Good morning!
When Jim wrote about the Michael Kopech - Hollis "Sloppy" Thurston connection on Thursday, it was a no-brainer that this week's Sporcle must include the man. To have such a nickname and also such a season statline -- 20 wins against 14 losses, leading the American League in complete games, hits, earned runs and home runs-- means a tribute must be made to the man from L.A.
One of his two statistical calling cards --20 wins, the other being the immaculate inning, of course-- lends itself better to a Saturday Sporcle. In addition to Sloppy Thurston, there have been 49 other player-seasons throughout franchise history where a White Sox pitcher has logged 20+ wins in a season. How many can you name? Good luck!
Quiz Parameters
- I've allotted 15 minutes for completion attempts.
- For hints, I've provided the season and number of wins.
Useless information to amaze, annoy, confuse, and/or confound your friends and family:
- As you'll see, this list’s 1908 season saw 40 pitcher wins. That’s second-most in a season in the modern era, behind only Jack Chesbro of the New York Highlanders (Yankees).
- As Jim noted, Thurston was not a strikeout machine. Neither were most of the others: only seven of these seasons saw the pitcher also record 200+ strikeouts that same season.
- At 21 seasons (I assume no White Sox pitcher will record 20 wins this season; perhaps Soroka can get to 20 losses), this is the longest drought without a 20-game winner in franchise history.
- I think Thurston's Baseball Reference page will inspire some future Saturday Sporcles, likely in the offseason.
All data from stathead.com
