Today in White Sox History: March 4
In the dying gasp of the White Sox dynasty of more than a century ago, Charles Comiskey makes a brilliant deal for Harry Hooper
1921
In the wake of the Black Sox, fortunes were going to turn hard against the fortunes of the South Siders — but don’t blame future Hall-of-Famer Harry Hooper. Charles Comiskey attempted to rebuild his team, making the acquisition of Hooper from the Red Sox as a cornerstone move.
The trade didn’t prevent the three-decade fall to come, but was a big win for the White Sox. Hooper, 33, still had five strong seasons in him, cementing the Hall case he built for himself in Boston. All told, Hooper was a .302/.383/.436 hitter in Chicago, good for 14.9 WAR total and 4.8 WAR in the penultimate season of his career. He was also a solid fielder, leading the AL in 1922 with 19 assists and 289 putouts.
Comiskey dealt two players, John “Shano” Collins and Harry “Nemo” Leibold, for Hooper, and neither would haunt the South Side. Both players, like Hooper, were active for five more seasons; however, Collins was washed (-3.3 WAR in that time) and Leibold was only about a third as effective as Hooper per WAR.
1994
Basketball superstar Michael Jordan, who retired in October 1993 from the Chicago Bulls, made his Spring Training debut in a White Sox uniform. He played in his first game at the major league level against the Rangers in Sarasota. Facing lefthander Darren Oliver, Jordan tapped back to the mound and was tagged out by the pitcher.
Jordan collected his first Spring Training hit on March 14 against the Twins, a single off of pitcher Jeff Innes.
2011
After an unprecedented lat surgery, Jake Peavy returns to the mound to start a White Sox spring training game at the Angels.
The righthander threw just 26 pitches (16 for strikes) over two innings, allowing one walk and striking out two. It was Peavy’s first appearance on a mound since July 6, 2010. His hitless effort stretched the White Sox rotation’s streak to start the spring to 10 innings.
A fella named Brett Ballantini, then the CSN Chicago White Sox beat reporter and at the moment something else, was unable to get a wifi signal on press row and thus covered “Peavy Watch” and the game using his Blackberry from the roof of Tempe Diablo Stadium. It was there he caught the first foul ball of his life, from an Angels batter during Peavy’s outing — which happened to fall on the writer’s 42nd birthday.
The White Sox dropped the contest, 3-1.
2013
José Abreu’s grand slam paces a Team Cuba rout of China, 12-0, in the World Baseball Classic, in a game that ended early due to the mercy rule. Eight months later, Abreu signed with the White Sox.