1977 Chicago White Sox season

The 1977 Chicago White Sox season in the American League saw the team finish third in the American League West, at 90–72, 12 games behind the Kansas City Royals.

1977 Chicago White Sox
LeagueAmerican League
DivisionWest
BallparkComiskey Park
CityChicago, Illinois
OwnersBill Veeck
General managersRoland Hemond
ManagersBob Lemon
TelevisionWSNS-TV
RadioWMAQ (AM)
(Harry Caray, Lorn Brown, Jimmy Piersall, Mary Shane)
← 1976 Seasons 1978 →

Offseason

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White Sox owner Bill Veeck tried a new philosophy during the offseason: figuring that if he could not compete with the bigger spending clubs for free agents, he would "rent" them, even if only for one year. With this strategy in mind, he traded for Richie Zisk (who had one year remaining on his contract) and Oscar Gamble (also in the final year of his contract), hoping that he would be able to continue the practice financially.[1]

Notable transactions

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Regular season

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On April 7 in Toronto, the White Sox played the Toronto Blue Jays in the first game in Blue Jays history.[10]

The White Sox, who came to be called the "South Side Hitmen", were in solid contention for most of the season, battling the division-winning Royals and Minnesota Twins most of the way.[1] They moved into first place in the AL West on July 1 and remained there until August 12.[1] Their primary weapon was their power hitting. As a team, the White Sox hit 192 home runs, a record which lasted until 1996.[1] Their displays of power caused fans to cheer for "curtain calls", where players came out of the dugout after hitting a home run to acknowledge those cheers. Some Royals players greatly resented this, and called such behavior "bush" and "unprofessional". The climax of this came on August 5, when White Sox pitcher Bart Johnson and Royals catcher Darrell Porter had a fistfight in a game at Kansas City.[1]

Opening Day lineup

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Season standings

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AL West
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Kansas City Royals 102 60 .630 55‍–‍26 47‍–‍34
Texas Rangers 94 68 .580 8 44‍–‍37 50‍–‍31
Chicago White Sox 90 72 .556 12 48‍–‍33 42‍–‍39
Minnesota Twins 84 77 .522 17½ 48‍–‍32 36‍–‍45
California Angels 74 88 .457 28 39‍–‍42 35‍–‍46
Seattle Mariners 64 98 .395 38 29‍–‍52 35‍–‍46
Oakland Athletics 63 98 .391 38½ 35‍–‍46 28‍–‍52

Record vs. opponents

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Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]
Team BAL BOS CAL CWS CLE DET KC MIL MIN NYY OAK SEA TEX TOR
Baltimore 6–8 5–6 5–5 11–4 12–3 4–7 11–4 6–4 8–7 8–2 7–3 4–6 10–5
Boston 8–6 7–3 3–7 8–7 9–6 5–5 9–6 4–6 8–7 8–3 10–1 6–4 12–3
California 6–5 3–7 8–7 6–4 4–6 6–9 5–5 7–8 4–7 5–10 9–6 5–10 6–4
Chicago 5–5 7–3 7–8 6–4 4–6 8–7 6–5 10–5 3–7 10–5 10–5 6–9 8–3
Cleveland 4–11 7–8 4–6 4–6 8–7 3–7 11–4 2–9 3–12 7–3 7–3 2–9 9–5
Detroit 3–12 6–9 6–4 6–4 7–8 3–8 10–5 5–5 6–9 5–5 5–6 2–8 10–5
Kansas City 7–4 5–5 9–6 7–8 7–3 8–3 8–2 10–5 5–5 9–6 11–4 8–7 8–2
Milwaukee 4–11 6–9 5–5 5–6 4–11 5–10 2–8 3–8 8–7 5–5 7–3 5–5 8–7
Minnesota 4–6 6–4 8–7 5–10 9–2 5–5 5–10 8–3 2–8 8–6 7–8 8–7 9–1
New York 7–8 7–8 7–4 7–3 12–3 9–6 5–5 7–8 8–2 9–2 6–4 7–3 9–6
Oakland 2–8 3–8 10–5 5–10 3–7 5–5 6–9 5–5 6–8 2–9 7–8 2–13 7–3
Seattle 3–7 1–10 6–9 5–10 3–7 6–5 4–11 3–7 8–7 4–6 8–7 9–6 4–6
Texas 6–4 4–6 10–5 9–6 9–2 8–2 7–8 5–5 7–8 3–7 13–2 6–9 7–4
Toronto 5–10 3–12 4–6 3–8 5–9 5–10 2–8 7–8 1–9 6–9 3–7 6–4 4–7


Notable transactions

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Roster

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1977 Chicago White Sox
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Other batters

Manager

Coaches

Game log

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Regular season

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1977 regular season game log: 90–72 (Home: 48–33; Away: 42–39)
April: 10–8 (Home: 5–2; Away: 5–6)
# Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/
Streak
4 April 12 Red Sox
5 April 13 Red Sox
15 April 26 @ Tigers
16 April 27 @ Tigers
17 April 29 Rangers
18 April 30 Rangers
May: 15–11 (Home: 6–5; Away: 9–6)
# Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/
Streak
19 May 1 Rangers
20 May 2 @ Royals
21 May 3 @ Royals
22 May 4 @ Royals
23 May 5 @ Royals
27 May 9 @ Rangers
28 May 10 @ Rangers
29 May 11 @ Rangers
33 May 18 Royals
34 May 19 Royals
35 May 20 Tigers
36 May 21 Tigers
37 May 22 Tigers
40 May 27 @ Yankees L 6–8 Tidrow (4–2) Dal Canton (0–2) Lyle (8) 2:38 20,643 23–17 L1
41 May 28 @ Yankees W 9–4 Barrios (4–3) Guidry (3–1) 2:34 54,881 24–17 W1
42 May 29 @ Yankees L 2–5 Figueroa (6–3) Kravec (0–1) 2:29 22,556 24–18 L1
June: 15–13 (Home: 10–5; Away: 5–8)
# Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/
Streak
45 June 1 Orioles
46 June 2 Orioles
47 June 3 Yankees W 9–5 Kravec (1–1) Torrez (6–4) LaGrow (8) 2:38 30,396 28–19 W4
48 June 4 Yankees L 6–8 Gullett (4–2) Johnson (3–3) Lyle (9) 2:48 35,789 28–20 L1
49 June 5 Yankees L 6–8 Tidrow (5–2) Stone (6–4) Lyle (10) 2:29 23,688 28–21 L2
50 June 6 @ Twins
51 June 7 @ Twins
52 June 8 @ Rangers
53 June 9 @ Rangers
54 June 10 @ Orioles
55 June 11 @ Orioles
56 June 12 @ Orioles
57 June 13 @ Red Sox
58 June 14 @ Red Sox
59 June 16 @ Red Sox
67 June 24 @ Twins
68 June 25 @ Twins
69 June 26 @ Twins
July: 22–6 (Home: 13–5; Away: 9–1)
# Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/
Streak
73 July 1 Twins
74 July 2 Twins
75 July 3
(1)
Twins
76 July 3
(2)
Twins
80 July 8 @ Tigers
81 July 9 @ Tigers
82 July 10 @ Tigers
83 July 11 Royals
84 July 12 Royals
88 July 15 Red Sox
89 July 16 Red Sox
90 July 17 Red Sox
48th All-Star Game in Bronx, New York
93 July 24 @ Red Sox
94 July 25 @ Red Sox
95 July 26 Tigers
96 July 27 Tigers
97 July 29 Royals
98 July 30 Royals
99 July 31
(1)
Royals
100 July 31
(2)
Royals
August: 11–18 (Home: 6–7; Away: 5–11)
# Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/
Streak
101 August 1 Rangers
102 August 2 Rangers
103 August 3 Rangers
104 August 4 Rangers
105 August 5 @ Royals
106 August 6 @ Royals
107 August 7 @ Royals
112 August 12 @ Rangers
113 August 13 @ Rangers
114 August 14 @ Rangers
115 August 15 @ Yankees L 2–6 Torrez (13–10) Kravec (7–5) 2:04 33,902 66–49 L2
116 August 16 @ Yankees L 10–11 Clay (1–3) Wiles (1–1) 2:55 29,312 66–50 L3
121 August 22 Yankees W 5–3 Barrios (12–4) Figueroa (12–9) 2:23 45,443 69–52 W2
122 August 23 Yankees L 3–8 Torrez (15–10) Wood (6–6) 2:33 39,340 69–53 L1
123 August 24 @ Orioles
124 August 25 @ Orioles
September: 16–14 (Home: 7–7; Away: 9–7)
# Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/
Streak
130 September 2 Orioles
131 September 3 Orioles
132 September 4 Orioles
143 September 12 Twins
144 September 13 Twins
145 September 14 Twins
146 September 15 Twins
158 September 27 @ Twins
159 September 28 @ Twins
October: 1–2 (Home: 1–2; Away: 0–0)
# Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/
Streak
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = Postponement
Bold = White Sox team member

Player stats

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Batting

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Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; BB = Base on balls; SO = Strikeouts; AVG = Batting average; SB = Stolen bases

Player G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG SB
Alan Bannister, SS,2B,LF,CF 139 560 87 154 20 3 3 57 54 49 .275 4
Kevin Bell, SS,3B 9 28 4 5 1 0 1 6 3 8 .179 0
Jack Brohamer, 3B,2B 59 152 26 39 10 3 2 20 21 8 .257 0
Bob Coluccio, OF 20 37 4 10 0 0 0 7 6 2 .270 0
Henry Cruz, OF 53 77 13 17 2 1 2 10 8 11 .221 0
Tommy Cruz, LF 4 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0
Brian Downing, C,DH,OF 69 169 28 48 4 2 4 25 34 21 .284 1
Jim Essian, C 114 322 50 88 18 2 10 44 52 35 .273 1
John Flannery, SS 7 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 .000 0
Oscar Gamble, DH,OF 137 408 75 121 22 2 31 83 54 54 .297 1
Ralph Garr, LF 134 543 78 163 29 7 10 54 27 44 .300 12
Jerry Hairston, CF,LF 13 26 3 8 2 0 0 4 5 7 .308 0
Lamar Johnson, DH,1B 118 374 52 113 12 5 18 65 24 53 .302 1
Don Kessinger, SS,2B,3B 39 119 12 28 3 2 0 11 13 7 .235 2
Chet Lemon, CF 150 553 99 151 38 4 19 67 52 88 .273 8
Bob Molinaro, RF 1 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .500 1
Bill Nahorodny, C 7 23 3 6 1 0 1 4 2 3 .261 0
Tim Nordbrook, SS 15 20 2 5 0 0 0 1 7 4 .250 1
Wayne Nordhagen, RF,LF,DH 52 124 16 39 7 3 4 22 2 12 .315 1
Nyls Nyman, PH 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0
Jorge Orta, 2B 144 564 71 159 27 8 11 84 46 49 .282 4
Eric Soderholm, 3B,DH 130 460 77 129 20 3 25 67 47 47 .280 2
Jim Spencer, 1B 128 470 56 116 16 1 18 69 36 50 .247 1
Mike Squires, 1B 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 0
Royle Stillman, OF,DH 56 119 18 25 7 1 3 13 17 21 .210 2
Richie Zisk, RF,DH,LF 141 531 78 154 17 6 30 101 55 98 .290 0
Team Totals
162 5633 844 1568 254 52 192 809 559 666 .278 42

Pitching

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Note: W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; SV = Saves; IP = Innings pitched; H = Hits allowed; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; HR = Home runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts

Player W L ERA G GS SV IP H R ER HR BB K
Larry Anderson 1 3 9.35 6 0 0 8.2 10 10 9 1 19 7
Francisco Barrios 14 7 4.12 33 31 0 231.1 241 117 106 22 59 119
Ken Brett 6 4 5.01 13 13 0 82.2 101 47 46 10 15 39
Clay Carroll 1 3 4.76 8 0 1 11.1 14 7 6 3 4 4
Bruce Dal Canton 0 2 3.75 8 0 2 24.0 20 11 10 1 13 9
Dave Frost 1 1 3.04 4 3 0 23.2 30 9 8 0 3 15
Dave Hamilton 4 5 3.61 55 0 9 67.1 71 33 27 6 37 45
Bart Johnson 4 5 4.01 29 4 2 92.0 114 48 41 5 41 46
Don Kirkwood 1 1 5.18 16 0 0 40.0 49 27 23 3 12 24
Chris Knapp 12 7 4.80 27 26 0 146.1 166 90 78 16 62 103
Ken Kravec 11 8 4.10 26 25 0 166.2 161 87 76 12 57 125
Jack Kucek 0 1 3.63 8 3 0 34.2 35 20 14 4 10 25
Lerrin LaGrow 7 3 2.46 66 0 25 98.2 81 32 27 10 38 63
Silvio Martinez 0 1 5.57 10 0 1 21.0 28 14 13 4 14 10
Steve Renko 5 0 3.54 8 8 0 53.1 55 23 21 3 17 36
Steve Stone 15 12 4.51 31 31 0 207.1 228 115 104 25 83 124
John Verhoeven 0 0 2.61 6 0 0 10.1 9 3 3 0 2 6
Randy Wiles 1 1 10.13 5 0 0 2.2 5 3 3 1 4 0
Wilbur Wood 7 8 4.99 24 18 0 122.2 139 75 68 10 50 42
Team Totals
90 72 4.25 162 162 40 1444.2 1557 771 682 136 540 842

Awards and honors

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All-Stars

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All-Star Game

Farm system

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Level Team League Manager
AAA Iowa Oaks American Association Joe Sparks
AA Knoxville Knox Sox Southern League Jim Napier
A Appleton Foxes Midwest League Gordon Lund
Rookie GCL White Sox Gulf Coast League Joe Jones

The GCL White Sox won their league's championship.

Notes

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  1. ^ a b c d e The White Sox Encyclopedia, Richard C. Lindberg, p. 88, Temple University Press, ISBN 1-56639-449-X
  2. ^ Minnie Miñoso at Baseball Reference
  3. ^ Phil Roof at Baseball Reference
  4. ^ Eric Soderholm at Baseball-Reference
  5. ^ Royle Stillman at Baseball Reference
  6. ^ Rich Gossage at Baseball Reference
  7. ^ Mark Esser at Baseball Reference
  8. ^ Blue Moon Odom at Baseball Reference
  9. ^ Fritz Peterson at Baseball Reference
  10. ^ Diamond Dreams: 20 Years of Blue Jays Baseball, Stephen Brunt, p.94, Penguin Books, ISBN 0-14-023978-2
  11. ^ Oscar Gamble at Baseball Reference
  12. ^ Don Kessinger at Baseball Reference
  13. ^ Nyls Nyman at Baseball Reference

References

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