Today in White Sox History: August 5
A silly brawl, with major ramifications
1925
Southpaw Dickie Kerr, a two-game winner as a rookie in the 1919 World Series for the White Sox but inactive since 1921, was reinstated from the voluntarily-retired list in an attempted comeback at age 32. Kerr will pitch in just 12 games, to a 5.15 ERA, and retire for good after the season.
After a relatively poor 1921 season (19-17, 4.72 ERA, 4.16 FIP, 89 ERA+), the White Sox sent him a contract with a $500 pay cut for 1922, prompting him to quit and pitch as a semi-pro from 1922-25.
1977
In the first game of a key series with Kansas City, White Sox pitcher Bart Johnson and Royals catcher Darrell Porter got into a shoving match along the first-base line in the third inning after Porter slammed into Johnson’s back while he was covering first base.
In the sixth inning when Porter was coming up to bat, Johnson stepped off the mound and yelled out ”Do you want it now?” and a brawl took place. Both players were ejected.
After the game, both Porter and George Brett came to the White Sox locker room to apologize. Johnson had undergone back surgery a few years before and didn’t appreciate being deliberately run into that area by Porter.
2022
It was the continuation of one of the most dominant stretches of pitching in baseball history.
Dylan Cease held the Rangers to one run in six innings of work in a 2-1 win. That meant he broke a record shared with Jacob deGrom for allowing one earned run or fewer in 13 consecutive starts (the pair had shared the mark at 12 starts).
It was the longest streak in baseball since earned runs became an official statistic in 1913.
2023
Maybe it was the frustration of an atrocious season coming to a head.
In the sixth inning of a game the Sox would win 7-4 in Cleveland, José Ramírez and Tim Anderson got tangled up at second base.
Ramírez had laced a double down the line and when he slid between Anderson’s legs appeared to slightly push one of them as TA stood over him in case the runner slid off of the bag. Anderson had already suffered a strained knee earlier in the season, and reacted angrily to Ramírez pushing him and getting up to point a finger in his face.
Anderson dropped his fielder’s glove and the two went at it. Anderson scored with a couple of punches before Ramirez dropped him with a right.
Well after the benched cleared Sox manager Pedro Grifol and Guardians manager (and former Sox minor league manager) Terry Francona exchanged words, and then Grifol and Cleveland third base coach Mike Sarbaugh appeared to raise their hands to each other in the midst of a second flurry. Anderson and Grifol were the only White Sox ejected while four Guardian players and coaches were tossed.
Suspensions were then handed out by the league after reviewing the video. In the aftermath, Ramírez was portrayed as an innocent victim policing the good of the game, while the downfall of Anderson’s career — he was already in free-fall in the midst of an atrocious 2024 season — was made complete with his embarrassing knockdown.