2 White Sox players finish atop American League leaderboard

Tim Anderson

I'd be remiss if I didn't acknowledge Tim Anderson and Jose Abreu for making White Sox history this season.

Anderson, who hit .240 during the 2018 season, pretty much shocked the baseball world by winning the 2019 American League batting title. He finished the year at .335, comfortably ahead of the New York Yankees' DJ LeMahieu, who batted .327.

There are only two other players in Sox history who have won a batting title, Luke Appling (1936, 1943) and Frank Thomas (1997), so Anderson is joining select company.

Abreu, meanwhile, totaled a career-high 123 RBIs to lead the American League. Kansas City's Jorge Soler and Boston's Xander Bogaerts finished second with 117 RBIs each.

This marks the first time a Sox player has led the AL in RBIs since Dick Allen did it in 1972. In other words, it has happened in my lifetime (which spans 43 years).

I've heard some fans grump that they don't care about "these individual accomplishments," and while I agree that team success is more important, and while I agree that the losing on the South Side of Chicago has grown tiresome, I also have an appreciation for baseball history and White Sox history when I see it.

We don't see Sox hitters lead the league in significant categories too often, so I see no harm in extending congratulations to Anderson and Abreu for the seasons they had at the plate.