Top 50 Chicago White Sox
An inaugural team when the American League formed in 1901, the Chicago White Sox were first called the Chicago White Stockings, but that would be a brief moniker as they would shorten that to the Chicago White Sox, the name that they hold today.
Despite the lengthy existence of the franchise, this has not been one of the more successful teams in the AL. Chicago won their first World Series in 1906, and in 1917 they captured their second. In 1919, they were considered the best team in baseball and were expected the crush the Cincinnati Reds of the National League. Chicago lost, and it later came out that the players on the team conspired to throw games for financial benefit. The ChiSox struggled for decades after and would not win another Pennant until 1959. They lost the World Series, and it would take until 2005 until they reached the Fall Classic again. This time, they won, marking their third World Series win.
This list is up to the end of the 2023 season.
Note: Baseball lists are based on an amalgamation of tenure, traditional statistics, advanced statistics, playoff statistics, and post-season accolades.
Chet Lemon was a First Rounder by the Oakland Athletics, but before e could make the main roster, he was traded to the White Sox. He would win the starting Centerfielder job in 1976 and showed a balanced game of offense and defense. Lemon was twice named an All-Star with Chicago (1978 & 1979), and in '79, he led the American League in Doubles with 44. With the White Sox, he had four double-digit Home Run years and batted over .300 three times. He also had three years where he had a Defensive bWAR over 1.0 three times.
Predominantly batting in the leadoff spot, Ray Durham was with the Chicago White Sox for the first eight seasons of his MLB career.
Dick Allen might be most commonly associated with the Philadelphia Phillies, but it is was with the Chicago White Sox where he played the best three consecutive seasons of his life.
In 2007, Alexei Ramirez left Cuba to apply for Dominican citizenship, which allowed him to play pro baseball in the United States. The Chicago White Sox would make the most lucrative offer, and in the following year, he was their starting Second Baseman.
Lance Johnson arrived as a trade from the St. Louis Cardinals, and he would become the man that tipped the deal well in favor for Chicago.
A member of the Chicago White Sox for his entire Major League career, Johnny Rigney debuted in 1937 and would be a key starter for the team in 1939. That year and the two that followed would see him win at least 13 Games. In all three of those seasons, he was sixth in SO/BB and was in the top four in Strikeouts and the top ten in WHIP.
The third Venezuelan to make the Majors, Chico Carrasquel debuted for the White Sox in 1950, and in the following season, the native of Caracas became the first Venezuelan to be named to the All-Star team.
Drafted 4th overall in 1990, Alex Fernandez was coming off the Golden Spikes Award and Dick Howser Trophy while playing at the University of Miami. It was an incredible 1990, as he would make the White Sox roster that year appearing in 13 Games.
We return to the era of the “Black Sox” with Buck Weaver, one of the eight players who were banned for life for their alleged role in the 1919 World Series scandal that saw Chicago (allegedly) throw the Series in favor of Cincinnati.
One of the most enigmatic players in White Sox history, Tim Anderson was at one time the heart of the team. Anderson was a First Round Pick (17th Overall) in 2013, and it only took him three seasons to become a starting Shortstop for the team. Finishing seventh in Rookie of the Year voting in 2016, Anderson showcased the five tools since his callup, winning the Batting Title in 2019 (.335), and double digits in Home Runs five years in a row (2017-21) with All-Star nods in 2021 & 2022. Unfortunatly, Anderson an abysmal 2023, where he had a negative…
Debuting for the White Sox in 1957 after signing as an Amateur Free Agent five years earlier, Jim Landis worked his way to the starting Centerfielder role the season after.
One of the forgotten players in the lore of the Chicago White Sox is Britt Burns, a lefthander whose entire MLB career was a member of the Pale Hose. Burns was a Third Round Pick in 1978, and he made it to the bigs that year, albeit for only two games. He was in six Games in 1979, but was finally a full-time starter in 1980, finishing fifth in Rookie of the Year voting, posting a 15-13 record and was first in bWAR for Pitchers (7.0). In the strike-impeded 1981 Season, Burns was named to the All-Star Team and was seventh in…