Today in White Sox History: June 26
Spanky spanks a second straight leadoff dinger
1916
In a game in Cleveland, the White Sox became the first team to ever have names sewn on to the backs of the uniforms. Knowing who was playing didn’t help them, though; they were shut out, 2-0, on the afternoon. (The White Sox returned to the idea of names on the back of road uniforms in 1960 — and this time the practice stuck.)
In the same game, Cleveland players wore numbers pinned to their sleeves, becoming the first players in the 20th Century to do so. Each player’s number connoted their position on the diamond.
1964
In a doubleheader opener, White Sox right fielder Mike Hershberger spoiled Minnesota starter Gerry Arrigo’s no-hit bit with a leadoff single in the ninth inning. The White Sox lose, 2-0, but take the nightcap, 9-4
Arrigo would finish his major league career with five games on the South Side, in 1970.
1977
Rod Carew went 4-for-5 with a double, homer and six RBIs in a 19-12 mauling of the White Sox on Jersey Day in front of 46,463 at Metropolitan Stadium in Minneapolis, raising his batting average from .396 to .403.
The future Hall-of-Famer would push his batting average to as high as .411 (on July 1) and remain better than .400 until July 10, but ultimately fell short of the .300 mark, settling at .388 on the season. It was the sixth AL batting title of seven in Carew’s career, and his best-ever batting average, helping him earn a majors-high 9.7 WAR and the 1977 AL MVP.
1983
White Sox slugger Greg “The Bull” Luzinski belted the first of his three rooftop home runs at Comiskey Park, becoming the first player to ever hit that many in a single season. Luzinski powered a pitch from Minnesota’s Brian Oelkers over the roof in left-center field, scoring Tom Paciorek. The shot came in the third inning of a game the Sox won, 9-7.
1986
It was the best trade in the short career of GM Ken Harrelson, sending catcher Scott Bradley to the Mariners for a player to be named later — and on July 1, that player was revealed as outfielder Iván Calderon.
Calderon hit 28 home runs in 1987, and would be a key for the Sox in their spectacular 1990 campaign both at bat and in the field — leading the team that year with 74 RBIs, as the Sox stunned baseball by winning 94 games.
Calderon was traded to the Expos as part of the Tim Raines deal in December 1990, before coming back for nine games late in the 1993 season. To make room for Calderon’s second stint on the South Side, the Sox traded away reliever Donn Pall.
2010
The White Sox beat the Cubs, 3-2, to run their winning streak to 11 games in a row.
The streak started on June 15, and saw the Sox blitz National League clubs during the interleague portion of the schedule. They took three from Pittsburgh, three from Washington, three from Atlanta and two from the Cubs. During the streak they outscored opponents, 51-24, with three shutouts. The 11 straight wins reamin tied for the sixth-longest streak in White Sox history.
It was the 15th time in franchise history the Sox had a double-digit win streak, and the first since they won 10 at the end of 1981 and into 1982.
2015
In yanking the fourth pitch of the game deep and out to right field, Adam Eaton became just the second White Sox hitter to club leadoff home runs in consecutive games. It was Eaton’s only hit in an eventual 5-4 win over the Tigers. The White Sox had won Eaton’s first leadoff homer game, 8-7 in 10 innings, also against Detroit.
Thirteen years earlier, Kenny Lofton became the first White Sox hitter to accomplish this feat, clubbing leadoff dingers on July 18-19, 2002. The homers were Lofton’s only two hits in the game, both losses for the White Sox, to Kansas City and Baltimore. Just nine days later, Lofton was dealt to San Francisco.