1920
As a response to the Black Sox scandal that saw members of the White Sox throw the World Series in 1919, baseball owners unanimously elected Kenesaw Mountain Landis as the first baseball commissioner. Landis, a White Sox fan, took the job while insisting that he be given final authority over the players and owners.
Despite the acquittal of the Black Sox of any wrongdoing by a Chicago jury on Aug. 2, 1921, Landis banned all eight players from the game, permanently, in a statement made the very
next day, August 3.
1959
He helped lead the White Sox to their first pennant in 40 years, and because of his contributions on the field and in the clubhouse Nellie Fox became the first member of the franchise to be named American League MVP.
Fox hit .306 that year with 191 hits, 34 doubles, 70 RBIs and 71 walks (as compared to only 13 strikeouts!) Fox also led the league in putouts, assists, total chances and fielding percentage for all second basemen. He also was named to the All-Star team.
Nellie got 16 first-place votes from the Baseball Writers Association of America, and beat out teammate Luis Aparicio, 295-255. Pitcher Early Wynn, who’d win the Cy Young that season, finished third — giving the Sox the top three spots in the final voting.
1980
Two years removed from a career-saving stint with the White Sox that saw him leaving Chicago as the first two-time free agent in MLB history, Steve Stone capped off the season of his career by winning the AL Cy Young for Baltimore. Stone had already transformed his pitching approach via meditation and art of pitching/prep by the end of 1979. But in 1980, he leaned hard into his killer curveball, upping usage to more than 50% and willingly risking injury: “I knew it would ruin my arm. But one year of 25-7 is worth five of 15-15.”
Stone won 25 games, at one point won 14 in a row, and whittled his ERA to 3.23. His only career All-Star appearance was marked by three perfect innings.
1987
Richard Dotson headlined a five-player trade with the Yankees that also sent away fellow righthander Scott Nielsen and brought back outfielder Dan Pasqua, catcher Mark Salas and reliever Steve Rosenberg. It was the third White Sox-Yankees trade of 1987 and the eight transaction between the two teams since 1984.
To that end, Nielsen had been dealt to the White Sox in January 1987.
Overall, the trade was pretty much a zero save for the contributions of Pasqua to the White Sox (7.7 WAR over 630 games, slightly better than average), which while not overwhelming was the only significant production for any of the five involved in this swap.
1993
Prominent draft disappointment Courtney Hawkins was born, in Corpus Christi, Texas. The White Sox made Hawkins the No. 13 overall pick in the 2012 draft, the first high-schooler they’d used a first round pick on in 11 years. He showed immediate promise, slashing .284/.324/.480 with eight homers over 59 games in rookie, Low-A and High-A ball. Things quickly plateaued and stalled for Hawkins, however, as over six-plus years in the White Sox system he never moved past Double-A ball.
Four years after leaving the White Sox, Hawkins dominated indy ball, hitting 48 home runs in 127 games for the Lexington Legends of the Atlantic League — more than any player in the minors that year, affiliated ball or otherwise.
2020
It was a very strange baseball season, but one thing that didn’t change was the excellence of White Sox first baseman José Abreu. From start to finish of the abbreviated, 60-game season, the big slugger produced and because of that was named the American League MVP by the Baseball Writers Association of America. Abreu finished with 374 total points, beating out Cleveland’s José Ramírez. Abreu became the fourth White Sox MVP, joining Nellie Fox (1959), Dick Allen (1972) and Frank Thomas (1993-94).
Abreu’s 60 RBIs over 60 games led the AL for a second consecutive season. He finished second with 19 home runs, and fourth with a .317 batting average. He also ranked fifth with a .987 OPS, and was the only AL player to rank in the Top 5 in hits (76, first), RBIs, slugging percentage (.617, first), extra-base hits (34, first), total bases (148, first), home runs, average and OPS. A highlight of his season was six home runs in a three-game series against the Cubs at Wrigley Field, including four straight over two games.
