You never hear the name of Wilbur Wood brought up when White Sox fans talk about good pitchers of the past. I think that’s because he was a knuckleballer. From 1971-1974, Wood won at least 20 games in each season. He pitched in 184 games (181 starts) in those four years and he was 90-69 with a 2.86 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP. Wood wasn’t a starter his whole career though as he started out as a reliever. Wood pitched in 578 games (286 starts) in his 12 years with the White Sox and he was 163-148 with 57 saves, a 3.18 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. Wood made three All-Star teams in his career with the Pale Hose. Wood is #3 in White Sox’ history in games pitched (578), #7 in games started (286), #5 in innings pitched (2,524 1/3), #5 in wins (163), #7 in saves (57), #4 in strikeouts (1,332) and he’s tied for 9th in shutouts with 24. Wood was one of the better pitchers in White Sox’ history despite a lack of respect.

OF/DH Harold Baines started his career with the White Sox and he came back to them a couple of other times later in his career. He always seemed to have a very nice stroke at the plate from the left side. Baines played 14 years for the White Sox appearing in 1,670 games in which he was 1,773 of 6,149 (.288 avg, .809 OPS) with 786 runs scored, 221 homers, 981 RBIs and 32 stolen bases. Baines was tied for 6th all time in games for the White Sox (1,670), #5 in hits (1,773), #8 in runs scored (786), #3 in homers (221), #4 in RBIs (981) and #4 in doubles with 320. Baines was one of the better hitters in White Sox history but I think he will still fall short of the Hall of Fame.

Frank “Big Hurt” Thomas  finally announced his official retirement a few days ago at the age of 41.  He hasn’t played since the 2008 season, when he was with the Oakland Athletics.  His last three seasons were spent with the Toronto Blue Jays and the A’s, but it was his 16 years as a member of the Chicago White Sox where he did most of his damage.  Thomas is arguably the best player in White Sox history, with the club records for Home Runs (448) and RBIs (1,465).  He is also one of the greatest and most imposing hitters of his era.  The five-time All-Star finished his career with a .301 average, 521 home runs (18th all-time), 1,704 RBIs, 1,494 runs, 2,468 hits, 295 doubles, 1667 walks, .419 OBP, .555 SLG, and a .974 OPS.  He won back-to-back MVP’s in 1993 and 1994, which put him on a very short and elite list of players to accomplish that in the American League.  That list includes Roger Maris, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Hal Newhouser, and Jimmie Foxx.  Thomas also won a batting title in 1997.

Thomas was injured for the majority of the 2005 White Sox World Series season and missed the entire postseason.  Despite all of that, he stated that World Series Title was the best memory of his career.  He did contribute some that year, as the team got a big power and momentum boost from Thomas in the middle of the season.  He played in just 34 games in the 2005 season, but hit 12 home runs and had 26 RBIs.  He did spend a lot of his career as a DH, but he was a very capable 1B and finished his career with a .990 fielding percentage in 706 games played at 1B. People seem to forget just how dominant he was, as some are questioning whether or not Thomas will be a first ballot Hall-of-Famer.  I don’t think there should be any doubt, as his numbers speak for themselves.  What makes Thomas’ career even more impressive is that he was seen as a clean player in an era overshadowed by steroid use.  Thomas was calling for performance enhancing drug testing long before others were, as he publicly advocated for PE drug testing as early as 1995.  He was also one of the only players to get mentioned in the famous Mitchell Report in a positive way.  Thomas did have an ugly and bitter departure from the White Sox, but those bridges have been mended.  The “Big Hurt” truly was one of the best hitters to play the game and is a White Sox legend.

Righty starting pitcher LaMar Hoyt was only with the White Sox for six years but he certainly made a mark with them. He pitched in 178 games (116 starts) in which he was 74-49 with 10 saves, a 3.92 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. But, it was in 1983 that Hoyt really dominated as he won the Cy Young Award. He pitched in 36 games (all starts) in 1983 and he was 24-10 with a 3.66 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP. He also finished what he started as he threw 11 complete games that year as he was a workhorse.

Ozzie Guillen is known more for his managing than his playing but he was a decent shortstop in his time. He played in 1,743 games in his career with the White Sox and he was 1,608 for 6,067 (.265 avg, .625 OPS) with 693 runs scored, 24 homers, 565 RBIs and 163 stolen bases. Guillen was the Rookie of the Year in the American League in 1985. In 1985, he played in 150 games for the White Sox in which he was 134 for 491 (.273 avg, .650 OPS) with 71 runs scored, 1 homer, 33 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. Guillen won one Gold Glove and he made the All-Star time three times with the Pale Hose. Guillen is #7 all-time in hits with the White Sox and he is tied for 10th in runs scored with Fielder Jones. Although he was a slick fielding shortstop and a pesky hitter Guillen’s biggest contribution in White Sox’ history has been as the manager of the team. He was the Manager of the Year in the American League in 2005 when he led the Chicago White Sox to the World Series where they became World Champs. He has been the manager of the Pale Hose for six years now and he is 512-461 (52.6%). It is always fun to watch Guillen erupt when things don’t go his way but he usually makes his point.