Monday, June 20, 2005
Through 68 Games...
Here's a tour of White Sox history through 68 games:
In 2000 - the Sox were 44-24, 7.5 games up on the Jndjans. They went 51-43 (.543) the rest of the way to win the AL Central.
In 1994 - the Sox were 37-31, 5 games behind the Jndjans. The Sox went 30-15 (.667) until the strike, where they finished in 1st place.
In 1993 - the Sox were 36-32, tied with the KC Royals for the AL West lead. The Sox went 58-36 (.617) the rest of the way to win the division.
In 1990 - the Sox were 43-25, 1 game behind the Oakland A's. They would go 51-43 (.543) the rest of the way in finishing second.
In 1983 - the Sox were 34-34, 3 games behind the Texas Rangers. They would go an astonishing 65-29 (.692) the rest of the way to win the AL West by 20 games.
In 1977 - the Sox were 38-30, tied with the Minnesota Twins for 1st in the AL West. They would go 52-42 (.553) the rest of the way to finish at 90-72, 12 back of the KC Royals.
In 1972 - the Sox were 40-28, 3.5 games behind the Oakland A's in the AL West. They would go 47-39 (.547) the rest of the way, but fell short by 5.5 games to the Oakland A's in a strike-shortened season.
In 1967 - the Sox were 42-26, 5.5 games ahead of the American League! They went 47-47 (.500) the rest of the way to finish fourth in the AL, 3 games behind the AL Champion Red Sox.
In 1964 - the Sox were 39-29, 5 games behind the Orioles. The Sox went 59-35 (.628) the rest of the way to finish second by 1 game to the Yankees in the AL.
In 1959 - the Sox were 36-32, 2 games behind the Jndjans. The Sox went 58-28 (.674) the rest of the way to win the AL pennant by 5 games.
In 1951, the Sox were 44-24 after 68 games (that was the 1st of a doubleheader) and 44-25 after 69 games, tied with the New York Yankees atop the AL. They sputtered to a 37-49 (.430) record the rest of the way to finish 81-73, a distant 17 games behind the Yankees.
In 1920, the Sox were 40-28 after 68 games, 6.5 games behind the Yankees. They would go 56-30 (.651) the rest of the way, falling short to Cleveland by 2 games.
In 1919, the Sox were 43-25, one-half game up on the Yankees. The would go 45-27 (.625) the rest of the way to finish 88-52, 3.5 games better than Cleveland.
In 1917, the Sox were 44-24, 1.5 games up on the Boston Red Sox. They would go 56-30 (.651) the rest of the way for a 100-54 season, and won the AL pennant by 8 games.
In 1915, the Sox were 46-22, 5.5 games up on the rest of the AL (the Red Sox were in 2nd). The would go 47-39 (.547) the rest of the way and wind up 93-61, good for 3rd place behind the Red Sox, 10 games back. (1915 was a fascinating season. The Red Sox finished in 1st place, but had 1 fewer win than the second place Tigers, who played 6 more games than the Red Sox. Theoretically, had the Red Sox lost the 6 games they had "in hand", they would have finished in second).
In 1906, the Sox were 37-31, 5 games behind the Cleveland Naps. The Sox would go 56-27 (.675) the rest of the way to win the AL pennant, beating the New York Highlanders by 3 games.
You probably never heard of the 1915 White Sox before - and it was only through luck I found their 68-game start. But you can see that a 68 game start is only a good indicator of where a team will wind up - not a great one. There's a lot of baseball left to be played. Here's for matching the 65-29 record of the '83 Sox the rest of the way...and getting 111 wins.
