Friday, May 18, 2012

Below is an email that one of our staffers received yesterday. We liked it so much that we had to share it with you.

Hi Jo.I hope this finds you well and I wanted to share this with you. Jason and I went to the Sox game in Anaheim last night & sat behind our dugout.. There was a little boy, about 6 or so, decked out in head to toe Konerko gear, just like his father. Every inning break, he would run down to the dugout and shake his glove, hoping for a ball. The other kids (angels fans) were bigger than him & he kept walking past me to go back to his Dad, disappointed. I turned to the Dad and said “Next time, I’m taking your kid down there myself…”

At the inning break, I looked to my right & there was the kid, waiting for my help. I said, “OK Tommy, lets do this!” I held him up a little and he was shaking his glove, Paulie spotted him and pointed right at him so all the other kids knew to stay away, and he rolled the ball on the dugout right into little Tommy’s glove! We were jumping up and down like crazy, he was so happy and when he got back to his Dad, he just started crying… he finally turned around and said thanks with the biggest smile and tears in his eyes.

Long story short, Paul Konerko made that kid feel so important, he will probably never forget it so I want to say THANKS TO HIM!!!…It was a great night (that would have only been better if we won).

GO WHITE SOX!!
Best Regards,
Gina M.

Paulie also made the day for one of our twitter followers (@itsmarthab). You can see some of her tweets here.

Thursday, May 17, 2012

The quest for the BP Crosstown Cup begins tomorrow as the White Sox head to the North Side for a three-game set.  The action begins tomorrow at 1:20 pm.  This season marks the first time in the history of the interleague series that both teams enter with rookie managers. We’ve put together some Cubs-Sox series facts for your enjoyment.  BP Crosstown Cup Facts & Figures

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

On Monday, White Sox designated hitter/first baseman/leftfielder Adam Dunn spent time talking to Sox season ticket holders on a special conference call.  Here are a few of his select comments from the conversation:

Q: Later on this week, you are scheduled to play the field. Are you excited about that?

A: I’m hearing that I’ll be back in the outfield a little bit. That will be exciting. It will be fun, a little change up for me.

 

Q: You’ve played the field before. You’ve played first base for us, sharing time with Paul Konerko. The newspaper today says you’ll be playing in the outfield. Is this true?

A: Yes. It’s something I’ve done my whole career, so it’s not too foreign for me. Anytime I can get on the field, especially during interleague when there is no DH, I would much rather play in the outfield or anywhere I can play instead of sitting on the bench.

 

Q: It’s great to have you back to your old self. What made the difference?

A: It’s really nothing mechanical. I think this time last year I really wasn’t as healthy as I would have liked. That resulted in some bad habits I wasn’t able to get out of. This year I have been 100 percent healthy and feel like my normal self.

 

Q: Do you think that you playing in the field, rather than DH, has helped you this year?

A: This year I’ve gotten a bit more acclimated. That was a much bigger adjustment than I had anticipated. If you know my personality, you know I’m not the type to just sit there and twiddle my thumbs. I’ve got to be doing something all the time. Robin’s done a really good job with letting me get out there usually about once a series. I don’t know if it’s helped, but I certainly like being out there and having fun.

 

Q: How has the coaching staff been? Have they been helpful to you this season?

A: Yes. I feel like I got to hand pick the coaching staff. I’m serious. It’s everyone. It’s as good of a coaching staff as you could put together. They relate to the players so well. Everyone has the utmost respect for all the coaches. That’s hard to find.

 

Q: How does the support from the fans impact your performance at the plate?

A: It’s huge, especially at home. You’re used to getting booed. You’re used to getting talked about on the road. It adds to the pressure. Hitting is so hard, and when you add just a little pressure to an already high-anxiety at-bat, you start pressing. And once you start pressing, bad things happen. It definitely makes it easier to go up there more relaxed, more focused on getting on base and driving in runs than “I’ve got to get a hit, I’ve got to get a hit, I’ve got to get a hit.” It’s definitely been a lot better.

 

Q: Are there times in games where you take a different approach in hitting?

A: Absolutely. Let’s say there’s a guy on third base with two outs and all you have to do is hit a ground ball or a fly ball to get him in. That’s probably the one time that you’ll see me change my approach the most. Again, when there are two outs and nobody on, I’m trying to get us a run on the board. I’m always looking for that pitch. Is that the right way to go about it? I don’t know, but it sure is nice when you can get there and get an early lead on a two-strike homer.

 

Q: Are you able to help some of the younger teammates when they’re at the plate?

A: I’ll do anything to help these guys, but they for the most part are so talented. They’ve done this their whole lives. I think guys put so much pressure and so much emphasis on the wrong things about hitting that they just forget the basics. I know I did last year and I’ll never do that again. It’s basically “see ball, hit ball” and people put so much emphasis on mechanics and this and that. Next thing you know, they’re forgetting the main thing and that’s getting a good pitch and hitting it.

 

Q: How did you keep up your morale last year?

A: Baseball does not define me as a person. It’s a job. I enjoy doing it. As far as the morale, every day I thought, “This is the day. This is the day everything is going to change and get back to normal. This is the day I’m going to help the team win. I can’t take back what happened previously, but maybe I can do some things that will help us win today.” There’s no use in sitting around pouting about it because nobody cares. That’s something I was fortunate to learn at a very young age.

 

Q: Do you prepare yourself a little differently when you know you’re either on the field or DH?

A: I’ve taken the same routine each and every day regardless of whether I’m DH or playing the field. The only difference would be that obviously I’m in the cage hitting a little bit more during the game because I’m not out on the field playing. Other than that, I take the same pre-game approach. My day is pretty much consistent.

 

Q: How tough was the transition from being an everyday player to DH?

A: Again, it was a lot tougher than I had anticipated. It sounds really cool just to go out there and hit four or five times a game. What people don’t realize is how hard it is to stay in the flow of the game and stay loose for four or five at-bats. That’s why routine is really, really big for me, especially being DH.

 

Q: How are you enjoying the city of Chicago this year compared to last year?

A: Last year, I would come home, lock my door and shut my blinds and not enjoy my favorite city. I’ve said it from day one, this is my favorite city. This year I feel like I can take the family out to some restaurants that we like to go to and go out and see the city. We’ve been able to do that a lot more this year than last year. It’s such a great city. Last year, I feel like I deprived my family by not taking them out and enjoying it.

 

Q: Do you really get a chance to enjoy the city while you’re here in Chicago, or are you pretty much here just to play?

A: It’s a lot easier to see the things you like to see because we don’t have to be at the field until (later in the day). Like this morning, we have a little breakfast spot we like to get up and go eat at. It’s great. This is your home city. I’m here more than I am at my home city in Texas. I can’t think of a better place to call home for six to eight months.

 

Q: How does it feel to silence all your critics from last year with all your home runs this year?

A: That’s something I don’t even think about. Last year was last year. I can’t take it back. I know it wasn’t me. I know what I’m capable of doing if I’m healthy and I play every day. The number one goal is to go out and play in as many games as I can and just be me. At the end of the year, the numbers will be what they are and it will make everyone happy. We’ll go on to next year.

 

Q: What is your thought process as you approach an at-bat?

A: I’ll have a plan each and every at-bat, whether it looks like it or not. Depending on how I think they’re going to pitch me at that at-bat or the situation or this and that, I sell out. If that pitch isn’t there early in the count, I’ll take it. A lot of people ask, “How do you take that pitch?” I’m not able to swing at balls early in the count that I’m not sitting on or really thinking about, which leads to high walks because I get myself in good hitter’s counts and I don’t swing at bad pitches. It also gets me into bad counts, 0-1, 0-2, really quick. I don’t know. If you can help me out with that one, it would probably solve a big problem.

 

Q: Is there one thing you want to say to all our season ticket holders?

A: Absolutely. I want to thank all of you for the support. I promise you we will definitely turn it around. Personally, I would like to thank you for sticking with me. We’re going to have a few more good years here and hopefully bring another championship back here to Chicago. Thank you.

Monday, May 14, 2012

Here are a few of manager Robin Ventura’s comments from his pregame session with the media:

On if beating Detroit is more significant than other teams:

“No, it just means they are a very good (team) and that they are in your division so they’re important. It’s weird because it’s a two-game series, but then again they’re a good team and you want to play well because they’re in your division. They’re good, we’ve got John (Danks) going today.”

On if he pays attention to the standings:

“Not really, not this early. You kind of want to know where you’re at, but you realize it’s still a long way to go and even for them, you know they’re going to play well at some point. It’s nice to play well early.  Again, you play well early, you go on that All-Star Break and it changes so every series is important, not the end of the world, but you want to play well especially against a team that’s as good as this and is in your division”

On Jesse Crain’s progress:

“He threw yesterday and he was okay so I think in a few more days he could come back.”

On what he’s looking for out of John Danks tonight:

“ With him it’s just the consistency. He has been able to spot a lot of his fastballs and he’s one of those that throws a lot of pitches that hitters swing or miss at so if they’re not swinging at him then it doesn’t always look pretty. He’s a battler and he’s tough to hit against if he’s got it going. His last outing he was fine and he grinded through it and was fine so it’s one of those that if he hits his spots and has his location, he’s though to hit.”

On where to draw the line with the amount of discussions a coach has with a player about hitting:

“I think patience is key. There are some times when you give them a kick, but again I realize how tough it is because it’s not always that easy, especially getting critiqued everyday over and over about it. For them, they have to realize that they can’t get it all back in one day because it’s a consistent thing day in and day out of coming here and having the proper attitude of coming in and working at it and seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.”

On if it’s hard to decide when to stop discussing hitting issues with a player:

“There’s a fine line there of when you’re talking to them, how much you’re talking to them about it and you can’t talk to them about it every day because it becomes an overwhelming thing. They don’t necessarily want to hear it every day either so its back and forth of just conversation about it, but most of us have played so we get what they’re going through and I get that but they can’t lose confidence.”

On if he ever left for a two-day, West-Coast roadtrip during his career:

“I don’t (remember doing so), but I don’t make (the schedule) so we just play these, leave here tomorrow and come back pretty quick. It is odd that you fly out to the West Coast and then come right back and have a day game, but I think everybody will be fine.”

On Adam Dunn’s impact on the offense:

“It’s big. I don’t see a lot of people that expected him to be hitting third so what he brings to the lineup as far as power and getting on base has been fine. It’s a big thing that you kind of get a good hold of what people were seeing last year compared to what they’re seeing now and the credit goes to him, coming in the way he did at spring training.”

On how much Sale solidifies the starting rotation:

 “It’s fine for him to be in there and a plus for us, for me, you look at it the same way you did coming out of spring training — you have a pretty good set of five guys that you’re rolling out with on a consistent basis.”

May 12, 2012

For the seventh year, Louisville Slugger has created special pink bats for Major League Baseball players to use during Mother’s Day games on Sunday, May 13 to raise awareness for breast cancer.  Only this year’s bats are not just pink…they are hot pink.

White Sox players who will use the new pink bats tomorrow include Alejandro De Aza, Adam Dunn, Eduardo Escobar, Brent Morel, AJ Pierzynski, Alexei Ramirez and Alex Rios.

In addition to playing with pink bats stamped with the MLB breast cancer awareness logo, players and on-field personnel will wear pink wrist bands and a symbolic pink ribbon on their uniforms.  Commemorative dugout lineup cards also will be pink to show support for the cause.

After tomorrow’s game, the hundreds of players who used the pink bats will sign them before they are put up for auction.  The bats also will be sold at the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory and online, all in support of Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

Aurora (Ill.) resident Cori Cammarano was selected as the White Sox 2012 Honorary Bat Girl winner for her admirable commitment to “Going to Bat” in the fight against breast cancer.  She will take part in pre-game activities and be honored on-field at Sunday’s game.

 

May 9, 2012

On Saturday, May 12, hundreds of White Sox Volunteer Corp members, including current White Sox players and front office staff, will come together to participate in the “White Sox Day of Service,” in partnership with City Year.

This year’s major Volunteer Corps service event will take place at Kozminski Community Academy, a K through 8 public school in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood, which is in need of significant improvement and refurbishment.  Members of the White Sox Volunteer Corps participating in the event will be painting walls, halls and murals, building benches and bookcases, cleaning playground areas, among other service activities.

Anyone who has participated in White Sox Volunteer Corps events in the past understands the significance and value a day of service can provide the community.  The completed work will help provide a better, more conducive learning atmosphere for children facing difficult socio-economic situations, as well as help the school improve its facilities without impacting the budget.

Volunteer Corps members will be shuttled to the school from Lot C of U.S. Cellular Field.  The Opening Ceremony at Kozminski begins at 9:00 a.m. and work is scheduled to finish at 2:00 p.m. Lunch and water will be provided.

To be a part of the White Sox Day of Service or for more details, please visit:  http://mlb.com/cws/community/vc_cityyear.jsp

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Congratulations to tonight’s starter Philip Humber and his wife, Kristan, on the birth of their first child, son John Gregory last night during our game.  That’s a heckuva way to start a season … Perfect Game and first baby.

Congratulations as well to Jake Peavy on being named the American League’s Pitcher of the Month for April by going 3-1 with a 1.67 ERA.  The award is the fifth monthly honor of his career.  With Peavy, Humber (Player of the Week for his Perfecto) and PK (Player of the Week this past week), the White Sox have enjoyed a nice run of national recognition.

Home Run In a Phone Booth

Alejandro De Aza hit the most amazing, wind-blown, smoke-hidden double you’ve ever seen last night.  If you didn’t catch it (because the Indians couldn’t), click here: http://www.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=21080365&c_id=cws&partnerId=aw-6248658214734654885-1024

 

RV

Here are some of manager Robin Ventura’s comments to the media before today’s game:

On Jake Peavy’s start to the season and his Pitcher of the Month award:

“He’s definitely earned it. He’s been great. I don’t think you can ask for anything more out of him. ERA and just the way he’s pitching, plus the innings and the complete games, looking at him in spring training and what he went through in that process of getting healthy, it’s great for us but it’s real good for him too.”

On Gordon Beckham’s game last night:

“That’s something that can get him started. It has to start somewhere and that’s something that builds confidence. The home run is nice, but the two other hits for me were bigger than the home run. It’s the way he did it, the way the at-bats progressed, that kind of stuff is more promising and looks better than just one home run.”

On if he feels more comfortable now than he did last month:

“Yeah, it’s a month into it, so you get more into a routine and understand your guys, who you’re playing and all that kind of stuff. The baseball part, I still feel the same as far as what’s going on and being aware of things. Who you’re facing, how your guys are feeling and stuff like that are good.”

On the hardest part of being a new manager:

“The hardest thing? It’s different. It’s not like I’ve done it before, but again you’re learning different people and you want to put them in successful situations and that’s the thing you’re looking for. It’s not always that easy, but you have to find a way for them to be positive and get them in the right spot so they can actually be good.”

On if he’s found that he needs to manage each player differently:

“You treat people differently. Paul (Konerko) gets treated different than everybody else. I treat everybody fairly, but he’s just treated differently because he has a track record and watching him go about his business, I don’t feel like I need to watch him on a daily basis. Conversations I have with him are pretty simple, but everybody else, younger guys you kind of watch and you get a different feeling one way or another about them.”

On how involved he is in instruction with his other coaches:

“Things I understand (I get involved in). Like, I understand third base and first base better than they do, so I’m probably more instructional in that than I am with other things. I don’t talk about the catching or the outfield, but things that I understand better than them I’ll probably get more into instruction, just looking at things and mentioning things to either Brent (Morel) or Adam (Dunn), Paul he knows first base better than I do, so I don’t talk to him about it.”

On if he talks to and shares his ideas on hitting with Hitting Coach Jeff Manto:

“Yeah, we have a lot of the same ideas and philosophies that are just constants and that’s part of being a staff and what we want to do as a team, a lot of it is the same and I don’t see a difference there. But sometimes it’s better to hear it from someone else than it is to hear from the same person over and over again.”

On if Konerko could be a player manager or a manager down the road:

“He couldn’t do it. I know he couldn’t do it. He could be a manager down the road, but he couldn’t play and do that.”

Why?

“There’s just too much work to do.”

Could you have done it?

 “Absolutely not.”

On if he’s surprised other people did it and did it successfully:

“Yeah, I am. I think it’s a little different now. It’d be hard for someone to do it now.”

On what would be the hardest part:

“Doing this right here, everyday. Having to do this, answer questions about it and then go out and perform.”

On how he rates the media:

“It’s alright. I can handle this.”

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Big Series

The White Sox enter May at or above .500 for the first time since 2009 when the Sox were 11-10.

The Sox are looking to improve to 3-0 against the first-place Indians for the first time since 2002.

According to STATS LLC, Sox starter Chris Sale is the first White Sox starter to strike out five or more batters in each of his first four career starts.

Chicago is 4-1 vs. the American League Central this season after going 32-40 in 2011.

Paul Konerko needs one hit to move past HOF Eddie Collins (2,007) into sole possession of fourth place in franchise history.

 

Crain Update

Pitcher Jesse Crain, currently on the DL with a left oblique, played catch today but did not throw a bullpen mound session.  He is scheduled to throw again Thursday and then Saturday, if all goes well, and is eligible to come off the disabled list Sunday.

 

Fast Lane

Pitching coach Don Cooper and bullpen coach Juan Nieves used their off day to catch up on some shopping at a local super store with red and white colors.  And who do they see?  One of their pitchers.

“We sure are an exciting group,” Cooper joked.  “Spending our off day shopping!”

 

Goodbye to Moose

Earlier today, family and friends gathered to honor the memory of Bill “Moose” Skowron during a funeral mass at beautiful and grand All Saints Basillica in Chicago.  Serving as honorary pallbearers were teammates Tony Kubek, Bobby Richardson, Bob Turley, Don Larsen, Minnie Minoso and Bill Melton.  Acting pallbearers were Bob Grim, Jerry Reinsdorf, Mike Spidale, Mike Mazza, Bob Bertucci and Tom Sheridan.  Robin Ventura, Herm Schneider and former Sox infielder Al Weis also attended, along with many members of Chicago’s baseball family.

Kubek and Richardson both spoke about their teammate and friend.

“When Casey first put me and Moose together as roommates, I just thought he stuck the two Pollacks together,” Kubek said, noting that since he was Polish, he could use the term.  “After awhile, I realized what he was trying to do.  He wanted Moose to mentor me.  Moose was a winner and that was something Casey wanted me to learn from Moose.”

Kubek also drew a chuckle when he welcomed all the “Yankee Haters” to the mass.

Several friends joked afterward that they could imagine Moose watching the service and saying, “Get this shit over with …”

That was just Moose … or as Kubek noted, “We called him Moosey.”

 

Soggy Golf

Absolutely no truth to the rumor that a Sox front office executive, a groundskeeper and two coaches slogged their way through 18 holes at Cog Hill’s Dub’s Dread yesterday.  That’s because the groundskeeper called the Weather Service after nine holes and was smart enough to head for home!  But at least two of the three who gutted it out walked off the tough 18^th hole with pars.  Enough to bring you back the next time.  Just saying.

Saturday, April 28, 2012

Remembering Moose

We received quite a few emails, stories and texts from friends and fans about Moose Skowron and thought everyone might enjoy reading the stories from fans who connected with Moose, even if for a moment.

Hi,

I just heard about Moose’s passing.  We had the opportunity to meet him at our outings and learned very quickly what a great person he was.  The news made me sad, it just brought everything back, just more memories tied to Tommy I think.  It also makes me think about my Dad and I remember him sitting with Moose at one of the outings for an hour just talking about the neighborhood and “the good old days”, like they were old friends.

All of this makes me realize once again, what a great organization the Chicago White Sox is and what truly wonderful people are part of it.  There are hundreds of thousands of White Sox fans out there and the WS take time to reach out to so many of us.  I always think about our connection and how you reached out to us in a very difficult time and worked with us to remember our Son, someone you didnt even know.  You dont know how that makes us feel!  I apologize if Im getting to “soft” but I think about how each and every person that we have come in contact with has a heart.  Moose, Ron Kittle, You, Courtney, even the Scout that took the time to send us a letter when Tommy died.  You are part of an amazing group, and we are lucky to be part of it. 

The White Sox lost a very good part of it today and we were lucky to have met him.

Thank you.

Diane Fagan

 

Moose was a very special friend to me and I will miss seeing him at not only the White Sox camp but also the Yankee ones as well. Perhaps a little history is in order.

When he got upset at the way the Nightcrawlers were acting at the White Sox camp, he left as a coach. I ran into him at the Park later and he asked me if I wanted to go to a real camp where they played baseball the way it should be played. I said sure and asked what camp he was talking about.

He said that he and Hank Bauer had taken over the Mickey Mantle camp and it was being held in November in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. I said send me an application and gave him my address and forgot about it. Three weeks later the application arrived and I didn’t know what to do. My wife Sharon was alive at the time and suggested that we should go. We had a home in Ft. Lauderdale then. She said I could play baseball and she would shop and we could stay at our home. So I signed up for the 1999 camp.

I couldn’t tell anyone in my family or any of my friends or coworkers that I was going to a Yankee camp because they were only second to the Cubs as a hated enemy. I told everyone that we were going down to the Florida house for a week vacation. It turned out that the Yankees had a procedure where they informed your local paper about your participation in their camp. I really begged that they not do that for me and they didn’t- thank God.

We went and when we arrived at the hotel, Moose greeted us at the door and told us to follow him, he wanted to introduce us to his friends. His friends turned out to be Yogi Berra, Don Larsen, Tony Kubeck, Hank Bauer, Mickey Rivers, Bobby Richardson, Jake Gibbs, Tom Tresh, Enos Slaughter, Bucky Dent, Ron Guidry and a few others I used to have no use for. We got autographed baseballs from nearly everyone and what we remembered the most is Yogi personalizing a baseball for my wife Sharon- normally Yogi doesn’t personalize autographed baseballs. Also I couldn’t believe how nice all of these star players were to me and Sharon.  Of course, not many of the knew I was a White Sox fan; I was a friend of Moose’s and that what I feel made the difference.

I wore Moose’s number 14 on my Yankee uniform and played on his team. The Yankee camp imported catchers and the campers didn’t catch at that time. One of them failed to show up and Moose asked me if I brought my equipment. I said yes but it was back at the Florida house. He said call up Sharon and tell her to bring it and I could catch. She did and I did. The Yankee coaches did the pitching so it was an unexpected treat to catch Guidry and the others. That was the start of what later became catching every inning of 9 inning games at each camp.

I was amazed at the difference between the White Sox camp and the Yankee camp. The Yankee campers, mostly from the New York area, were very competitive which fit in quite nicely with my style. I got bowled over regularly and returned the favor when the opportunity presented itself. It was a “baseball” camp with All Stars and World Series heroes.

Moose was very good to Sharon and me and we enjoyed a lot of people’s company at dinners that we only read about or saw on  the field. All of them have become super friends I look forward to meeting every year.

After that camp, I happily signed up and participated in 11 more Yankee  camps wearing his number at each one including the one last November against the Dodgers in Vero Beach, Florida. Moose asked me to sit with him at the closing banquet and it was obvious then that he wasn’t going to make it to another camp. He signed some special photos for me that I believe have more sentimental value than any other autographed stuff I have. The conversation we had when I drove him back to hotel is one I’ll never forget.

During the time from that first camp and the last one, I visited with Moose art his restaurant, enjoyed his visits to the Gatorade box at U S Cellular field and shared a lot of other great times. I remember that he apologized to me that he wasn’t able to attend my wife’s wake and funeral. I thought to myself at the time, why would he ever consider coming to them and why would he apologize? But as I thought more about  it, I suddenly realized that was the way Moose was.

It’s very probable that I will never attend another Yankee camp because although I enjoyed interacting with all the other ex Yankees, I would miss Moose too much.

Dave G

 

Hey Mike,
I played softball against your team Seals, for years in Oak Brook Terrace. I was on a handful of different team names. Most recently UJays. I will never forget the 630pm Monday night game we had to square off against you guys about six or seven years ago on a July night. I was the first of my team to show up to the field. There were four guys at the field. You, me, another one of your teammates and Moose Skowron! As I was walking toward your bench from the parking lot, where he was sitting, I said to myself, ” oh shit that’s Moose Skowron”. I was in awe! I didn’t even think of walking over to our bench on the other side. I walked right to your bench and dropped my bag as he was in the middle of a story. I just stood there to listen to the story. He finished it and you asked me if I knew who who he was, and I replied ” hell yeah, I know who this is”. He shook my hand and introduced himself. I stood there and listened to the multiple stories he had to tell about Roger, Yogi and the Mick. Being a die hard White Sox fan and baseball junkie, I knew this would be a story I now had to tell forever! Since then I have told this story to anyone I thought would listen. To see he passed away today struck me. If you were close enough with him to have him show up to a Monday night rec softball game in Oak Brook Terrace, I’m sure he was a good friend. So I just wanted to say I’m sorry for your personal loss and also the loss to the White Sox family. Baseball lost a great man!  But on the flip side I wanted to thank you for the experience I had, and appreciation I had in soaking in the stories he had to tell.

I hope all is well and look forward to the Robin era! Thanks again!
-Bubba

 

And this from veteran sportswriter and White Sox fan, Bob Vanderberg:

 
Bill “Moose” Skowron, who wore uniform No. 14 across 14 major-league seasons, whose car’s license plates read “BMS 14” and who almost became the first player in baseball history to play in three straight World Series with three different clubs, died early Friday. He was 81.

He leaves behind a book’s worth of stories, tales he enjoyed telling as much as his audiences enjoyed hearing them. One day several years ago, over lunch at a west suburban eatery, I had the privilege to be an audience of one.  He told me how, as a high school athlete at the old Weber High School on Chicago’s Northwest Side, he had played football and basketball but not baseball—because the city’s Catholic schools did not offer  the sport in those days. So he played Windy City softball midweek and sandlot baseball on Sundays. He won a scholarship to Purdue—for football, not baseball—but “the summer after my sophomore year, I went to play semipro baseball in 1950 in Austin, Minn. And a scout from the Cubs named Bill Prince saw me hit four homers off four different pitchers in a single game. And he didn’t offer me a contract.”  Nor had Doug Minor, a White Sox scout, who had quarreled with Bill’s father and also failed to offer a deal. “Thank God there were two scouts there that night from the Yankees, Joe McDermott and Burleigh Grimes. They offered me a contract and made me a bonus baby—gave me a bonus of $25,000. And I quit school and signed professionally.”

Playing in the outfield, he led the Class B Piedmont League in hitting his first year in the minors; then, promoted to Triple-A Kansas City in ’52, he batted .341 with 31 homers and 134 RBIs. “I was named Minor League Player of the Year,” he said, “and you know what? I wasn’t even invited to spring training the next year with the Yankees.”  Instead, Yankee instructors in the minor-league camp began teaching him the finer points of playing first base. That’s where he played that summer in Kansas City, where he hit .318 and finally got his invite to big-league camp in the spring of 1954. He won a roster spot and hit .340 in 87 games. Moose was on his way, embarking on a career during which, as a Yankee, he took personal delight in destroying White Sox pitching. In his nine years as a Yankee, he played 151 games against the Sox, was 161-for-527 for a .306 batting average and added 24 homers and 88 runs batted in.

Most memorable of his damaging blows against Chicago came on Sunday, July 14, 1957, before a Comiskey Park crowd of 48,244. Billy Pierce had beaten the Yanks 3-1 in Game 1 of the day’s doubleheader, moving the Sox within two games of the AL-leading New Yorkers. Now, Dick Donovan took a 4-0 lead into the ninth inning of Game 2. Then came three straight hits, making it 4-1, chasing Donovan and bringing a new pitcher, Jim Wilson, into the contest. Hank Bauer ripped a hard grounder off third baseman Sammy Esposito’s glove to fill the bases before Wilson fanned Elston Howard. Stepping up now as a pinch-hitter was Skowron, 0-for-4 in the opener. Moose sent the first pitch he saw rocketing into the left-field upper deck for a grand slam. The Yankees went on to win 6-4 and the Sox never got to within two games of the New Yorkers the rest of that season.

“I hit good against the White Sox in my career because I wanted to prove to them that their scouts had made a mistake not offering me a contract,” he said. “As it turned out, though, I could never complain, because I got into seven World Series with the Yankees. I get traded to the Dodgers, we win the pennant, we win the World Series. So I was in eight World Series out of my 14 years in the big leagues.”

Skowron came this close to being in three straight World Series with three diffeent teams. The year was 1964. “Moose” had been traded by the Dodgers to lowly Washington in December 1963. White Sox general manager Ed Short, a huge Skowron fan who had tried unsuccessfully to get him from the Dodgers that winter (and, even before that, from the Yankees), went all out to acquire the Chicago native once the ’64 season moved into early June. The Senators turned down every bid, and the June 15 trading deadline came and went with the Sox still Skowron-less. Meanwhile, the Sox were struggling in a three-team pennant race with New York and Baltimore. They were especially hapless against the Yankees, who won the teams’ first 10 face-to-face matchups in ’64.   The Yankees swept a five-game weekend series from Chicago June 12-14 in New York, then took four straight the next weekend in Chicago—by scores of 1-0 in 11 innings, 2-0, 2-1 in 17 innings and 6-5.  Certainly, Short felt, Skowron’s presence in the lineup, not to mention the clubhouse, would have meant the difference in at least one of those defeats.  Short kept the phone lines open to Washington and finally, in a waiver deal during the All-Star break, landed “Moose” in exchange for another first baseman, Joe Cunningham, and young lefty Frank Kreutzer. Skowron was hitting .271 with 13 homers and 41 RBIs when he joined the Sox. His average in a Sox uniform was .293—-with 38 RBIs. And though he hit just four homers, he provided protection for lefty-swinging Pete Ward and shortstop Ron Hansen, the team’s only other longball threats.

The difference Skowron made was especially evident in the Sox’s competition with the Yankees in the second half. Chicago swept a day-night doubleheader in New York Aug. 11, by scores of 6-4 and 8-2, as Moose went 5-for-7 with two doubles and two RBIs. The Sox lost the next two days in Yankee Stadium but came home the following week and swept four straight from the Yankees to move into first place.  In the eight games vs. his old club, Skowron had gone 11 for 29 (a .379 average).

With Skowron, the White Sox appeared poised to win the pennant as the race moved into September. Indeed, after a pulsating, un-Sox-like victory over Cleveland Sept. 4 at Comiskey Park, even the doubters and naysayers had to rethink their position. With the Sox trailing 5-4 in the 10^th and Tribe relief ace Don McMahon (1.52 ERA) on the mound,

Ward led off with a long drive over the center-field fence and into the old bullpen to tie the game. Moments later, Skowron lined a ball to the opposite field, a shot that landed in the right-field lower deck and won the game 6-5.

But shortly thereafter, the White Sox dropped a Labor Day twin bill in Washington, and the Yankees began a surge of 26 wins in 33 games that put them back on top. The Sox won their last nine in a row but finished 98-64, one game behind; third-place Baltimore finished 97-65. The failure of 1964 was among Moose’s biggest disappointments. So was 1965, when he hit .274 with 18 homers and 78 RBIs and made the All-Star team but saw his White Sox finish second to Minnesota. And so was 1966, when he batted just .249 in much limited play under new manager Eddie Stanky.

“But being home in Chicago, coming back here to play—it was a big thrill for me. And I’ll never forget that year we lost the pennant by one game.”

And those thousands of fans who watched him play ball or got to know him in later years  through his community-relations work with the White Sox surely will never forget Bill “Moose” Skowron.