White Sox A-Z: Calderón to Crede
By Art Berke
Need a Sox fix?
Each Thursday we are paying tribute to White Sox standouts of the past, highlighting a different letter of the alphabet each week.
Today we focus on 10 popular Sox whose last names begin with the letter C — Iván Calderón, Chico Carrasquel, Ed Cicotte, Eddie Collins, Bartolo Colón, Charles Comiskey, José Contreras, Neal Cotts, Jesse Crain and Joe Crede.
Iván Calderón, OF, White Sox (1986–90, 1993), Mariners, Expos, Red Sox
Iván Calderón was acquired by the White Sox from the Mariners during the 1986 season and ultimately became a productive and popular presence in the lineup, primarily patrolling both left and right field.
The following season, 1987, was the finest in his 10-year major-league career. He batted .293, collected 38 doubles, 28 homers and 83 RBI with an OPS of .888. While he never duplicated those numbers again, he hit 14 homers, drove in 87 runs and batted .286 in 1989 and 14, 74, 44 doubles (among all-time Sox single-season leaders) and .273 in 1990. Calderón was dealt to the Expos for future Hall of Famer Tim Raines before the 1991 season. He returned to Chicago briefly in 1993.
In December of 2003, Calderón was tragically shot and killed in his native Puerto Rico at age 41.
Chico Carrasquel, SS, White Sox (1950–55), Indians, Kansas City Athletics, Orioles
Alfonso “Chico” Carrasquel joined the White Sox from the Brooklyn Dodgers organization just in time to be part of the early stages of the Go-Go White Sox of the 1950s.
Carrasquel was another in a group of swift, defensive-minded Sox shortstops such as Luke Appling, whom he succeeded, fellow Venezuelan Luis Aparicio who came after Chico and countryman Ozzie Guillén, who would make a huge impact on the franchise in the future both as a player and manager.
A hero in Venezuela who was also the first of the country’s long line of major-league shortstops like Aparicio, Dave Concepción, Guillén and Omar Vizquel, Carrasquel became a three-time All-Star for the Sox (four in total and the first Latin American All-Star starter in 1951). He led the league in fielding three different times and in his six years with the Sox, he batted .265.
After his 10-year big-league career ended, Chico broadcast games for the White Sox on Spanish-speaking radio from 1992–99 and in the Venezuelan Winter League. He died in 2005.
Ed Cicotte, RHP, White Sox (1912–1920), Tigers, Red Sox
Ed Cicotte was one of baseball’s premier pitchers in the early years of the 20th century. He might have been a Hall of Famer if it hadn’t been for his role in the 1919 Black Sox scandal, which saw him and seven teammates expelled from the game for throwing that year’s World Series.
Cicotte was 209–148 in 14 seasons — 156–101 in nine years with the White Sox and the winning pitcher in Game 1 of the 1917 World Series. He led the American League in wins in 1917 (28) for the Sox’ World Championship club and the majors in wins (29) and complete games (30) in 1919. In ’17 his 1.53 ERA and 346.2 innings pitched led the league and he ranked first in baseball with 306.2 innings pitched in ‘19.
He ranks among all-time Sox pitchers in career ERA (2.25), shutouts (28), complete games (183), quality starts (153) and wins (156).
He died in 1969 at the age of 84 in his native Michigan.
Eddie Collins, 2B, White Sox (1915–1926; Manager 1924–26), Philadelphia A’s
Elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame’s inaugural class along with the likes of national pastime immortals Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Connie Mack and Walter Johnson, Eddie Collins was a key member of some outstanding White Sox teams, including the 1917 World Champions.
He was a native of Dutchess County, New York and a graduate of Columbia University, unusual for a major leaguer of that era. Collins arrived in Chicago after establishing himself as one of baseball’s best players with the A’s. He was consistently among the league’s top batters and stolen-base threats. While he was a member of the 1919 Black Sox, he had no involvement in the gambling scandal and, in fact, led the Sox with a .409 batting average in the Series.
In his 12 years in Chicago, Collins posted a .331 lifetime average, a .424 on-base percentage with an .849 OPS. Collins is also in the 3,000 hit club, 2,007 coming in a Sox uniform.
He’s on top of the White Sox all-time rankings with 368 career stolen bases and 10 inside-the-park home runs and his .331 average ranks second. He is also the single-season Sox leader in hits (224 in 1920) and singles (170 in ‘20). He led the American League in stolen bases three times in a White Sox uniform and four all together.
Collins was the player-manager of the White Sox (the sixth Sox skipper) from 1924–26 when they won at a .521 clip. He died in 1951 at the age of 63 due to a heart condition.
Collins’ son, Eddie Jr., played briefly with the A’s.
Bartolo Colón, RHP, White Sox (2003, 2009), Indians, Expos, Angels, Red Sox, Yankees, Athletics, Mets, Braves, Twins, Rangers
A 21-year major league veteran who saw action with 11 different teams, Bartolo Colón pitched for the Sox in two different seasons six years apart.
In his first stint on the South Side, the rotund Dominican native won 15 games with a 3.87 ERA in 242 innings at the age of 30. He also led the league with nine complete games. The second time didn’t go so well. While he won his first start in pitching six innings of three-hit ball in a victory over the Twins, Colón was out for the remainder of the season due to injury.
Interestingly, he earned the 8,000th win in franchise history in 2003 and is the last Sox player to throw consecutive complete games (September 2 and 13 in ‘03).
In all, Colón has won 237 major-league games, struck out 2, 535 batters, was a four-time All-Star and led the league in victories (21) in 2005 en route to winning the Cy Young Award as an Angel. At the beginning of the 2020 season, Colon was still hoping to pitch in the major leagues.
Charles Comiskey, founding owner of the White Sox (1901–1931)
Charles Comiskey was a player, manager, prominent in forming the American League and, of course, was the founding owner of the White Sox.
Comiskey was a native of Chicago and a talented first baseman in professional baseball in the late 19th century, “The Old Roman,” as he was called played his last three seasons with Cincinnati in the National League. As a player, he has been credited with playing first base behind the base and inside the foul line.
He left Cincinnati and the N.L. in 1894 to buy the Sioux City, Iowa franchise in the Western League and moved it to St. Paul, Minnesota. After five years with the St. Paul Saints, Comiskey worked out a deal to move the club to the South Side of Chicago to rival the Cubs. The White Stockings of the renamed American League began in 1900 and identified as a major-league franchise the following season.
Comiskey owned and directed the fortunes of the Sox until his death in 1931, at which time his heirs took over management of the franchise. He won five A.L. pennants, world titles in 1906 and 1917 and oversaw the building of the original Comiskey Park in 1910. He also endured the 1919 Black Sox gambling scandal, pegged by some as the villian because of his frugal practices — an accusation that has been largely dispelled in recent years.
A statue on the outfield concourse at Guaranteed Rate Field honors Comiskey’s memory. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939.
José Contreras, RHP, White Sox (2004–2009), Yankees, Rockies, Phillies, Pirates
One of Cuba’s most dominant pitchers, José Contreras defected to the United States and was signed by the Yankees prior to the 2003 season. After a season and a half, he was traded to the White Sox and the following year became one of the heroes of the Sox’ run to the 2005 World Championship.
After an inconsistent second half in ’04, Contreras became the club’s best pitcher down the stretch in ’05, winning his last eight starts. Fellow Cuban Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez is said to have had a lot to do with that, fixing a flaw in Contreras’ arm angle. José finished the season with a 15–7 mark, a 3.61 ERA with 154 strikeouts in 204.2 innings.
Contreras also started Game 1 of the ALDS vs. the Red Sox, ALCS vs. the Angels and World Series vs. the Astros, winning two of those games. His lone loss was to the Angels in the series opener, but he redeemed himself by pitching a complete game victory in the decisive ALCS Game 5 that sent the Sox to the World Series.
Along with Mark Buehrle, Jon Garland and Freddy García, Contreras was part of the quartet of Sox pitchers who posted a record four consecutive postseason complete games in the ’05 ALCS.
Contreras began 2006 on fire and was 9–0 with a 3.31 ERA on July 6. A couple of weeks later he broke the White Sox club record with his 16th straight triumph. He won №17 before finally suffering a loss. As a result, he was named by Sox skipper Ozzie Guillén to the American League All-Star team, though he didn’t pitch due to an injury.
In his six years with the Sox, Contreras won 55 regular season games and earned the victory in four postseason contests.
José is currently a special assistant to baseball operations with the White Sox.
Neal Cotts, LHP, White Sox (2003–2006), Cubs, Rangers, Brewers, Twins
A valuable reliever for the 2005 White Sox World Champions, Neal Cotts posted a 4–0 regular-season mark with a sparkling 1.94 ERA in 69 relief appearances.
He was rewarded for his outstanding campaign with MLB.com’s “Setup Man of the Year” award as voted by the fans.
Because of the Sox’ dominant starting pitching in the ’05 ALCS, he was the only Sox relief pitcher to appear, tossing 2/3 of an inning in the first game. He appeared in all four games in the Sox’ World Series sweep vs. the Astros and earned the victory in Game 2.
Cotts is a native of Lebanon, Illinois and pitched at Illinois State.
Jesse Crain, RHP, White Sox (2011–2013), Twins
For seven years as a Minnesota Twins reliever, Jesse Crain was one of the White Sox’ biggest nemeses, putting out fire after fire at the South Siders’ expense.
Then, in 2010, the Sox signed Crain to a three-year contract. The highlight of his tenure with in Chicago was in 2013, pitching a Sox-record 29 straight scoreless appearances. He had a career-best 0.74 ERA that year over 38 relief appearances. While he didn’t pitch because of injury, he was selected to the American League All-Star squad.
Crain is a native of Canada and played college ball at the University of Houston.
Joe Crede, 3B, White Sox (2000–2008), Twins
Drafted by the White Sox in the 5th round of the 1996 MLB draft and excelling in the minor leagues, it took time for Joe Crede to make it to the majors as well as establishing himself as a force to be reckoned with.
Sox fans will fondly remember the popular Crede for his role on the 2005 World Series champion club and 2006 when he enjoyed the best season of his career.
In ’05, Crede smashed 22 homers and drove in 62, but just tells just part of the story. He was a defensive wizard at third base and was at his best in the clutch.
As an example, Crede was the hero in arguably the most pivotal game of the 2005 season. On Tuesday night, September 20 as the Sox were clinging to a 2.5 game lead after mounting a 15-game margin on August 1, they were deadlocked 6–6 heading into the 10th inning with the surging Indians, who were in the midst of a six-game winning streak. A loss would have put the Sox a mere 1.5 lead over the Indians with 12 games to go. Needless to say there was tension with the some 26,000 fans at the ballpark.
In one of the most dramatic moments of that or any other Sox season, Crede led off the inning with a long homer to left field off of Tribe reliever David Riske. Sox fans could exhale.
In the postseason, which saw the Sox go 11–1 in the three series, Crede batted .368 with a pair of homers and seven RBI against the Angels in the ALCS — including a game-winning double in Game 2 — with a 1.139 OPS. He slugged two home runs with a 1.074 OPS in the World Series.
In 2006, Crede enjoyed his finest campaign with 30 homers, 92 RBI, a .283 batting average and won the Silver Slugger award for third basemen. The next season was somewhat lost because of injury, but he rebounded in 2008 — his last year with the Sox — with 17 homers, 55 RBI and a trip to the All-Star Game.
