There are no off days for the SoxNerd!
Let’s try to lessen the sting of Monday’s dud of a home opener with a look back at some happy moments that happened on this date in Sox history:
*1906, FUTURE CHAMPS WIN IN NASHVILLE: Nick Altrock, Frank Owen and Ed Walsh, who would combine for 59 regular season wins, limited host Nashville to eight hits in the future World Series champion White Sox 6-2 exhibition win.
*1967, EXPLOSIVE FLORIDA FINALE: Tommie Agee’s sixth homer of the spring helped the Sox close Grapefruit League play with a 12-7 win over the Twins in Sarasota. The Sox drew 2,793 for this one bringing their spring training attendance to a Florida club-record 40,038 for 14 games.
*1976: TO HECK WITH THE DH: With the Sox toying with the idea of using him as a pinch-hitter, starting and winning pitcher Terry Forster was 2-for-2 in a 16-1 exhibition win over St. Louis in St. Petersburg, Fla. Brian Downing, Bobby Coluccio and Buddy Bradford homered as part of an 18-hit outburst.
*1988, DEBUT DAY A DANDY: Making his big league debut at third base, Kenny Williams went 2-for-3 with a homer in the White Sox 8-5 Opening Day win over the Angels before 35,899 at Comiskey Park. Making their Sox debuts, Lance Johnson had a single, run and RBI and starter Ricky Horton, who got the win.
*1989, OLD BATTERY CHARGES SOX: Winning pitcher Jerry Reuss and Carlton Fisk formed the oldest battery in Opening Day history as the White Sox downed the Angels 9-2 in Anaheim. The combined ages of Reuss and Fisk were 81 years (Fisk 41, Reuss 39) and 22 days, surpassing Johnny Niggling and Rick Ferrell of the 1944 Washington Senators. The Washington duo was “only” a combined 79 years and 3 days old.
*1998, MILESTONE FOR FRANK: Frank Thomas launched the 250th home run of his career in the White Sox 8-2 loss at Tampa Bay. Thomas’ home run was part of his 3-for-4 day and caromed off the upper catwalk in left field at the Tropicana Dome.
*2000, 21ST CENTURY BLAST: Carlos Lee hit the White Sox first home run of the new century in a 12-8 loss to the Texas Rangers at the Ballpark in Arlington. Lee’s homer was a two-run shot and came in the seventh inning.
*2003, THE FIRST OF 21: Esteban Loaiza picked up the first of his 21 victories in the White Sox 5-2 win over the Detroit Tigers before 40,395 in the U.S. Cellular Field opener. Loaiza gave up two runs on three hits while walking three and striking out five for the win.
*2005, THE FIRST OF 110: Paul Konerko drove in Aaron Rowand with the game’s only run as the White Sox opened their World Series winning season with a 1-0 win over Cleveland before 38,141 at US Cellular Field. Mark Buehrle got the win with eight strong innings while Shingo Takatsu earned the save.
*2008, A SUPER SEVENTH: A.J. Pierzynski’s three-run homer in the eighth was the difference in the White Sox 8-5 win at Detroit. Boone Logan got the win as the Sox bullpen finished with four scoreless innings.
*2016, GOOD OPEN IN OAKLAND: Adam Eaton’s RBI triple ignited a four-run third as the White Sox opened the season with a 4-3 win in Oakland. David Robertson pitched a scoreless ninth for the save as the Sox improved to 61-55 on Opening Day.
*2018, NICE RELIEF: Nate Jones retired all four batters he faced and got the win in the Sox 4-3 win at Toronto. Jones, Aaron Bummer, Danny Farquhar and Joakim Soria combined for four shutout innings of two-hit relief as the Sox moved to 3-2.