1984 Chicago White Sox

Record: 74-88, Finished 5th(tie) in AL Western Division (1984 AL)

Coaches: Ed Brinkman, Dave Duncan, Art Kusnyer, Jim Leyland, Dave Nelson and Joe Nossek

History, Comments, Contributions[edit]

After running away with the American League West in 1983, the 1984 Chicago White Sox were the favorites to repeat as division champions. The nucleus of the club from 1983 remained, and the Sox added multiple Cy Young Award winner Tom Seaver to their rotation. Seaver led the pitching staff with 15 wins, but the rest of the starters struggled. Their lineup also underperformed. Harold Baines and Greg Walker were the only regulars to improve on their 1983 numbers. Second baseman Julio Cruz went from hitting .252 with 57 stolen bases in 1983 to hitting .222 with only 14 swipes in 1984. Designated hitter Greg Luzinski hit 19 fewer homers than he did in 1983. Outfielder Rudy Law's stolen base total fell from 77 to 29. Outfielder Ron Kittle and catcher Carlton Fisk continued to hit for power, but their batting averages fell to .215 and .231. The Sox somehow managed to lead their division at the All-Star break, but completely fell apart in the second half, finishing tied for fifth in their division, 14 games below .500. Adding salt to their wounds, the crosstown Chicago Cubs won their division and advanced to the postseason for the first time in almost 40 years.

On May 8-9, the White Sox played the longest game, time-wise, in baseball history. The game started on May 8th and was suspended in a 3-3 tie after 17 innings. On May 9th, the game was completed. It looked like the Milwaukee Brewers would win when Ben Oglivie hit a three-run homer in the 21st inning, but the Sox scored three runs in the bottom of the inning to tie the score at 6-6. Finally, in the bottom of the 25th inning, Harold Baines hit a solo home run to give the Sox a 7-6 win in a contest that lasted a total of 8 hours, 6 minutes. The Sox used eight pitchers and put pitcher Richard Dotson in the game as a pinch runner.