From the South Side to Easy Street
1966
Tommie Agee was named AL Rookie of the Year by the Baseball Writers Association of America, in a blowout vote. Agee earned 16 of 18 first-place votes, far outpacing the runner-up, pitcher Jim Nash of the Kansas City A’s.
Agee had gotten cups of coffee in four previous seasons, playing 41 games from 1962-65 with Cleveland and the White Sox, but used his first year as a regular in the majors to outstanding effect: 22 homers, 86 RBIs, 44 steals, a .773 OPS and a Gold Glove in center field. Agee ranked third in the AL in WAR and second in position player WAR (6.4), third in runs (98), fourth in hits (172), fifth in total bases (281), 10th in doubles (27), fourth in triples (eight), third in steals, and first in power-speed (29.3).
Agee’s 6.4 WAR led the 83-79-1 White Sox and is tied for 21st all-time in team single-season history. He became the first player in franchise history with 20 homers and 20 steals.
The five-tool player came to the White Sox in one of the franchise’s all-time best deals (with Cleveland, in 1965) and left in a really terrible one with the Mets (1967).
1977
In a case of the rich getting richer, or at least Rich, the New York Yankees signed former White Sox relief ace Rich Gossage to a six-year, $2.75 million deal. Gossage had been traded a year earlier from Chicago to Pittsburgh due to the certainty he’d demand just this sort of contract for 1978, well out of Bill Veeck’s price range. The trade did yield one unforgettable season from Richie Zisk, but no more than that.