

96. Robin Roberts, Cubs 1966

97. Carlton Fisk, White Sox, 1981-1993

100. Billy Williams, Cubs 1959-1974