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2 of Jim Kaat's best seasons were with the White Sox?

Jim Kaat

When we think of Jim Kaat, we think of him as being a part of the Minnesota Twins, right? The former left-handed pitcher was in the majors for 25 years, and he pitched 15 of those seasons with the Minnesota organization.

In fact, the Twins were the Washington Senators when Kaat first broke into the bigs in 1959. The Senators became the Twins in 1961, and Kaat pitched in Minnesota until 1973. He collected 190 of his 283 career wins with Washington/Minnesota.

Kaat was elected to the Hall of Fame on Sunday by vote of the Golden Days committee. After these votes, sometimes it's fun to go back and examine the careers these players had.

Looking at Kaat's life in baseball, I knew he had pitched for the White Sox during the 1970s, but I had no idea he was so good during his relatively brief tenure on the South Side:

1974: 21-13, 2.92 ERA, 42 games, 39 starts, 277.1 innings and a Gold Glove award

1975: 20-14, 3.11 ERA, 43 games, 41 starts, 321 innings (!), an All-Star appearance and a fourth-place finish in the Cy Young voting

Kaat was 35 and 36 years old during those years. He moved on to the Philadelphia Phillies in 1976, but those two years with the Sox might have been the best of his career. 

You learn something new every day.

White Sox great Minnie Minoso elected to Hall of Fame

Minnie Minoso

It's never too late to do the right thing. White Sox great Minnie Minoso should have been elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame years ago. He should have been able to enjoy the honor while he was still alive.

Minoso, who died in 2015 at age 89, at long last was voted into the Hall of Fame on Sunday by the Golden Days committee, along with Tony Oliva, Jim Kaat and Gil Hodges. Buck O'Neil and Bud Fowler also were elected to the Hall by vote of the Early Days committee.

Minoso was a two-time All-Star in the Negro Leagues before he became the first Black player to play for the White Sox in 1951. He was the first Black Cuban to play in the majors, and it's not uncommon for Spanish-speaking players -- past and present -- to refer to Minoso as the "Latino Jackie Robinson."

I don't think Minoso has ever received proper credit for being the trailblazing player that he was. And given that it took him this long to be elected to the Hall, it's probably true that, up until this point, he has never received proper credit for being a great baseball player. Minoso was without a doubt one of the best players in the American League during the 1950s.

Minoso made the All-Star team seven times between 1951 and 1960. He batted .302 or higher eight times, led the American League in stolen bases three times and won three Gold Gloves. He finished in the top-five of MVP balloting on four occasions, and was second in the Rookie of the Year vote in 1951.

It's worth noting that Minoso led the league in being hit by pitches in 10 of the first 11 seasons he played. Was that a product of the racial tension of the times? Quite possibly.

In 1951, his first season in the American League, Minoso finished fourth in the MVP voting, but somehow didn't win Rookie of the Year. The man who won Rookie of the Year, New York Yankees infielder Gil McDougald, was ninth in the MVP voting. That's an anomaly I've always found bizarre. Why would Minoso finish ahead of McDougald for MVP, but behind him for Rookie of the Year?

I would also argue that Minoso should have been American League MVP in 1954, when he again finished fourth in the voting. Look at the numbers, and good luck convincing me I'm wrong.

Once Minoso's playing career was over, he became known as "Mr. White Sox." He was a fixture with the organization; a great ambassador for the team, the city of Chicago and baseball as a whole; always willing to sign autographs and tell stories for the fans.

Everyone associated with the Sox is thrilled to see No. 9 finally get the respect he is due with induction into the Hall of Fame.

Hopefully, that day will also come for Dick Allen, who won the AL MVP as a member of the Sox in 1972. When Allen died, I wrote that he deserved induction into the Hall of Fame. Unfortunately, he fell one vote short in this balloting. A player needed 12 votes out of 16, or 75%, to be elected. Allen got 11 votes. Unfortunate.

Rick Hahn's makes uninspiring comments hours before lockout

Rick Hahn

The lockout has begun in Major League Baseball. The sport is now in the midst of its first work stoppage in 26 years. 

I personally don't have a lot of interest in blogging about collective bargaining. It's exhausting listening to both sides try to win a public relations war, and like most fans, I just want it resolved so we can have a 162-game season in 2022.

There was a free agent frenzy in the days leading up to the lockout, with a lot of big names agreeing to contracts: Corey Seager (Rangers), Max Scherzer (Mets), Marcus Semien (Rangers), Robbie Ray (Mariners), Kevin Gausman (Blue Jays), Javier Baez (Tigers), Marcus Stroman (Cubs), Starling Marte (Mets) and Chris Taylor (Dodgers), to name a few.

Noticeably quiet during the activity ... the White Sox, who retained utility player Leury Garcia and added reliever Kendall Graveman to the bullpen. Serviceable moves. Both Garcia and Graveman are useful, but neither is the type of player who makes you believe the Sox have a higher ceiling than they've had in the past.

As the lockout begins, and rosters are frozen, the Sox still have gaping holes at second base and in right field. They could probably use another starting pitcher and another relief arm, knowing that Carlos Rodon and Ryan Tepera are free agents. Those two productive pitchers are likely to sign elsewhere, whenever the lockout ends.

General manager Rick Hahn held a press conference Wednesday before the lockout began, and he came off as rather defensive about the lack of a marquee move.

“You can't lose sight of the fact we have a damn good team,” Hahn said Wednesday afternoon on a Zoom call. “We are in a position to compete for a championship next year and beyond by what we have been able to do over the last several years. We have MVP and Silver Slugger candidates throughout that lineup. They are all controllable for an extended period of time thanks to some foresight and proactive work on our end. We also have Cy Young candidates throughout that rotation."

Hahn seems to be in love with his own creation. He thinks the team is better than it is, and it's disappointing that the Sox haven't acted yet to give themselves an improved chance of not only "competing" for a championship in 2022, but also actually winning it.

MVP and Silver Slugger candidates throughout the lineup? Ehh, spare me. The Sox did not have a single player win a Silver Slugger in 2021. And Jose Abreu was the only player to receive an MVP vote -- he finished 14th after appearing eighth on one ballot and ninth on another for a total of five points.

Cy Young candidates throughout the rotation? Well, let's be fair to Hahn -- the pitching was good in 2021, at least during the regular season. Lance Lynn was third in the Cy Young voting, Rodon fifth, Liam Hendriks eighth and Lucas Giolito 11th. 

So, while there may not be Cy Young candidates "throughout the rotation," there are two of them there in Lynn and Giolito. But I don't expect to see Rodon in a Sox uniform next season. I like Michael Kopech, but I'm not convinced that he'll finish in the top five of the Cy Young voting, as Rodon did. It will, after all, be Kopech's first season in a major league rotation.

And Hendriks, yeah, he's the best reliever in the American League, but the concerns in the bullpen are more along the lines of setup relief. The closer situation looks good.

There is really only one thing I can agree with Hahn on right now: The Opening Day roster does not need to be submitted Dec. 1, a fact the GM noted during his press conference. True enough. There are still good players out there in free agency, although none of them play second base. There still could be trades to be made before the season begins.

But as a Sox fan, it's hard to have faith in this regime, which has a history of half-measures, whether it's owner Jerry Reinsdorf not being willing to open up the checkbook, or Hahn not allocating his resources wisely, or leaving gaping holes in the lineup and hoping for the best.

We've been told as a fan base that we should expect October parades. That's all fine and dandy, but I'm still waiting for the day when I look at the Sox roster and truly feel like the team has a legitimate chance to win it all.

Former Cy Young winner LaMarr Hoyt dies at 66

LaMarr Hoyt

Some sad news to report: Former White Sox pitcher LaMarr Hoyt died of cancer Monday at age 66.

I always think of Hoyt as the ace of the first Sox team I remember -- the 1983 American League West Division champions. That team won 99 games, and Hoyt won the Cy Young award that season, going 24-10 with a 3.66 ERA in 36 starts.

(I was 7 years old in 1983). 

The Sox won only one game in the American League Championship Series that year, and it was Hoyt's 2-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. Unfortunately, the Orioles won the next three games and went on to beat the Philadelphia Phillies in the 1983 World Series.

I always wonder what would have happened if the Sox had won Game 4 of the ALCS at old Comiskey Park -- they lost that game in 10 innings. Had they won it, Hoyt was lined up to pitch Game 5, and at that point in time, you always liked your chances when Hoyt was on the mound.

In total, Hoyt pitched six seasons (1979-84) with the Sox and went 74-49 with a 3.92 ERA in 178 games (116 starts). He was traded to the San Diego Padres in December 1984, as part of a seven-player deal that brought longtime shortstop and future manager Ozzie Guillen to the Sox.

Hoyt had one good season in San Diego. He won 16 games in 1985, made the All-Star team and was the winning pitcher in the midsummer classic.

But substance abuse problems derailed his career, and after a poor season in 1986, he never pitched in the majors again.

Nevertheless, Hoyt created fond memories for Sox fans of a certain age. He was the best of the bunch in a strong starting rotation that included Richard Dotson and Floyd Bannister in 1983, and that's the way we'll remember him.

White Sox bring back Leury Garcia on 3-year contract

Leury Garcia

The White Sox just can't quit Leury Garcia, can they? 

Garcia, a 30-year-old utility player who has been with the Sox since 2013, has agreed to a three-year deal to return to the South Side of Chicago, according to multiple reports.

The Sox signed relief pitcher Kendall Graveman to a three-year, $24 million contract, but they've yet to address their glaring holes at second base or in right field.

Bringing back Garcia is not a bad move, per se, as he plays multiple positions somewhat competently and can fill in all over the diamond in the event of an injury to a starting player. He also switch-hits, which is a nice bonus.

The problem is, the Sox seem to see him as more than that. He played in 126 games in 2021 and took 474 at-bats, finishing with a .267/.335/.376 slash line with five home runs and 54 RBIs. Basically, the team treats Garcia like a starting player, and manager Tony La Russa has said as much.

Garcia, of course, should be a bench player on a team with championship aspirations. He shouldn't be starting in the playoffs at second base, or in right field, but that's exactly what he was doing in the 2021 playoffs. 

I wouldn't mind it if the Sox had brought Garcia back on a one-year deal. But the three-year deal makes me believe the team intends to make him the starting second baseman. That's especially true given that some of the other viable options at the position are off the board:

• Marcus Semien signed with the Texas Rangers.
• Eduardo Escobar signed with the New York Mets.
• Adam Frazier was traded to the Seattle Mariners
• If the Sox wanted to reunite with Cesar Hernandez for less money, no sale. He signed with Washington.

The terms of the Garcia deal have not yet been disclosed. It will be interesting to see whether he got starter money. Then that calls into question whether the Sox are allocating resources properly. There is still time, of course, for the Sox to adequately address holes. But this start to the offseason has that here-we-go-again feeling.