Here’s what happened on this date (Jan. 12) in White Sox history:
*1911, A DEAL WITH DETROIT: The White Sox purchased outfielder Matty McIntyre from the Detroit Tigers. McIntyre hit a career-high .323 as the White Sox regular right-fielder in 1911. His 10-year career ended after he hit just .167 in 49 games for the 1912 Sox.
*1982, PUTTING “SCOOTER” ON LAYAWAY: The White Sox selected outfielders Rodney “Scooter” McCray and John Cangelosi in the regular phase of the January free agent draft.
The Sox couldn’t sign McCray, who was their first pick out of Santa Monica (Calif.) Junior College, and didn’t ink Cangelosi, their fourth round pick out of Miami Dade North Community College, until the following May 11.
Cangelosi made it the bigs well before McCray did. The diminutive switch-hitter briefly appeared with the Sox in 1985 before winning the center fielder’s job the following spring.
The Brooklyn native swiped a since-broken A.L. rookie record 50 bases for the 1986 Sox. Following the season, Cangelosi was dealt to Pittsburgh for reliever Jim Winn.
McCray ultimately joined the Sox after being plucked from the Padres in the 1987 minor league draft. On April 20, 1990 , he became the final Sox player to make his big league debut at Old Comiskey Park . McCray was used as a defensive replacement and pinch-runner by manager Jeff Torborg during his brief stints with the Sox in 1991 and 1992. He is best remembered for running through a fence as an outfielder for the Sox Triple-A affiliate in Vancouver .
*1983, CLOSE CALL FOR LOOIE: Former White Sox shortstop Luis Aparicio garnered 252 votes but failed to gain the necessary 75 percent for induction in voting for the Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers Association of America.
In his fifth year on the ballot, Aparicio’s vote total was a career-high and set the stage for his induction the following year.
The news wasn’t as good for Aparicio’s former double play partner, the great Nellie Fox. He polled just 46.26 percent of the vote – a career-best in his 13th year on the ballot but still short of the total needed to get in. Fox would have two more unsuccessful elections but was elected into the Hall by the Veterans Committee in 1997.
Brooks Robinson and Juan Marichal both received enough votes in 1983 to gain induction.
*1988, BOYER THE SOX HALL LEADER: Ken Boyer was the paced former White Sox players with 109 votes in balloting for the Hall of Fame released by the Baseball Writers Association of America on this date.
Boyer, a third baseman who played for the White Sox in 1967 and 1968, received 109 votes, well short of the 321 needed to gain induction.
Others with Sox ties who received votes were Ron Santo (25.3 percent), Minnie Minoso (21.1 percent), Sparky Lyle (13.1 percent), Dick Allen (12.2 percent), Don Larsen (7.3 percent), Wilbur Wood (7 percent), Bobby Bonds (6.3 percent) and Al Hrabosky (0.2 percent). Former Sox players Stan Bahnsen, Lynn McGlothen and Jim Spencer did not receive any votes.
Former Pirate Willie Stargell was the only player to be elected by garnering 82.4 percent of the vote.
*1991, VOTE TOTAL HEFTY FOR LEFTY: Former White Sox pitcher Steve Carlton received a whopping 95.61 percent of the vote in earning induction into the Hall of Fame.
“Lefty” was named on 436 of 456 ballots in voting by the Baseball Writers Association of America. He joined fellow 300-game winner Tom Seaver as the only players with Sox ties to earn induction into the Hall on the first ballot.
Carlton went 4-3 with a 3.69 ERA in 10 starts for the 1986 Sox – his first foray into the American League after 695 starts and 319 wins in the National League.
Former Sox coach Orlando Cepeda was second in the voting but did not garner the necessary 75 percent for induction. Others with Sox ties receiving votes were Ron Santo, Jim Kaat, Dick Allen, Ken Boyer, Minnie Minoso, Bobby Bonds and George Foster.
*2000, BREW-TOWN BARTER: General manager Ron Schueler pulled off one of his best trades when he acquired pitcher Cal Eldred and shortstop Jose Valentin from the Milwaukee Brewers for pitchers Jaime Navarro and John Snyder.
Valentin and Eldred went on to become key players in the White Sox surprising run to the 2000 A.L. Central title while Navarro and Snyder did virtually nothing in Milwaukee.
Eldred, who had been plagued by injuries throughout his later years in Milwaukee , was a resurgent 10-2 with a 4.58 ERA for the 2000 Sox before arm woes essentially KO’d his season on July 14. Dubbed “Cornfed” because of his Iowa upbringing, Eldred pitched briefly for the 2001 White Sox before stepping away from the game. He returned with the Cardinals in 2003 where he pitched until 2005.
The sometimes defensively-challenged Valentin went on to become the most prolific home run hitting shortstop and switch-hitter (even though he abandoned his right-handed stance one year) in White Sox history. He hit at least 25 home runs in each of his five years with the White Sox and capped his career on the Southside with a career-high 30 roundtrippers in 2004.
*2006, NEWBIE IN THE BOOTH: The White Sox hired former player Chris Singleton to replace John Rooney in their radio booth. Singleton, who had limited broadcasting experience, was teamed with Ed Farmer for two seasons. He was replaced by Steve Stone after the 2007 season.
*2007, STEWART SENT TO TEXAS: The White Sox shipped catcher Chris Stewart to Texas for minor league pitcher Jon Lujan.
Stewart was the Sox 12th round pick in the 2001 draft and ultimately worked his way to the Southside in 2006 when he went 0-for-8 in six games. Stewart became expendable when the Sox signed veteran catcher Toby Hall to be A.J. Pierzynski’s backup the previous December.
However, Stewart probably would have seen extended time with the Sox – and been a better alternative to Gustavo Molina – because of Hall’s spring training injury.
Lujan, a right-hander, has posted a 3.63 ERA and 15 saves in first two years in the Sox system at Winston-Salem (A) and Birmingham (AA).
*2009, HALL RESULTS: Former White Sox pitcher Tommy John failed to receive enough votes for Hall of Fame election in balloting released by the Baseball Writers Association of America on this date.
Since it was his 15th and final year of eligibility, John, a 288-game winner, was dropped from the writer’s ballot. The lefty received 171 votes in being named on 31.7 percent of the ballots well short of the 75 percent need for induction.
In his second year on the ballot, former Sox outfielder Tim Raines received 22.6 percent of the vote while Harold Baines, in his third year of eligibility, got 5.9 percent of the vote. Because they both were above five percent, they stayed eligible.
Rickey Henderson and Jim Rice received enough votes for induction.