With the White Sox starting at 10:30 a.m. today, what better time to look back at the franchise’s most memorable morning game.
It really was a good morning for the White Sox and Jim Spencer on May 14, 1976.
Before the afternoon clock struck 12, Spencer tied the franchise record with eight RBIs in the Sox 18-2 win over Cleveland before 13,923 in a morning game at Comiskey Park.
The game started at 10:30 a.m. to promote McDonald’s new breakfast sandwich “the Egg McMuffin.”
Spencer was 3-for-3 with a two-run home run, a grand slam and a two-run single as the Sox banged out 17 hits.
The left-handed hitting first baseman did all that in four innings.
Spencer was given the rest of the morning off after the Sox grabbed an 11-0 lead.
“I’ve never had a half game like that in my life,” Spencer cracked.
Spencer joined Tommy McCraw (May 24, 1967) and Carl Reynolds (July 2, 1930) as Sox players with eight RBI games.
Spencer would duplicate the feat on July 2, 1977 and Robin Ventura had an eight-RBI game in September of 1995 while Yasmani Grandal had one in 2021.
Manager Bob Lemon pulled Spencer, robbing him of a shot at not only the club record but the MLB record as well.
“Next time he has eight, I’ll remind him,” Lemon said in the Tribune.
Spencer didn’t care in the least.
“It’s a long season,” he said. “It gave some other guys a chance to play. We might need ‘em someday.”
@SoxNerd follower @DJFrevs posted a great story that really speaks to the uniqueness of this game on my Twitter feed.
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