Earl Sheely goes for extra bases
1920
At Griffith Stadium in Washington, the White Sox set the team record for the most runs ever scored in an extra inning. In the 16th inning, they were able to score eight times to beat the Senators, 13-5. The Senators made nine errors on the day, leading to nine unearned runs. Hall of Fame pitcher Red Faber worked all 16 innings, allowing 18 hits, three earned runs — and faced 64 batters!
This game was also the start of a streak of three straight games where the White Sox scored 10 or more runs and knocked 15 or more hits. At the time, only five teams had ever accomplished this.
The victim of all three assaults were the Senators. After the May 20 win, the White Sox beat Washington in 10 innings, 11-9, rapping out 15 hits. The third game of the streak was a 10-6 win, with a 16-hit attack.
(Interestingly, 88 years later, the 2008 White Sox matched the feat. A streak of 10-plus runs and 15+ hits in at least three straight games has been achieved just 55 times in major league history, dating back to 1901.)
1926
With two doubles sandwiching a sacrifice bunt, Earl Sheely started an impressive streak of extra-base hits that stretched all the way through the next game as well. The cleanup hitter rapped out a double in the first and fifth innings of a 13-4 rout in Boston. The next day, Sheely doubled three times and homered, stretching his streak to six extra-base hits in six at-bats. His fifth at-bat of the eventual 8-7 loss to the Red Sox was no cheapie, either: a line out to center field in the ninth inning. The first baseman was a doubles machine in the early going of 1926, rapping out 15 in Chicago’s first 36 games.
The 1926 would cap a brilliant six-year run for Sheely that saw him accumulate 20.5 WAR, with a batting average better than .300, an on-base nearly .400, and OPS better then .800.
1948
Joe DiMaggio hit for the cycle against the White Sox, knocking in six runs to fuel a 13-2 romp. Joltin’ Joe produced two homers, a triple, double and single, and was robbed of a sixth hit by Ralph Hodgin’s terrific catch against the wall.
1973
A Sunday afternoon Bat Day doubleheader with the Twins brought the largest crowd out to ever see a game at Comiskey Park, or in the city of Chicago at large. A total of 55,555 fans packed into the ballpark, filling every single inch, creating standing-room spots on the catwalks that connected the left and right field bleachers with the center field scoreboard area.
To his dying day, White Sox owner Bill Veeck refused to believe that attendance figure was accurate — thinking it too low. The Sox split the pair of games that afternoon.
1983
With the White Sox struggling at 13-20, manager Tony La Russa was willing to try anything to get his disappointing team on track. In this 9-6 win at Kansas City, he moved Carlton Fisk to the No. 2 spot in the order after hitting him in the sixth and seventh spot all year. Fisk went 2-for-5, with an RBI double in the sixth that pushed the lead to 8-5.
Heading into action, Fisk was floundering at .173/.239/.284, and in 97 games in the 2-spot from this day forward (Fisk hit in other spots for 14 other games the rest of the way), the backstop clicked at .324/.391/.587 with 24 homers and 76 RBIs.
This game was largely regarded as the turning point for the White Sox in their division-winning season, and in fact they did finish the year 76-43 in romping to the AL West title.
2006
The White Sox/Cubs rivalry never got hotter than on this day at U.S. Cellular Field, when Cubs catcher Michael Barrett sucker-punched A.J. Pierzynski and started a brawl around home plate.
In the second inning, Brian Anderson hit a fly to left field. A.J. tagged up, ran over Barrett blocking the plate, then went back and slapped his hand on home. Barrett took exception, and punched Pierzynski on the side of his jaw. The punch didn’t faze A.J., but both benches cleared. As a result, Barrett, A.J., Anderson and John Mabry were ejected.
The Sox, behind Freddy García, won the game, 7-0. Tadahito Iguchi belted two home runs, one a grand slam, and drove in six runs on the day.