White Sox Celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
May is Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month — a time to acknowledge the contributions and accomplishments of the AAPI communities to the United States and some of the nation’s most celebrated pastimes. The White Sox are proud and honored to recognize several franchise greats and sports trailblazers who continue to make a positive impact on the local AAPI community, the entire Sox organization and all those who support the team and game of baseball.
1985 — Present: Eugene “Gene” Honda is the current White Sox public address announcer and has been with the organization full-time since the team’s final season in Old Comiskey Park in 1990. A staple to Chicago sports, Honda’s jam-packed schedule also includes work with the Chicago Blackhawks (since 1990), DePaul University basketball, the Big Ten Tournament, Illinois Fighting Illini football, and the NCAA Final Four (since 2010). He is the only person in the world to have announced at the MLB World Series, Major League Baseball All Star Game, NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs, NCAA Final Four, NCAA Frozen Four, and a World Class Marathon. Honda credits his father, a second generation Japanese-American, for encouraging his love for public speaking and setting him on the path for such an illustrious career in sports.
2000: Man Soo Lee, a native of South Korea, becomes not only the first Asian member of the White Sox coaching staff, serving as bullpen catcher for seven seasons (2000–06), but the first Korean coach in MLB. A crowd-favorite for his fun-loving interactions with fans in the nearby stands, Lee also is one of the few Korean baseball players to ever win a World Series ring. “Hulk” — as many referred to him for the power of his home run hitting — has been involved in baseball as a player, coach, manager or commentator for more than 50 years.
2004: Right-handed pitcher Shingo Takatsu, a native of Japan, becomes the first Asian player for the White Sox. Takatsu, who was part of the organization at the beginning of the 2005 World Series championship season, landed with the team after posting 260 saves over 13 seasons with the Tokyo Yakult Swallows in Nippon Professional Baseball’s Central League. During his brief stint with the White Sox, he amassed a 24-game scoreless streak, going 26.1 innings (at the time the 10th longest scoreless inning streak in White Sox history) with 10 hits, no runs, five walks (0.570 WHIP) and 16 strikeouts, employing what fans refer to as the “Frisbee” curveball.
2005: Second baseman Tadahito Iguchi, a native of Japan, becomes the first White Sox Asian position player and first Japanese-born player in MLB to win the World Series, batting second on a star-studded ’05 lineup. While he played four seasons in the major leagues, Iguchi’s professional career spanned 21 years, 2,258 hits and 297 home runs over more than 2,400 games. Upon retirement, Iguchi became the first former Japanese major leaguer to manage in Nippon Professional Baseball when he took the job with the Chiba Lotte Marines.
As the White Sox celebrate the culture and contributions of these four, Inside the Sox blog readers are strongly encouraged to continue exploring the instrumental role AAPI communities have played in shaping baseball and national history. To learn more, visit https://asianpacificheritage.gov/
