1977 Chicago White Sox season

1977 Chicago White Sox
Major League affiliations
American League (since 1901)
Western Division (since 1969)
Location
Comiskey Park (since 1910)
Chicago, Illinois (since 1901)
Other information
Owner(s)	Bill Veeck
General manager(s)	Roland Hemond
Manager(s)	Bob Lemon
Local television	WSNS-TV
Local radio	WMAQ (AM) (Harry Caray, Lorn Brown, Jimmy Piersall, Mary Shane)
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The 1977 Chicago White Sox season was a season in American baseball. The team finished third in the American League West, 12 games behind the Kansas City Royals.

Offseason

White Sox owner Bill Veeck tried a new philosophy during the offseason: figuring that if he could not compete with the bigger spending clubs for free agents, he would "rent" them, even if only for one year. With this strategy in mind, he traded for Richie Zisk (who had one year remaining on his contract) and Oscar Gamble (also in the final year of his contract), hoping that he would be able to continue the practice financially.^[1]

Notable transactions

• October 6, 1976: Minnie Miñoso was released by the White Sox.^[2]
• October 21, 1976: Phil Roof was traded by the White Sox to the Toronto Blue Jays for a player to be named later. The Blue Jays completed the deal by sending Larry Anderson to the White Sox on January 5.^[3]
• November 26, 1976: Eric Soderholm was signed as a free agent by the White Sox.^[4]
• December 5, 1976: Royle Stillman was signed as a free agent by the White Sox.^[5]
• December 10, 1976: Goose Gossage and Terry Forster were traded by the White Sox to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Richie Zisk and Silvio Martínez.^[6]
• January 11, 1977: Mark Esser was drafted by the White Sox in the 8th round of the 1977 Major League Baseball draft.^[7]
• January 26, 1977: Blue Moon Odom was released by the White Sox.^[8]
• February 15, 1977: Fritz Peterson was signed as a free agent by the White Sox.^[9]

Regular season

On April 7 in Toronto, the White Sox played the Toronto Blue Jays in the first game in Blue Jays history.^[10]

The White Sox, who came to be called the "South Side Hitmen", were in solid contention for most of the season, battling the division-winning Royals and Minnesota Twins most of the way.^[1] moved into first place in the AL West on July 1 and remained there until August 12.^[1] Their primary weapon was their power hitting. As a team, the White Sox hit 192 home runs, a record which lasted until 1996.^[1] Their displays of power caused fans to cheer for "curtain calls", where players came out of the dugout after hitting a home run to acknowledge those cheers. Some Royals players greatly resented this, and called such behavior "bush" and "unprofessional." The climax of this came on August 5, when White Sox pitcher Bart Johnson and Royals catcher Darrell Porter had a fistfight in a game at Kansas City.^[1]

Opening Day lineup

• Ralph Garr, Left field
• Alan Bannister, Shortstop
• Jorge Orta, Second base
• Richie Zisk, Right field
• Jim Spencer, First base
• Oscar Gamble, Designated hitter
• Eric Soderholm, Third base
• Chet Lemon, Center field
• Brian Downing, Catcher
• Ken Brett, Pitcher

Season standings

AL West	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Kansas City Royals	102	60	0.630	—	55–26	47–34
Texas Rangers	94	68	0.580	8	44–37	50–31
Chicago White Sox	90	72	0.556	12	48–33	42–39
Minnesota Twins	84	77	0.522	17½	48–32	36–45
California Angels	74	88	0.457	28	39–42	35–46
Seattle Mariners	64	98	0.395	38	29–52	35–46
Oakland Athletics	63	98	0.391	38½	35–46	28–52

Record vs. opponents

1977 American League Records Sources:
Team	BAL	BOS	CAL	CWS	CLE	DET	KC	MIL	MIN	NYY	OAK	SEA	TEX	TOR
Baltimore	—	6–8	5–6	5–5	11–4	12–3	4–7	11–4	6–4	8–7	8–2	7–3	4–6	10–5
Boston	8–6	—	7–3	3–7	8–7	9–6	5–5	9–6	4–6	8–7	8–3	10–1	6–4	12–3
California	6–5	3–7	—	8–7	6–4	4–6	6–9	5–5	7–8	4–7	5–10	9–6	5–10	6–4
Chicago	5–5	7–3	7–8	—	6–4	4–6	8–7	6–5	10–5	3–7	10–5	10–5	6–9	8–3
Cleveland	4–11	7–8	4–6	4–6	—	8–7	3–7	11–4	2–9	3–12	7–3	7–3	2–9	9–5
Detroit	3–12	6–9	6–4	6–4	7–8	—	3–8	10–5	5–5	6–9	5–5	5–6	2–8	10–5
Kansas City	7–4	5–5	9–6	7–8	7–3	8–3	—	8–2	10–5	5–5	9–6	11–4	8–7	8–2
Milwaukee	4–11	6–9	5–5	5–6	4–11	5–10	2–8	—	3–8	8–7	5–5	7–3	5–5	8–7
Minnesota	4–6	6–4	8–7	5–10	9–2	5–5	5–10	8–3	—	2–8	8–6	7–8	8–7	9–1
New York	7–8	7–8	7–4	7–3	12–3	9–6	5–5	7–8	8–2	—	9–2	6–4	7–3	9–6
Oakland	2–8	3–8	10–5	5–10	3–7	5–5	6–9	5–5	6–8	2–9	—	7–8	2–13	7–3
Seattle	3–7	1–10	6–9	5–10	3–7	6–5	4–11	3–7	8–7	4–6	8–7	—	9–6	4–6
Texas	6–4	4–6	10–5	9–6	9–2	8–2	7–8	5–5	7–8	3–7	13–2	6–9	—	7–4
Toronto	5–10	3–12	4–6	3–8	5–9	5–10	2–8	7–8	1–9	6–9	3–7	6–4	4–7	—

Notable transactions

• April 5, 1977: Bucky Dent was traded by the White Sox to the New York Yankees for Oscar Gamble, LaMarr Hoyt, Bob Polinsky (minors), and $200,000.^[11]
• August 20, 1977: Steve Staniland (minors) was traded by the White Sox to the St. Louis Cardinals for Don Kessinger.^[12]
• August 31, 1977: The White Sox traded players to be named later to the St. Louis Cardinals for Clay Carroll. The White Sox completed the deal by sending Nyls Nyman to the Cardinals on September 2, and sending Dave Hamilton and Silvio Martínez to the Cardinals on November 28.^[13]

Roster

1977 Chicago White Sox
Roster
Pitchers 51 Larry Anderson 46 Francisco Barrios 34 Ken Brett 34 Clay Carroll 43 Bruce Dal Canton 37 Dave Frost 26 Dave Hamilton 24 Bart Johnson 33 Don Kirkwood 45 Chris Knapp 27 Ken Kravec 55 Jack Kucek 36 Lerrin LaGrow 47 Silvio Martínez 50 Steve Renko 32 Steve Stone 51 John Verhoeven 52 Randy Wiles 28 Wilbur Wood		Catchers 16 Brian Downing 11 Jim Essian 20 Bill Nahorodny Infielders  7 Alan Bannister  8 Kevin Bell 10 Jack Brohamer  1 John Flannery 23 Lamar Johnson 30 Don Kessinger  1 Tim Nordbrook  6 Jorge Orta 12 Eric Soderholm  3 Jim Spencer 19 Mike Squires		Outfielders  5 Bob Coluccio 38 Henry Cruz 25 Tommy Cruz 17 Oscar Gamble 48 Ralph Garr 25 Jerry Hairston 44 Chet Lemon  5 Bob Molinaro 15 Wayne Nordhagen 18 Royle Stillman 22 Richie Zisk Other batters 20 Nyls Nyman		Manager 21 Bob Lemon Coaches 14 Larry Doby 29 Bobby Knoop  9 Minnie Miñoso 31 Stan Williams

Player stats

Batting

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, SS,2B,LF,CF	139	560	87	154	20	3	3	57	54	49	.275	4
Kevin Bell, SS,3B	9	28	4	5	1	0	1	6	3	8	.179	0
Jack Brohamer, 3B,2B	59	152	26	39	10	3	2	20	21	8	.257	0
Bob Coluccio, OF	20	37	4	10	0	0	0	7	6	2	.270	0
Henry Cruz, OF	53	77	13	17	2	1	2	10	8	11	.221	0
Tommy Cruz, LF	4	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	0
Brian Downing, C,DH,OF	69	169	28	48	4	2	4	25	34	21	.284	1
Jim Essian, C	114	322	50	88	18	2	10	44	52	35	.273	1
John Flannery, SS	7	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	.000	0
Oscar Gamble, DH,OF	137	408	75	121	22	2	31	83	54	54	.297	1
Ralph Garr, LF	134	543	78	163	29	7	10	54	27	44	.300	12
Jerry Hairston, CF,LF	13	26	3	8	2	0	0	4	5	7	.308	0
Lamar Johnson, DH,1B	118	374	52	113	12	5	18	65	24	53	.302	1
Don Kessinger, SS,2B,3B	39	119	12	28	3	2	0	11	13	7	.235	2
Chet Lemon, CF	150	553	99	151	38	4	19	67	52	88	.273	8
Bob Molinaro, RF	1	2	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	.500	1
Bill Nahorodny, C	7	23	3	6	1	0	1	4	2	3	.261	0
Tim Nordbrook, SS	15	20	2	5	0	0	0	1	7	4	.250	1
Wayne Nordhagen, RF,LF,DH	52	124	16	39	7	3	4	22	2	12	.315	1
Nyls Nyman, PH	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	0
Jorge Orta, 2B	144	564	71	159	27	8	11	84	46	49	.282	4
Eric Soderholm, 3B,DH	130	460	77	129	20	3	25	67	47	47	.280	2
Jim Spencer, 1B	128	470	56	116	16	1	18	69	36	50	.247	1
Mike Squires, 1B	3	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	.000	0
Royle Stillman, OF,DH	56	119	18	25	7	1	3	13	17	21	.210	2
Richie Zisk, RF,DH,LF	141	531	78	154	17	6	30	101	55	98	.290	0
Team totals	162	5633	844	1568	254	52	192	809	559	666	.278	42

Pitching

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
Larry Anderson	1	3	9.35	6	0	0	8.2	10	10	9	1	19	7
Francisco Barrios	14	7	4.12	33	31	0	231.1	241	117	106	22	59	119
Ken Brett	6	4	5.01	13	13	0	82.2	101	47	46	10	15	39
Clay Carroll	1	3	4.76	8	0	1	11.1	14	7	6	3	4	4
Bruce Dal Canton	0	2	3.75	8	0	2	24.0	20	11	10	1	13	9
Dave Frost	1	1	3.04	4	3	0	23.2	30	9	8	0	3	15
Dave Hamilton	4	5	3.61	55	0	9	67.1	71	33	27	6	37	45
Bart Johnson	4	5	4.01	29	4	2	92.0	114	48	41	5	41	46
Don Kirkwood	1	1	5.18	16	0	0	40.0	49	27	23	3	12	24
Chris Knapp	12	7	4.80	27	26	0	146.1	166	90	78	16	62	103
Ken Kravec	11	8	4.10	26	25	0	166.2	161	87	76	12	57	125
Jack Kucek	0	1	3.63	8	3	0	34.2	35	20	14	4	10	25
Lerrin LaGrow	7	3	2.46	66	0	25	98.2	81	32	27	10	38	63
Silvio Martinez	0	1	5.57	10	0	1	21.0	28	14	13	4	14	10
Steve Renko	5	0	3.54	8	8	0	53.1	55	23	21	3	17	36
Steve Stone	15	12	4.51	31	31	0	207.1	228	115	104	25	83	124
John Verhoeven	0	0	2.61	6	0	0	10.1	9	3	3	0	2	6
Randy Wiles	1	1	10.13	5	0	0	2.2	5	3	3	1	4	0
Wilbur Wood	7	8	4.99	24	18	0	122.2	139	75	68	10	50	42
Team totals	90	72	4.25	162	162	40	1444.2	1557	771	682	136	540	842

Awards and honors

All-Stars

All-Star Game

• Richie Zisk, starter, outfield

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Iowa Oaks	American Association	Joe Sparks
AA	Knoxville Knox Sox	Southern League	Jim Napier
A	Appleton Foxes	Midwest League	Gordon Lund
Rookie	GCL White Sox	Gulf Coast League	Joe Jones

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: GCL White Sox

Notes

1. The White Sox Encyclopedia, Richard C. Lindberg, p. 88, Temple University Press, ISBN 1-56639-449-X
2. Minnie Miñoso at Baseball Reference
3. Phil Roof at Baseball Reference
4. Eric Soderholm at Baseball-Reference
5. Royle Stillman at Baseball Reference
6. Rich Gossage at Baseball Reference
7. Mark Esser at Baseball Reference
8. Blue Moon Odom at Baseball Reference
9. Fritz Peterson at Baseball Reference
10. Diamond Dreams: 20 Years of Blue Jays Baseball, Stephen Brunt, p.94, Penguin Books, ISBN 0-14-023978-2
11. Oscar Gamble at Baseball Reference
12. Don Kessinger at Baseball Reference
13. Nyls Nyman at Baseball Reference

References

• Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.
• 1977 Chicago White Sox at Baseball Reference
• 1977 Chicago White Sox at Baseball Almanac