Good morning!
Now that you've clicked on the article, I regret to inform you that this week's Saturday Sporcle isn't about new pope Leo XIV. No, over this past week I've been pondering a way to get a different pope into Saturday Sporcle: namely one Donn Pall.
Looking at his Baseball Reference page, one statistic in particular stands out: back-to-back seasons in 1991 and 1992 with the White Sox where he managed to accrue 7 wins and 5 wins, respectively. This, of course, led me down the rabbit hole to see just how many pitcher wins a White Sox reliever has recorded in a season. The answer? 15, in 1965.
In total, however, there have been 76 instances where a White Sox reliever (as a reliever in 100% of his games) was able to record at least 5 wins: that's today's theme. How many can you name? Good luck!
Quiz Parameters
- I've allotted 15 minutes for completion attempts.
- For hints, I've ordered the list chronologically, provided the year, and the number of wins.
- To qualify beyond the 5-win mark, the reliever in question must also have worked solely out of the bullpen.
Useless information to amaze, annoy, confuse, and/or confound your friends and family:
- Somewhat surprisingly (given pitcher usage in that era), the first time a White Sox reliever recorded five or more wins was in 1937 (7 wins).
- The highest ERA+ from the relievers on this list is 249 in 1996 (the six-win season), while the lowest is 65, in 2023.
- The major league record for most reliever wins recorded in a season is 18, by Roy Face of the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1959.
All data from stathead.com
