Good morning, and a happy New Year’s Eve to all!
As we exit 2022 and look towards 2023, my hope is that the White Sox will field some batters next season who are, shall we say, productive. With there being a distinct possibility we have a first-timer in Oscar Colás in 2023, it would be nice if he could log a minimum of one win above replacement, something the White Sox have found difficult in their rookies in past seasons.
And today’s Sporcle will reflect that difficulty: looking at White Sox batters in the first season of their careers, just 37 guys have logged at least one bWAR of value. While this is, admittedly, a bit of a bummer, there are some great names on this list! How many can you name? Good luck!
Quiz Parameters
- To reiterate, this list only contains batters who began their career with the White Sox. If they started their career with a different team, they will not be found on this list.
- I’ve allotted 15 minutes for completion attempts.
- For hints, I’ve provided the season and bWAR compiled, and ordered the list from highest WAR to lowest.
Useless information to amaze, annoy, confuse, and/or confound your friends and family:
- 13 of the players on this list finished in the top ten Rookie of the Year voting.
- From those 13, three went on to win Rookie of the Year.
- The youngest players on this list to make their debut were both 21, while the elder statesmen of the group led the way at the ripe old age of 30.
All data from stathead.com
29/37, and maybe I get one more if I had ten more hours.
The 1990 first baseman put up that line after getting called up at the beginning of August. Truly one of a kind for this franchise.
A happy and healthy 2023 for all reading Sox Machine, and may we have more to celebrate in the year ahead.
26/37. I missed 3 from my lifetime that I should have gotten. Those 3 plus my 26 are probably the 29 that you got, asinwreck. I think I only heard of one other guy of the remaining 8. Great quiz again, Ted!
Thanks, glad you liked it!
Thank you @asinwreck for making it possible for me to get the 1911 OF with your previous posting of links to his bio in quiz comments.
Yes, thanks from me too! I would not have gotten him either!
Champagne may be clouding my memory this morning, but I am fairly certain that Jim linked that wonderful SABR biography in a post some years ago.
20 and felt good about it. I new the ’99 guy was good, but didn’t realize it was at that level.
25/37, mostly by guessing the 7 or 8 old-timers that come up on these quizzes often. Funny to see the 1998 shortstop so high on the list. I have vague memories of him hitting a big homerun at Wrigley back when those games really mattered (and when interleague play was novel and new).