1990 Chicago White Sox season explained

Chicago White Sox
Season:	1990
League:	American League
Owners:	Jerry Reinsdorf
Managers:	Jeff Torborg
General Managers:	Larry Himes
Television:	WGN-TV SportsChannel Chicago (Ken Harrelson, Tom Paciorek, Jim Durham)
Radio:	WMAQ (AM) (John Rooney, Wayne Hagin) WTAQ (Frank Diaz, Chico Carrasquel)

The 1990 Chicago White Sox season was the White Sox's 91st season. They finished with a record of 94–68, good enough for second place in the American League West, 9 games behind of the first place Oakland Athletics, as the White Sox played their final season at the aging Comiskey Park before moving to the new Comiskey Park the next season.

Regular season

In the summer of 1990, Michael Jordan took batting practice at Comiskey Park.^[1] The following year, Upper Deck created a baseball card of Michael Jordan and it was numbered SP1.^[2]

The White Sox and Texas Rangers were involved in the longest rain delay in baseball history at 7 hours and 23 minutes at Comiskey Park on August 12. Behind the delay's length was the White Sox's insistence that the game be rescheduled at Comiskey four days later when both teams were idle and not at Arlington Stadium the subsequent weekend, which was rejected by the Rangers. The gamesmanship between the two sides resulted in the contest eventually played as part of a twi-night doubleheader at Arlington on August 17.^[3]

Bobby Thigpen had the best season of his career in 1990, setting the major league record of 57 saves. He also maintained a 1.83 ERA and was named to the AL All-Star team. He also blew eight saves that season, including two three-run leads.

In anticipation of the move to new Comiskey Park, the White Sox on July 2 unveiled new team colors of black and silver and uniforms based on the ones worn in 1959 and the early-1970s featuring a return of pinstripes to the home version.^[4] The uniform ensemble was originally scheduled to debut the following season, but its popularity with the fans resulted in the White Sox officially making the change beginning with the opening game of its final homestand of the campaign on September 25.^[5] The ballclub instantly jumped to the top of MLB merchandise sales.

1990 Opening Day lineup

Notable transactions

June 4, 1990: Alex Fernandez was drafted by the White Sox in the 1st round of the 1990 amateur draft.^[6]
June 4, 1990: Bob Wickman was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the 2nd round of the 1990 amateur draft. Player signed June 6, 1990.^[7]
June 4, 1990: Ray Durham was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the 5th round of the 1990 amateur draft. Player signed June 5, 1990.^[8]
June 4, 1990: Jason Bere was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the 36th round of the 1990 amateur draft. Player signed June 6, 1990.^[9]
July 30, 1990: Phil Bradley was traded by the Baltimore Orioles to the Chicago White Sox for Ron Kittle.^[10]

No Hitter

July 1, 1990 – New York Yankees pitcher Andy Hawkins threw a no-hitter against the Chicago White Sox and lost the game. A scoreless game until the bottom of the 8th inning, Sammy Sosa started the rally by hitting a ground ball that Yankee third basemen Mike Blowers bobbled. Initially it was ruled a hit. Yankee manager Stump Merrill was standing on the top of the dugout steps barking up in the direction of the press box. Quickly the play was changed to an error on Blowers. Sosa then stole second base. Ozzie Guillén and Lance Johnson both then drew walks to load the bases. The next batter, Robin Ventura hit a fly ball that eluded Yankees left fielder Jim Leyritz allowing three unearned runs to score. The next batter, Iván Calderón, then lifted a fly ball to right field that was dropped by Jesse Barfield making the score 4-0.

Line Score

July 1, Comiskey Park, Chicago, Illinois

align=left width=28%	Team	width=6%	1	width=6%	2	width=6%	3	width=6%	4	width=6%	5	width=6%	6	width=6%	7	width=6%	8	width=6%	9	width=6%	R	width=6%	H	width=6%	E
New York	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	3
Chicago	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	x	4	0	2
W: Barry Jones (10-1) L: Andy Hawkins (1-5)
Attendance: 30,642 Time: 2:34

Batting

New York Yankees	AB	R	H	RBI	Chicago White Sox	AB	R	H	RBI
Kelly, cf	4	0	0	0	Johnson, cf	3	1	0	0
Sax, 2b	4	0	0	0	Ventura, 3b	4	1	0	0
Mattingly, 1b	4	0	0	0	Calderon, dh	3	0	0	0
Balboni, dh	4	0	0	0	Pasqua, lf	4	0	0	0
Tolleson, pr, dh	0	0	0	0	Gallagher, lf	0	0	0	0
Barfield, rf	4	0	1	0	Kittle, 1b	3	0	0	0
Leyritz, lf	3	0	1	0	Lyons, 1b	0	0	0	0
Blowers, 3b	3	0	0	0	Karkovice, c	2	0	0	0
Geren, c	3	0	1	0	Fletcher, 2b	2	0	0	0
Espinoza, ss	2	0	1	0	Sosa, rf	3	1	0	0
NONE	0	0	0	0	Guillen, ss	2	1	0	0
Totals	31	0	4	0	Totals	26	4	0	0

Pitching

Chicago White Sox	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
Hibbard	7.0	4	0	0	0	4
Jones W (10-1)	1.0	0	0	0	0	1
Radinsky	1.0	0	0	0	0	0

Turn Back the Clock Day

On July 11, 1990, as part of the celebration of Comiskey Park, the White Sox played a Turn Back the Clock game against the Milwaukee Brewers. The White Sox wore their 1917 home uniforms. This was the first Turn Back the Clock game in the major leagues and started what has become a popular promotion. The club turned off the electronic scoreboards and public address system. They constructed a special manually operated scoreboard in center field for the day and even the grounds-crew wore period costume. General admission tickets were sold for $0.50, popcorn was a nickel, and the stadium organ was shut down for the game.

Line Score

July 11, Comiskey Park, Chicago, Illinois

align=left width=28%	Team	width=6%	1	width=6%	2	width=6%	3	width=6%	4	width=6%	5	width=6%	6	width=6%	7	width=6%	8	width=6%	9	width=6%	10	width=6%	11	width=6%	12	width=6%	13	width=6%	R	width=6%	H	width=6%	E
Milwaukee	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	6	0	0	0	0	3	12	15	1
Chicago	4	0	3	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	9	13	0
W: Dan Plesac (1-3) L: Donn Pall (0-3)
Home Runs: Yount (8) Attendance: 40,666 Time: 4:44

Batting

Milwaukee Brewers	AB	R	H	RBI	Chicago White Sox	AB	R	H	RBI
Gantner, 2b	7	1	3	2	Johnson, cf	7	1	2	0
Sheffield, 3b	5	2	3	0	Ventura, 3b	5	0	0	0
Yount, cf	4	2	2	3	Gallagher, ph	1	0	0	0
Parker,dh	5	1	1	0	Grebeck, 3b	0	0	0	0
Brock, 1b	3	0	0	0	Calderon, dh	6	1	2	1
Deer, ph, 1b	2	1	0	1	Kittle, 1b	6	1	1	0
Vaughn, lf	4	1	2	2	Fisk, c	4	2	1	0
Felder, lf	2	1	1	0	Lyons, lf	6	0	1	1
Surhoff, c	5	2	1	2	Fletcher, 2b	6	2	3	2
Hamilton, rf	6	1	2	2	Sosa, rf	6	2	2	3
Spiers, ss	4	0	0	0	Guillen, ss	6	0	1	1
Sveum, ph, ss	2	0	0	0	NONE	0	0	0	0
Diaz, ss	0	0	0	0	NONE	0	0	0	0
Totals	49	12	15	12	Totals	53	9	13	8

Roster

1990 Chicago White Sox
Roster
Pitchers		CatchersInfielders		OutfieldersOther batters		ManagerCoaches (Third Base) (First Base) (Pitching) (Bullpen Catcher) (Hitting) (Bullpen) (Bench)

Game log

Regular season

|-|-|-|-style=background:#bbbfff| — || || || colspan="9"|61st All-Star Game in Chicago, IL|-|-|-|-|- style="text-align:center;"| Legend: = Win = Loss = Postponement
Bold = White Sox team member

Detailed records

Opponent	Total	Home	Away
American League
American League East
Opponent	Total	Home	Away
Baltimore Orioles
Boston Red Sox
Cleveland Indians
Detroit Tigers
Milwaukee Brewers
New York Yankees
Toronto Blue Jays
American League West
Opponent	Total	Home	Away
California Angels
Chicago White Sox	–	–	–	–	–
Kansas City Royals
Minnesota Twins
Oakland Athletics
Seattle Mariners
Texas Rangers

Month-by-Month

Player stats

Batting

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; BB = Base on balls; SO = Strikeouts; AVG = Batting average; SB = Stolen bases

Player	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG	SB
Daryl Boston, RF	5	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	1
Phil Bradley, OF,DH	45	133	20	30	5	1	0	5	20	26	.226	7
Iván Calderón, LF	158	607	85	166	44	2	14	74	51	79	.273	32
Carlton Fisk, C	137	452	65	129	21	0	18	65	61	73	.285	7
Scott Fletcher, 2B	151	509	54	123	18	3	4	56	45	63	.242	1
Dave Gallagher, OF	45	75	5	21	3	1	0	5	3	9	.280	0
Craig Grebeck, 3B,SS,2B	59	119	7	20	3	1	1	9	8	24	.168	0
Ozzie Guillén, SS	160	516	61	144	21	4	1	58	26	37	.279	13
Lance Johnson, CF	151	541	76	154	18	9	1	51	33	45	.285	36
Ron Karkovice, C	68	183	30	45	10	0	6	20	16	52	.246	2
Ron Kittle, DH,1B	83	277	29	68	14	0	16	43	24	77	.245	0
Steve Lyons, 1B,2B,OF	94	146	22	28	6	1	1	11	10	41	.192	1
Carlos Martinez, 1B	92	272	18	61	6	5	4	24	10	40	.224	0
Rodney McCray, OF	32	6	8	0	0	0	0	0	1	4	.000	6
Dan Pasqua, DH,OF	112	325	43	89	27	3	13	58	37	66	.274	1
Sammy Sosa, RF	153	532	72	124	26	10	15	70	33	150	.233	32
Matt Stark, DH	8	16	0	4	1	0	0	3	1	6	.250	0
Frank Thomas, 1B,DH	60	191	39	63	11	3	7	31	44	54	.330	1
Robin Ventura, 3B	150	493	48	123	17	1	5	54	55	53	.249	1
Greg Walker, 1B,DH	2	5	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	.200	0
Jerry Willard, C	3	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	.000	0
	162	5402	682	1393	251	44	106	637	478	903	.258	140

Pitching

Note: W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; SV = Saves; IP = Innings pitched; H = Hits allowed; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; HR = Home runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts

Player	W	L	ERA	G	GS	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K
Wayne Edwards	5	3	3.22	42	5	2	95.0	81	39	34	6	43	63
Alex Fernandez	5	5	3.80	13	13	0	87.2	89	40	37	6	34	61
Greg Hibbard	14	9	3.16	33	33	0	211.0	202	80	74	11	57	92
Shawn Hillegas	0	0	0.79	7	0	0	11.1	4	1	1	0	6	5
Barry Jones	11	4	2.31	65	0	1	74.0	62	20	19	2	40	45
Eric King	12	4	3.28	25	25	0	151.0	135	59	55	10	40	70
Jerry Kutzler	2	1	6.03	7	7	0	31.1	38	23	21	2	15	21
Bill Long	0	1	6.35	4	0	0	5.2	6	5	4	2	2	2
Steve Lyons	0	0	4.50	1	0	0	2.0	2	1	1	0	4	1
Jack McDowell	14	9	3.82	33	33	0	205.0	189	93	87	20	77	165
Donn Pall	3	5	3.32	56	0	2	76.0	63	33	28	7	30	39
Ken Patterson	2	1	3.39	43	0	2	66.1	58	27	25	6	35	40
Mélido Pérez	13	14	4.61	35	35	0	197.0	177	111	101	14	87	161
Adam Peterson	2	5	4.55	20	11	0	85.0	90	46	43	12	26	29
Scott Radinsky	6	1	4.82	62	0	4	52.1	47	29	28	1	37	46
Steve Rosenberg	1	0	5.40	6	0	0	10.0	10	6	6	2	5	4
Bobby Thigpen	4	6	1.83	77	0	57	88.2	60	20	18	5	35	70
	94	68	3.61	162	162	68	1449.1	1313	633	581	106	575	914

Awards and honors

Bobby Thigpen, Major League Record, 57 saves in one season
Bobby Thigpen, MLB All-Star Game, reserve
Jeff Torborg, Associated Press Manager of the Year

Farm system

External links

1990 Chicago White Sox at Baseball Reference
1990 Chicago White Sox at Baseball Almanac
Last Comiskey, a 2023 documentary about the 1990 Chicago White Sox, on

Notes and References

20th Century Chicago: 100 Years, 100 Voices By Chicago Sun-Times, p.119, Chicago sun-times, Adrienne Drell, Published 2000, Sports Publishing LLC,
http://www.checkoutmycards.com/Cards/Baseball/1991/Upper_Deck/SP1/Michael_Jordan 1991 Upper Deck #SP1 – Michael Jordan
https://www.upi.com/Archives/1990/08/12/The-game-between-the-Chicago-White-Sox-and-Texas/1322650433600/ Muskat, Carrie. "The game between the Chicago White Sox and Texas...," United Press International (UPI), Sunday, August 12, 1990.
https://www.upi.com/Archives/1990/07/02/White-Sox-unveil-new-look/8462646891200/ Murphy, Robert J. "White Sox unveil new look," United Press International (UPI), Monday, July 2, 1990.
https://www.upi.com/Archives/1990/09/05/White-Sox-to-unveil-91-uniform/8973652507200/ "White Sox to unveil '91 uniform," United Press International (UPI), Wednesday, September 5, 1990.
https://www.baseball-reference.com/draft/?year_ID=1990&round=1&draft_type=junreg Baseball Draft: 1st Round of the 1990 June Draft
https://www.baseball-reference.com/w/wickmbo01.shtml Bob Wickman Statistics
Web site: Ray Durham Stats.
Web site: Jason Bere Stats.
https://www.baseball-reference.com/b/bradlph01.shtml Phil Bradley Statistics
Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997