The weirdest doubleheader in team history ends in a split
Simply put, this was the craziest doubleheader in White Sox history.
In the opener in Boston, the American Bill Dineen no-hit the South Siders, 2-0, at the soggy Huntington Avenue Baseball Grounds. Ironically, Dineen had sat out all of September with a sore arm. It marked the second time ever that the White Sox had been no-hit — and the first had come just a year earlier, also against the Americans!
Well, the no-hitter made the White Sox hitters angry, because they came out for the nightcap against legendary hurler Cy Young and went ham, scoring nine runs in the first and five more in the second to go up, 14-0. Chicago started the game with two singles, a sac bunt flubbed for an error, a run scored on a fielder’s choice, a double, walk, and single, driving Young from the game down a quick 4-0. Second baseman Frank Isbell was most prodigious, going 3-for-4 with two triples, three runs and four RBIs.
The score could have been much worse, but after two frames the club, fearing darkness would creep in before the five innings necessary to make the win official, “let up.”
The twin bill split kept the White Sox tied with Philadelphia atop the American League, at 87-55. However, the South Siders went 5-5-1 in the home stretch, including a three-game series loss to the A’s, falling short of the pennant.
A 2-0 win over the Tigers gave Dickie Kerr his 20th win of the season in a game that took all of 66 minutes, one of the quickest games in franchise history. The victory also kept the White Sox within a half-game of the American League lead, with three contests remaining.
More broadly, the quick victory gave the White Sox their fourth 20-game winner of the season with Kerr joining Red Faber, Ed Cicotte and Lefty Williams. It was the first time in MLB history that one team had four 20-game winners; the only other time it happened was in 1971, when the Baltimore Orioles matched the distinction with Mike Cuellar, Jim Palmer, Dave McNally and Pat Dobson.
This also was the final game the White Sox played before news broke nationally of the scandal that was soon to engulf the team and baseball regarding the 1919 World Series. Before the next afternoon’s game both Cicotte and Shoeless Joe Jackson admitted to involvement in the fixing of the series; owner Charles Comiskey promptly suspended the eight players who were eventually found innocent in court but banned from the game by commissioner Kenesaw Landis.
Comiskey Park and the White Sox hosted the first-ever day/night split doubleheader, losing twice to Cleveland, 5-2 and 7-5. Yes, the distinction here is that the games were treated as separate, meaning admission was charged twice for the games. At least the advent of night baseball at the park (beginning in August 1939) made this a somewhat justified novelty charge at the time. Not sure why this is a continued practice today.
The White Sox beat the St. Louis Browns, 2-1, in 11 innings behind Billy Pierce. It was the last American League game ever played in St. Louis, because Browns owner Bill Veeck was forced to sell and the Browns would move to Baltimore during the offseason. Pierce went all 11 innings, allowing only seven hits and striking out eight.
The White Sox closed their pennant-winning season with a 6-4 win at Detroit, and when the final stats were in, second baseman Nellie Fox pulled off a rare feat. Fox wound up leading all American League second baseman in fielding percentage, putouts and assists.
This game also saw one of the more unusual triple plays in Sox history. In the third inning, Tigers first baseman Gail Harris hit a ground ball that led to three baserunning errors by Detroit. On the grounder back to pitcher Bob Shaw, Tom Morgan broke for home and was thrown out. During the play, Harris attempted to get to second and was out, as Sox third baseman Bubba Phillips covered and tagged him. On that exchange, Harvey Kuenn then broke for the plate and was caught in a rundown, Phillips to Johnny Romano to Luis Aparicio, who tagged him to end the inning.
During the last home doubleheader of the season, the White Sox caught on to the folk music craze sweeping the nation. Between games against the Senators, there was a hootenanny promotion featuring a concert on the field with folk groups and singers.
The White Sox finished the season against the two worst teams in the league, Kansas City and Washington, and the fans could smell an elusive World Series berth in the greatest pennant race ever. However, it all began to fall apart on this night, as the Sox dropped a doubleheader to the A’s, 5-2 and 4-0. Due to rainouts and scheduled days off, the Sox, in the middle of a pennant race, had three days off, not having played since a Sunday afternoon game against Cleveland. Pitchers Gary Peters and Joe Horlen got tagged with the losses on “Black Wednesday,” but the final embarrassment was yet to come. The normally fundamentally-sound White Sox made three errors in the twin bill disaster.
In the first game of a doubleheader in Oakland, White Sox starting pitcher Ross Baumgarten got shelled early: He faced five hitters, and all reached base with singles. With the White Sox down, 2-0, manager Tony La Russa lifted him and brought in LaMarr Hoyt, hoping he could throw a few innings and save the bullpen. At first, it didn’t look good, as Hoyt gave up three straight singles — yes, Oakland began the game with eight straight singles! — that doubled the lead to 4-0.
But Hoyt, in fact, ended up doing a lot more than throw a few innings and save the bullpen. In fact, he went all nine innings, shutting out the A’s on five hits. Even better, his teammates picked him up, wiping out a five-run deficit and winning, 9-5. Because Baumgarten never recorded any outs, Hoyt got credit for a complete game — in relief!
The Sox would also take the nightcap, 10-3, behind a complete game from Jerry Koosman.
In front of a capacity crowd at the new Comiskey Park, the White Sox won the Western Division by beating Seattle, 4-2. Bo Jackson clubbed a towering, three-run blast just dropping over the wall in left that was the difference in the game. The homer capped off an incredible comeback season for one of the finest athletes in history.
Also in this game, Sox starting pitcher Wilson Álvarez saw his streak of 31 consecutive shutout innings snapped when Seattle got to him for two runs in the eighth inning.
The Sox went 94-68, and took the title by eight games over Texas. After a .500 start the first two months, beginning on June 1, the Sox got rolling and went 69-45.
In a game that remains tied for the 12th highest-scoring in their history, the White Sox battered the Royals in Kansas City, 19-3. The Sox had a seven-run second inning, and a five-run fifth. They collected 21 hits for the game.
Pitcher Bartolo Colón won this one easily, going the distance. Joe Crede and Carl Everett both had four RBIs in the game.
Pitcher Mark Buehrle set a franchise record when, for the 11th straight season, he made at least 30 starts, won at least 10 games and pitched at least 200 innings. Buehrle set the milestone during a 2-1 win over the Blue Jays. Those numbers were a testament to his ability, dedication and durability.
It also would turn out to be the last of his 365-start career with the White Sox, as the team opted not to re-sign the lefthander to a new contract. In pitching-rich franchise history, Buehrle ranks seventh all-time in WAR, in a virtual tie with Billy Pierce.
The Chicago White Sox have had a number of great players over the decades. One of them was first baseman Paul Konerko. On this day, the Sox honored Paul with a ceremony and unveiled a statue of him.
The numbers showed he was one of the best players in franchise history, with 432 home runs and 1,383 RBIs. He was a six-time All-Star, a World Series champion, the 2005 ALCS MVP and 2002 Comeback Player of the Year. He’d play his final game for the Sox the next day, and retired after 16 seasons with the club.
In May 2015, Konerko returned to U.S. Cellular Field and had his No. 14 retired.
