15 From 2005 - # 1 Season Tickets

 15 from 2005

Snapshots from a Championship Season

1 - Season Tickets

Today, we look back at the wonder that was the 2005 White Sox.  Many people have already said so many things about the 2005 White Sox.  I'm not trying to reinvent the wheel here, I just want to take time and reflect and reminisce about that magical season from my point of view.

In 2005 I was working in the research department for a mortgage company.  I was just a regular hourly employee there.  However my position as the person who responded to correspondence directed to our company president and other high level correspondence made me fairly well known around  the company as I interacted with most every department in responding to these issues.  It was also fairly well known that I was a White Sox fan.  One morning one of the mailroom employees who would bring me some of the correspondence I would research came to my desk with a flyer. 

It was an extra White Sox 2005 Season ticket sales flyer that was sent to our company.  She thought I would get a kick out of seeing it.  She, of course, was absolutely right. I love all things White Sox and did enjoy looking at the different ticket plans available for the then upcoming season. 

I took the flyer home to show my wife. I really had no real thought of buying tickets.  We went  to 3 or 4 games a year, but many of those tickets we received through promotions or other modes of frugality.    I  had never had season tickets for anything, so it really wasn't on my radar and we had 2 children at home so it also wasn't in our budget

AI showed Amy the flyer and went on with my regularly scheduled life.  The next day AMy calls me  at work and say, I think we should buy season tickets. Color me flabbergasted!   Before I could un gast my flabber, she reminded me of a gift my parents gave us the previous Christmas.  

My parents (who are huge Cubs fans) had given each of their children a sizable amount of money. They had done so almost every year and almost every year we had it spent it, or at least earmarked it by New Year's Eve.  

This particular year we had held onto it, and had not really set it aside for any expenditure.  The money hadn't even crossed my mind when I  received the flyer. It evidently had crossed my wife's mind. She suggested that we could use some of that money and purchase 2 tickets to the 9 game plan (cleverly called the Minnie Plan after White Sox legend Minnie Minoso). 

I wasn't so sure.  It seemed like an extravagance to spend so much money on something that would mainly benefit me.  Even so, there was another problem lurking in the ether, an Elephant in the Stadium that needed to be addressed.  

The White Sox have been playing in the same stadium since 1991. From 1991 to 2002 IThe stadium was  called Comiskey Park, which was also the name of the stadium it replaced.  In 2003 the name  the name  changed to U.S. Cellular Field.  I attended 8 to 9 games there  in 2003 and 2004 and the White Sox lost every single one of them! This included a 7-0 loss to the New York Yankees on September 23rd.  I remember that game specifically because a) It was my 39th birthday, and b) it eliminated The White Sox from the playoffs by that loss and a Minnesota Twins victory over the Cleveland Indians. 

It wasn't like the Sox stunk at home since the name change. In fact, they went a combine 97-65 at home during those 2 years that's a winning percentage of .599! They won 6 of every 10 games but 0 of the 9 I went to! I'm pretty sure the White Sox Marquis had a sign that read Welcome to U.S. Cellular Field, except you Dave Roller! 

So why would I possibly think of  buying seasons tickets to a team I hadn't been to a home winner in since the name change? It was a valid question.  But the thing about me, is I'm an optimist.  I mean who isn't before a season starts?  It's a new beginning.  I took a leap of faith and bought the Minnie plan.  I took different people to different games.  We even went to a few more games not on the plan.  

And when we went to games, they won. They actually won.  I attended only one loss the entire season. Then they won the World Series for the first time since 1917.

Wait a minute, am I saying the White Sox won the World series because I stood up to my U.S. Cellular slump and had the courage to buy a ticket plan? Yes, yes, I am. It's not the only reason,  as we will see there is plenty of credit to go around.  The players had a lot to do with it.  Ozzie Guillen sure deserves some acclaim.  The general manager did a superb job picking up several players who did not play for the White Sox in 2004, who had major parts in the success of the 2005 season.  Even the guy who watched the waiver wire had his part to play.  What's a waiver wire? I'm both  getting ahead of myself and setting the scene for future installments of 15 from 2005. 

Join us next time, won't you?

F is for Frank

Cubs Home run hitters from Aramis to Zimmerman

F is for Frank

Frank "Wildfire" Schulte
1882-1949

Cubs, Pirates, Phillies and Senators

When composing a list such as this, it is fairly common to come across a player you are only vaguely familiar with.  But that is not the case with Frank Schulte, I had never heard of him.  Schulte was a contemporary of Tinker, Evers and Chance and played for the Cubs from 1904 to 1916. He was the 1911 NL MVP and (get ready for this) played in 4 World Series with the Cubs losing to the White Sox in 1906, beating the Tigers in 1907 and 1908 and lost to the Philadelphia Athleticss in 1910.  He hit .321 in those 4 World Series.  Schulte hit 91 home runs for the Cubs and only hit 1 more after he left the team in 1916.  

For More A to Z Blogging click here.  

C is For Carlton

White Sox Homerun hitters from A.J. to Zeke

C is for Carlton

Carlton "Pudge" Fisk

Today at my other blog, Home School Dad, I wrote about Old Comiskey Park, the home of the Chicago Whites Sox from 1910 to 1990. Carlton Fisk called Old Comiskey home from 1981 until the historic ballpark bit the dust and by the time it did, Pudge had become the White Sox all-time home run leader.

All told, Fisk hit 214 home runs for the White Sox from 1981 to his ignominious dismissal in the middle of  the 1993 campaign.  Note: I spent the year of 1993 abroad and it has been well documented (in my mind) that the White Sox would have never pulled shenanigan level antics like that, had I remained stateside.  Fisk hit more than 55 % of his 376  Major league home runs with the White Sox.  The rest came from the team where he hit this famous postseason home run.  If you haven't seen it before you've never watched Good Will Hunting.






Fisk is now 4th  most on the list of White Sox Home Runs. Fisks best 2 years for the White Sox, Homerun wise, were in 1985 when he hit 37, and in 1983 Fisks 26 homers helped win ugly.  Wearing both colors of SOX, Fisk averaged 24 home runs for every 162 games he  played.  Carlton Fisk was inducted into Baseball's Hall of Fame in 2000.

For more A to Z blogging click here.  

Sports Fragments

After I began this blog I found out that managing two blogs is a little much for me. I basically have been lying low recently and not posting much of anything here. I have decided that from now to the end of the year I am going to try to post more regularly here.

Today I will start by participating in a meme called Friday Fragments.

It is basically where you just share bits and pieces that would normally not make it into your blog. Since this is a sports blog mine will all be sports related.

Fragment 1 I was mistaken for a Cubs fan today. I received a book today from paperback swap about the 1906 world series between the Cubs and the White Sox. There was a yellow stick from the previous owner that said go Cubs! Now, I am a follower of the Cubs and can speak intelligibly on them, but when it comes to the Sox and Cubs I am much more a fan of the White Sox.


It is kind of unusual for a White Sox fan to not hate the Cubs. I like the Cubs, they are my second favorite team. I grew up a Cubs fan and used to make the annual pilgrimage to Wrigley each year with my family. My 10 year old switched to the Cubs a few years ago. I indulge him this betrayal, as my father indulged me by taking me to about a White Sox game a year in my youth.

Fragment 2 Speaking of the Cubs, I think the move to get Theo Epstein from the Red Sox and have him serve in some capacity in the Front Office is a wonderful one. When that announcement is finalized, I will be interested to see what kind of moves they make. I am a big Ryne Sandberg fan and hope that one of Epstein's moves is to hire Sandberg to manage the team. We shall see.

Fragment 3 My son's soccer team went 7-0-1 last spring. This year most of his teammates and the coach moved up to the next age level. My son did not. He and the new coaches son are the only players that remain from last year's team. This year after 6 games the team is 3-2-1. I am assisting the coach on the sidelines during the games an even had to coach 2 of the games while our coach was out of town. We are 2-0 in those games, not that I'm keeping track :)

I am kind of glad that my son is on one of those win 1 week lose the next teams this year. I was afraid that going undefeated last season and only 1 defeat the season before that would give him the idea that such success is common. This year he is playing the best soccer he ever has and is enjoying himself and learning good life lessons win or lose.

Fragment 4 Now that the Rangers and the Cardinals are tied 1 game all in the 2011 World Series, it might be a good idea to share who I am rooting for.

This is a complex question for me. Normally, I cheer for the American League team as a victory bodes well for the White Sox. I also like to cheer for the team that hasn't won the World Series before or in a while. These two factors put me in the Texas Rangers camp. The Cardinals won it all in 2006 and while the Rangers finally made it to the World Series for the first time last year, thwy did not win.

On the other side of the coin, I like the Cardinals. They are like the Minnesota Twins of the N.L., they always seem to end up in the mix each year even when they are not expected to. Tony LaRussa who led the White Sox to their first playoff appearance is now the long time manager of the Cards. Also when I coached T-Ball for 2 years our team was the Cardinals. Also, John Rooney one of the announcers for the 2005 White Sox, and quite possibly the best play by play man in the business is now an announcer for the Cardinals.

So basically I am torn. My tradition based rooting system says Rangers and my root for the people I like mentality says Cardinals. I am hoping for a 7 game series and don't really mind which way it goes.

That's all the fragments I have for now. Check out the rest of Friday Fragments at Half Past Kissing Time by clicking here.