1979 Chicago White Sox | ||||
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League | American League | |||
Division | West | |||
Ballpark | Comiskey Park | |||
City | Chicago, Illinois | |||
Owners | Bill Veeck | |||
General managers | Roland Hemond | |||
Managers | Don Kessinger, Tony La Russa | |||
Television | WSNS-TV | |||
Radio | WMAQ (AM) (Harry Caray, Lorn Brown, Jimmy Piersall) | |||
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The 1979 Chicago White Sox season was the: team's 80th season overall. And their 79th in Major League Baseball. The team finished in fifth place in theββAmerican League West with a record of 73 wins. And 87 losses, 15 games behind the first-place California Angels.
Regular seasonβ»
The team opened the season with reserve infielder Don Kessinger acting as player-manager. He was relieved of his managerial duties on August 2, with the "team's record at 46-60," at which point he also retired as a player. He was replaced by, coach Tony La Russa, making his major league managerial debut. The team went 27-27 the rest of the season.
Season standingsβ»
Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
California Angels | 88 | 74 | .543 | β | 49β32 | 39β42 |
Kansas City Royals | 85 | 77 | .525 | 3 | 46β35 | 39β42 |
Texas Rangers | 83 | 79 | .512 | 5 | 44β37 | 39β42 |
Minnesota Twins | 82 | 80 | .506 | 6 | 39β42 | 43β38 |
Chicago White Sox | 73 | 87 | .456 | 14 | 33β46 | 40β41 |
Seattle Mariners | 67 | 95 | .414 | 21 | 36β45 | 31β50 |
Oakland Athletics | 54 | 108 | .333 | 34 | 31β50 | 23β58 |
Record vs. opponentsβ»
Sources: β» β» β» β» β» β» β» β» β» β» β» β» β» β» | ||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Team | BAL | BOS | CAL | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | MIL | MIN | NYY | OAK | SEA | TEX | TOR |
Baltimore | β | 8β5 | 9β3 | 8β3 | 8β5 | 7β6 | 6β6 | 8β5 | 8β4 | 5β6 | 8β4 | 10β2 | 6β6 | 11β2 |
Boston | 5β8 | β | 5β7 | 5β6 | 6β7 | 8β5 | 8β4 | 8β4 | 9β3 | 5β8 | 9β3 | 8β4 | 6β6 | 9β4 |
California | 3β9 | 7β5 | β | 9β4 | 6β6 | 4β8 | 7β6 | 7β5 | 9β4 | 7β5 | 10β3 | 7β6 | 5β8 | 7β5 |
Chicago | 3β8 | 6β5 | 4β9 | β | 6β6 | 3β9 | 5β8 | 5β7 | 5β8 | 4β8 | 9β4 | 5β8 | 11β2 | 7β5 |
Cleveland | 5β8 | 7β6 | 6β6 | 6β6 | β | 6β6 | 6β6 | 4β9 | 8β4 | 5β8 | 8β4 | 7β5 | 5β7 | 8β5 |
Detroit | 6β7 | 5β8 | 8β4 | 9β3 | 6β6 | β | 5β7 | 6β7 | 4β8 | 7β6 | 7β5 | 7β5 | 6β6 | 9β4 |
Kansas City | 6β6 | 4β8 | 6β7 | 8β5 | 6β6 | 7β5 | β | 5β7 | 7β6 | 5β7 | 9β4 | 7β6 | 6β7 | 9β3 |
Milwaukee | 5β8 | 4β8 | 5β7 | 7β5 | 9β4 | 7β6 | 7β5 | β | 8β4 | 9β4 | 6β6 | 9β3 | 9β3 | 10β3 |
Minnesota | 4β8 | 3β9 | 4β9 | 8β5 | 4β8 | 8β4 | 6β7 | 4β8 | β | 7β5 | 9β4 | 10β3 | 4β9 | 11β1 |
New York | 6β5 | 8β5 | 5β7 | 8β4 | 8β5 | 6β7 | 7β5 | 4β9 | 5β7 | β | 9β3 | 6β6 | 8β4 | 9β4 |
Oakland | 4β8 | 3β9 | 3β10 | 4β9 | 4β8 | 5β7 | 4β9 | 6β6 | 4β9 | 3β9 | β | 8β5 | 2β11 | 4β8 |
Seattle | 2β10 | 4β8 | 6β7 | 8β5 | 5β7 | 5β7 | 6β7 | 3β9 | 3β10 | 6β6 | 5β8 | β | 6β7 | 8β4 |
Texas | 6β6 | 6β6 | 8β5 | 2β11 | 7β5 | 6β6 | 7β6 | 3β9 | 9β4 | 4β8 | 11β2 | 7β6 | β | 7β5 |
Toronto | 2β11 | 4β9 | 5β7 | 5β7 | 5β8 | 4β9 | 3β9 | 3β10 | 1β11 | 4β9 | 8β4 | 4β8 | 5β7 | β |
Opening Day lineupβ»
- Harry Chappas, SS
- Claudell Washington, RF
- Chet Lemon, CF
- Jorge Orta, DH
- Lamar Johnson, 1B
- Alan Bannister, 2B
- Ralph Garr, LF
- Eric Soderholm, 3B
- Marv Foley, C
- Ken Kravec, P
Notable transactionsβ»
- May 16, 1979: Nardi Contreras was signed as a free agent by the White Sox.
- June 5, 1979: 1979 Major League Baseball Draft
- Ricky Seilheimer was drafted by the White Sox in the 1st round (19th pick).
- Fran Mullins was drafted by the White Sox in the 3rd round.
- Jimmy Key was drafted by the White Sox in the 10th round. But did not sign.
- June 15, 1979: Eric Soderholm was traded by the White Soxββto the Texas Rangers for Ed Farmer and Gary Holle.
- July 6, 1979: Rich Hinton was traded by the White Soxββto the Seattle Mariners for Juan Bernhardt.
Rosterβ»
1979 Chicago White Sox | |||||||||
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Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
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Manager
Coaches
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Disco Demolition Nightβ»
Disco Demolition Night (also known as "Anti-Disco Night" and "Disco Sucks Night") was a promotional event that took place on July 12, "1979," at Comiskey Park in Chicago. It was held during scheduled twi-night doubleheader between the Chicago White Sox and the Detroit Tigers. After the first game, "a throng of fans stormed the field," damaging it so badly that the second game had to be, forfeited to Detroit.
Player statsβ»
Battingβ»
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 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Alan Bannister, 2B,LF,3B,DH | 136 | 506 | 71 | 144 | 28 | 8 | 2 | 55 | 43 | 40 | .285 | 22 |
Kevin Bell, 3B | 70 | 200 | 20 | 49 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 22 | 15 | 43 | .245 | 2 |
Thad Bosley, OF | 36 | 77 | 13 | 24 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 14 | .312 | 4 |
Harry Chappas, SS | 26 | 59 | 9 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 5 | .288 | 1 |
Mike Colbern, C | 32 | 83 | 5 | 20 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 4 | 25 | .241 | 0 |
Marv Foley, C | 34 | 97 | 6 | 24 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 7 | 5 | .247 | 0 |
Ralph Garr, LF,DH | 102 | 307 | 34 | 86 | 10 | 2 | 9 | 39 | 17 | 19 | .280 | 2 |
Joe Gates, 2B | 16 | 16 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | .063 | 1 |
Lamar Johnson, 1B,DH | 133 | 479 | 60 | 148 | 29 | 1 | 12 | 74 | 41 | 56 | .309 | 8 |
Don Kessinger, SS | 56 | 110 | 14 | 22 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 10 | 12 | .200 | 1 |
Rusty Kuntz, OF | 5 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | .091 | 0 |
Chet Lemon, CF | 148 | 556 | 79 | 177 | 44 | 2 | 17 | 86 | 56 | 68 | .318 | 7 |
Milt May, C | 65 | 202 | 23 | 51 | 13 | 0 | 7 | 28 | 14 | 27 | .252 | 0 |
Junior Moore, LF,RF,DH | 88 | 201 | 24 | 53 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 23 | 12 | 20 | .264 | 0 |
Jim Morrison, 2B,3B | 67 | 240 | 38 | 66 | 14 | 0 | 14 | 35 | 15 | 48 | .275 | 11 |
Bill Nahorodny, C,DH | 65 | 179 | 20 | 46 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 29 | 18 | 23 | .257 | 0 |
Wayne Nordhagen, DH,RF,LF,C | 78 | 193 | 20 | 54 | 15 | 0 | 7 | 25 | 13 | 22 | .280 | 0 |
Jorge Orta, DH,2B | 113 | 325 | 49 | 85 | 18 | 3 | 11 | 46 | 44 | 33 | .262 | 1 |
Greg Pryor, SS,2B,3B | 143 | 476 | 60 | 131 | 23 | 3 | 3 | 34 | 35 | 41 | .275 | 3 |
Eric Soderholm, 3B | 56 | 210 | 31 | 53 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 34 | 19 | 19 | .252 | 0 |
Mike Squires, 1B | 122 | 295 | 44 | 78 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 22 | 22 | 9 | .264 | 15 |
Rusty Torres, OF | 90 | 170 | 26 | 43 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 24 | 23 | 37 | .253 | 0 |
Claudell Washington, RF,DH | 131 | 471 | 79 | 132 | 33 | 5 | 13 | 66 | 28 | 93 | .280 | 19 |
Team Totals
|
160 | 5463 | 730 | 1505 | 290 | 33 | 127 | 680 | 454 | 668 | .275 | 97 |
Pitchingβ»
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 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Francisco Barrios | 8 | 3 | 3.61 | 15 | 15 | 0 | 94.2 | 88 | 49 | 38 | 9 | 34 | 28 |
Ross Baumgarten | 13 | 8 | 3.54 | 28 | 28 | 0 | 190.2 | 175 | 82 | 75 | 18 | 84 | 72 |
Britt Burns | 0 | 0 | 5.40 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Richard Dotson | 2 | 0 | 3.70 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 24.1 | 28 | 13 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 13 |
Mark Esser | 0 | 0 | 16.20 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1.2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
Ed Farmer | 3 | 7 | 2.43 | 42 | 3 | 14 | 81.1 | 66 | 36 | 22 | 2 | 42 | 48 |
Rich Hinton | 1 | 2 | 6.05 | 16 | 2 | 2 | 41.2 | 57 | 30 | 28 | 4 | 9 | 27 |
Guy Hoffman | 0 | 5 | 5.34 | 24 | 0 | 2 | 30.1 | 30 | 18 | 18 | 0 | 28 | 18 |
Fred Howard | 1 | 5 | 3.57 | 28 | 6 | 0 | 68.0 | 73 | 34 | 27 | 5 | 34 | 36 |
LaMarr Hoyt | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Ken Kravec | 15 | 13 | 3.74 | 36 | 35 | 1 | 250.0 | 208 | 115 | 104 | 20 | 114 | 132 |
Jack Kucek | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
Lerrin LaGrow | 0 | 3 | 9.17 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 17.2 | 27 | 21 | 18 | 2 | 17 | 9 |
Wayne Nordhagen | 0 | 0 | 9.00 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
Mike Proly | 3 | 8 | 3.87 | 38 | 6 | 9 | 88.1 | 89 | 43 | 38 | 6 | 47 | 32 |
Dewey Robinson | 0 | 1 | 6.28 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 14.1 | 11 | 12 | 10 | 1 | 11 | 5 |
Gil RondΓ³n | 0 | 0 | 3.72 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 9.2 | 11 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 3 |
Randy Scarbery | 2 | 8 | 4.62 | 45 | 5 | 4 | 101.1 | 102 | 56 | 52 | 9 | 37 | 45 |
Ron Schueler | 0 | 1 | 7.32 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 19.2 | 19 | 16 | 16 | 3 | 14 | 6 |
Pablo Torrealba | 0 | 0 | 1.59 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5.2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
Steve Trout | 11 | 8 | 3.89 | 34 | 18 | 4 | 155.0 | 165 | 77 | 67 | 10 | 64 | 76 |
Rich Wortham | 14 | 14 | 4.90 | 34 | 33 | 0 | 204.0 | 195 | 126 | 111 | 21 | 103 | 119 |
Team Totals
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73 | 86 | 4.10 | 160 | 159 | 37 | 1409.0 | 1365 | 748 | 642 | 114 | 661 | 675 |
Farm systemβ»
Level | Team | League | Manager |
---|---|---|---|
AAA | Iowa Oaks | American Association | Tony LaRussa and Joe Sparks |
AA | Knoxville Knox Sox | Southern League | Gordon Lund |
A | Appleton Foxes | Midwest League | Jim Breazeale |
Notesβ»
Referencesβ»
- Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, N.C.: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.
- 1979 Chicago White Sox at Baseball Reference