1977 Chicago White Sox season
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| 1977 Chicago White Sox |
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| Location | |
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| 1977 Information | |
| Owner(s) | Bill Veeck |
| Manager(s) | Bob Lemon |
| Local television | WSNS-TV |
| Local radio | WMAQ (AM) (Harry Caray, Lorn Brown, Jimmy Piersall, Mary Shane) |
The 1977 Chicago White Sox season involved the White Sox playing the Toronto Blue Jays in the Jays first ever game..
Contents |
[edit] Offseason
January 26, 1977: Blue Moon Odom was released by the Chicago White Sox. [1]
[edit] Regular season
[edit] Opening Day Lineup
- Ralph Garr, Leftfield
- Alan Bannister, Shortstop
- Jorge Orta, Second Base
- Richie Zisk, Rightfield
- Jim Spencer, First Base
- Oscar Gamble, Designated Hitter
- Eric Soderholm, Third Base
- Chet Lemon, Centerfield
- Brian Downing, Catcher
- Ken Brett, Pitcher
[edit] Season standings
| Team | Wins | Losses | Win % | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kansas City Royals | 102 | 60 | .630 | 0 |
| Texas Rangers | 94 | 68 | .580 | 8.0 |
| Chicago White Sox | 90 | 72 | .556 | 12.0 |
| Minnesota Twins | 84 | 77 | .522 | 17.5 |
| California Angels | 74 | 88 | .457 | 28.0 |
| Seattle Mariners | 64 | 98 | .395 | 38.0 |
| Oakland Athletics | 63 | 98 | .391 | 38.5 |
[edit] Notable Transactions
- April 7, 1977: Jim Bouton was signed as a Free Agent with the Chicago White Sox.
- June 1, 1977: Jim Bouton was released by the Chicago White Sox.
[edit] Roster
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1977 Chicago White Sox roster
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| Pitchers | Catchers
Infielders Outfielders |
Manager |
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[edit] The First Toronto Game
The Chicago White Sox will always hold a place in Canadian baseball history. On April 7, 1977, 44,649 fans were in attendance to watch the first game in Toronto Blue Jays history as the Blue Jays played the White Sox. [2] In attendance that day included future Blue Jays executive Paul Godfrey, Toronto mayor David Crombie, legendary Hockey Night in Canada broadcaster Foster Hewitt, and country singer Anne Murray. [3]
The umpires for the game included crew chief Nestor Chylak, Joe Brinkman, Rich Garcia, and 27-year old Steve Palermo, who was making his major league debut. [4] The game was broadcast on the CBC with Don Chevrier and New York Yankee legend Whitey Ford providing the commentary. The Blue Jays would only appear on the CBC sixteen times that first season. [3]
As the snow was squeegeed off the field, the 48th Highlanders marched onto the field to perform the Star Spangled Banner. Country music star Anne Murray arrived to sing O Canada while wearing a red parka. [4] The fans chanted “We Want Beer’’, because Toronto’s Exhibition Stadium was the only stadium in the Major Leagues to not serve beer. [5]
Bill Singer took to the mound and threw the first pitch in Toronto Blue Jays history against Ralph Garr of the White Sox. The pitch was a high fastball called for a strike. [5] From an 0-2 count, Garr battled back to get the count at 3-2, and then he drew a walk. Afterwards, Garr stole second base, and advanced to third base because Blue Jays catcher Rick Cerone's throw went into centerfield. [5] The next batter was shortstop Alan Bannister who hit a fly ball for the first out of the game. Jorge Orta batted third and he hit a sacrifice fly which scored Garr, the first run at Exhibition Stadium. [5] Richie Zisk followed and hit the first home run in the history of the stadium. The score was now 2-0 in favour of the White Sox.
Blue Jays manager Roy Hartsfield went to the mound to talk to Singer. As Hartsfield went to the mound, reliever Jerry Johnson started warming up in the bullpen. Singer was able to compose himself and he got Eric Soderholm to hit into a fielder's choice as the inning ended. [5]
John Scott was the first Blue Jay to take an at-bat for the team. He would face White Sox pitcher Ken Brett. Scott took a strike on the first pitch thrown to him. [3] He would strike out, along with the next Jays batter, Hector Torres. The third batter in the game was Doug Ault. He was a 27 year old career minor leaguer with only nine games experience in the major leagues. He was the Jays sixteenth pick in the 1977 Expansion Draft. [3]
On a 1-1 pitch, Doug Ault hit the first home run in Blue Jays history. The score was now 2-1 in favour of Chicago, and after the second inning, it was 4-1 for Chicago. [3] In the bottom of the second, Gary Woods bunted for a single, stole second, and scored on a hit by Pedro Garcia.
In the third inning, Torres had a single and Ault was back at bat. With the count 1-1, the ball went down the right field line and the game was tied at 4 as Ault hit his second home run. [3] Heading into the fourth inning, Toronto got the lead as McKay singled in Garcia from second base. [6]
Singer was still in the game at the top of the fifth inning. Singer struck out Chet Lemon, but Brian Downing and Ralph Garr singled off him. [6] Hartsfield came up to the mound and pulled Singer out of the game. Singer left to a standing ovation as Jerry Johnson entered the game. [6] Johnson got the final two outs of the fifth inning.
Alvis Woods came up to pinch hit for Steve Bowling in the bottom of the fifth inning. [6] With Otto Velez on the basepads, Woods homered to right field. [6] The score was 7-4 in favour of the Jays. The Jays had scored in every inning of the game.
The Sox scored a run in the sixth inning and it was 7-5. Heading into the eighth inning, Pete Vukovich started the inning. He struck out two batters, gave up a walk and a single, but he got a ground ball to end the inning. [7] In the bottom of the inning, Ault returned to the plate and singled in another run to make the score 8-5. Another run was scored on a double play to make the score 9-5 in favour of the Jays.
In the top of the ninth inning, Vukovich retired Jorge Orta on a ground ball. Vukovich then struck out Richie Zisk. For the day, Zisk had four hits in five at-bats. [7] With one out to go for the win, Jim Spencer hit a line drive to left field but Scott dropped the ball for a two-base error. Oscar Gamble was up at the plate and he grounded out to the shortstop. [7] The Jays won their first game in franchise history. Jerry Johnson picked up the win while Vukovich got the save. [7]
The heroes of opening day would not have a future with the Jays. Jerry Johnson would end up in Hollywood working as a stuntman. At the 1977 Winter Meetings, the Jays traded Vukovich to the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for Tom Underwood. [7] Doug Ault was back in the minors in 1979. [8]
[edit] Scorecard
April 7, Exhibition Stadium, Toronto, Ontario
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 15 | 0 |
| Toronto | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 16 | 1 |
| W: Jerry Johnson (1-0) L: Ken Brett (0-1) | ||||||||||||
| HRs: Doug Ault (2), Alvis Woods (1), Richie Zisk (1) | ||||||||||||
[edit] Player stats
[edit] Batting
Note: G = Games played; AB = At Bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting Average; HR = Home Runs; RBI = Runs Batted In
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
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[edit] Other batters
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
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[edit] Starting pitchers
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
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[edit] Other pitchers
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA |
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[edit] Relief pitchers
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
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[edit] Award Winners
- Richie Zisk, Outfield, Starter
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.baseball-reference.com/o/odombl01.shtml
- ^ Diamond Dreams: 20 Years of Blue Jays Baseball, Stephen Brunt, p.90, Penguin Books, ISBN 0-14-023978-2
- ^ a b c d e f Diamond Dreams: 20 Years of Blue Jays Baseball, Stephen Brunt, p.94, Penguin Books, ISBN 0-14-023978-2
- ^ a b Diamond Dreams: 20 Years of Blue Jays Baseball, Stephen Brunt, p.92, Penguin Books, ISBN 0-14-023978-2
- ^ a b c d e Diamond Dreams: 20 Years of Blue Jays Baseball, Stephen Brunt, p.93, Penguin Books, ISBN 0-14-023978-2
- ^ a b c d e Diamond Dreams: 20 Years of Blue Jays Baseball, Stephen Brunt, p.95, Penguin Books, ISBN 0-14-023978-2
- ^ a b c d e Diamond Dreams: 20 Years of Blue Jays Baseball, Stephen Brunt, p.96, Penguin Books, ISBN 0-14-023978-2
- ^ Diamond Dreams: 20 Years of Blue Jays Baseball, Stephen Brunt, p.97, Penguin Books, ISBN 0-14-023978-2
- 1977 Chicago White Sox team page at Baseball Reference
- 1977 Chicago White Sox team page at www.baseball-almanac.com
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| AAA | AA | A | Rookie |
| Charlotte Knights | Birmingham Barons |
Winston-Salem Warthogs Kannapolis Intimidators |
Bristol White Sox Great Falls Voyagers |
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| Soccer | MLS: Chicago Fire, PDL: Chicago Fire Premier, MISL: Chicago Storm |
| Baseball | MLB: Chicago Cubs • Chicago White Sox, FL: Windy City ThunderBolts, MWL: Kane County Cougars, NL: Gary SouthShore RailCats • Joliet JackHammers • Schaumburg Flyers |
| Softball | NPF: Chicago Bandits |
| Basketball | NBA: Chicago Bulls , WNBA: Chicago Sky, PBL: Chicago Throwbacks, IBL: Elgin Racers • Gary Steelheads • Windy City Soldiers |
| Football | NFL: Chicago Bears, AFL: Chicago Rush, CIFL: Chicago Slaughter, IWFL: Chicago Force |
| Hockey | NHL: Chicago Blackhawks, AHL: Chicago Wolves, USHL: Chicago Steel, MAHL: South Shore Shooters |
| Rugby | RSL: Chicago Lions RFC • Chicago Griffins RFC |
| Lacrosse | MLL: Chicago Machine, NLL: Chicago Shamrox |
| College athletics (NCAA Division I) |
Chicago State University • DePaul University • Loyola University Chicago • Northern Illinois University • Northwestern University • University of Illinois at Chicago • Valparaiso University |
