Today in White Sox History: October 9

(@ChicagoTribune)

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1919 — The White Sox unexpectedly lost the World Series to the Cincinnati Reds, 5-3. Sox fans, reporters and some players were totally shocked over the way some games were lost. The questions surrounding this series — one of the greatest upsets in baseball history — would linger for a year before exploding into the “Black Sox” scandal as eight players were put on trial for attempting to deliberately lose games.

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1993 — In Game 4 of the 1993 ALCS the White Sox squared the best-of-seven series 2-2 with a 7-4 win in Toronto. Tim Belcher, who was acquired in a July trade, got the win in relief of Jason Bere. Unfortunately this was the last great moment for the “Good Guys Wear Black,” as Toronto closed out the series by winning Game 5 in Toronto and Game 6 at Comiskey Park.

A few years later, Toronto manager Cito Gaston revealed that the Blue Jays knew exactly what pitches were coming from both Sox aces (Jack McDowell and Alex Fernandez), something the Sox coaching staff never picked up on. In fact Toronto beat those pitchers four times, while losing all the other games.

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Today in White Sox History: October 8

The last time your editor cried over a ballgame: Tito Landrum crushes Britt Burns‘ (and another BB’s) dreams in 1983.

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1948 — Frank “Trader” Lane was recruited out of the Big Ten Conference and took over as the new general manager of the White Sox. Lane would go on to become one of the greatest GMs in team history. Among the players acquired by Lane, who made over 230 trades in his Sox tenure, were such future All-Stars as Nellie Fox, Sherm Lollar, Billy Pierce, Chico Carrasquel and Minnie Miñoso. Lane built the club that would go on to win the pennant in 1959.

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1983 — With the White Sox down 2-1 in the ALCS, Jerry Dybzinski overran second base after a single by Julio Cruz in the seventh inning of a scoreless game at Comiskey Park. In the ensuing rundown Vance Law, who was on base in front of Dybzinski, was thrown out trying to score what would have been the go-ahead run. The Sox wound up losing the game and the series to the Orioles on a home run by Baltimore’s Tito Landrum in the 10^th inning. The final score was 3-0, spoiling a masterful pitching performance by Sox pitcher Britt Burns.

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1993 — With the White Sox down 2-0 in the ALCS, Wilson Alvarez pitched a gem and beat the Blue Jays 6-1. The Sox scored five runs in the third inning, which gave him some breathing room. Alvarez’s complete-game victory was badly needed, and gave Sox fans a reason to keep hoping.

Today in White Sox History: October 5

Curve ball: Michael Jordan’s bombshell cast a Pall over the 1993 ALCS. (@Cut4)

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1908 — White Sox pitcher Ed Walsh won his 40^th game of the season, as he beat the Detroit Tigers, 6-1. No one has come close to 40 wins since.

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1983 — Cy Young Award winner LaMarr Hoyt pitched a brilliant, complete game six-hitter in beating the Orioles 2-1 in Game 1 of the ALCS. It was the first time since divisional playoffs started in 1969 that Baltimore had lost the first game of a postseason series. It would prove to be the high-water mark for the Sox in the next week.

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1993 — Game 1 of the ALCS was a complete, unmitigated disaster both on and off the field for the White Sox. On the field, the Toronto Blue Jays ripped the Sox, 7-3, but by the middle of the game, not one fan cared. Michael Jordan, who threw out the ceremonial first pitch, confirmed reports that he was holding a press conference the next morning to announce his retirement from the Chicago Bulls. Fans at the game and around the city were in shock.

Adding insult to injury, future Hall of Fame catcher Carlton Fisk and Chicago native and former Sox pitcher Donn Pall were turned away by security guards when they attempted to wish the team good luck in the locker room before the game started. The White Sox claimed the rules were set by major league baseball but no fan or media member was fooled by that comment. Most media members felt Fisk was turned away on explicit orders from owner Jerry Reinsdorf. It was an insult Fisk never forgot.

Reinsdorf then took an unprecedented step of apologizing to the team in the clubhouse before the start of Game 2, saying he had no desire to steal their spotlight because of the Jordan situation.

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2008 — Making the postseason for the third time in the decade, the White Sox were on the brink of elimination in the 2008 ALDS, but behind strong starting pitching from John Danks they beat the Rays, 5-3, to survive another day. Danks pitched into the seventh inning, with seven strikeouts. A three-run fourth inning set the tone for the Sox in the game, and narrowed Tampa Bay’s series lead to 2-1.