1977 Chicago White Sox
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Record: 90-72, Finished 3rd in AL Western Division (1977 AL)
Managed by Bob Lemon
Coaches: Larry Doby, Bobby Knoop, Minnie Minoso, Stan Williams
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[edit] History, Comments, Contributions
After finishing in last place in the American League West in 1976, Chicago White Sox owner Bill Veeck decided to shake things up in the offseason. First, he signed free agent third baseman Eric Soderholm. Veeck's next move was to trade pitchers Rich Gossage and Terry Forster to the Pittsburgh Pirates for slugging outfielder Richie Zisk. Finally, days before the 1977 season began, he sent shortstop Bucky Dent to the New York Yankees for designated hitter Oscar Gamble (and young pitcher La Marr Hoyt). The newly acquired hitters provided a lot of excitement and scoring, and on July 31, the "South Side Hit Men" were in first place by 6 1/2 games. The team lacked quality pitching though, and by August 20th, they had fallen out of the division lead. The 1977 Sox ended the season with 192 home runs and had nine players with at least ten homers, led by Gamble, who hit 31. They also finished the campaign with 90 wins (26 more than in 1976), but that was only good enough for third place. After the season, the Sox ended up losing Zisk and Gamble to free agency.
[edit] 1977 Opening Day Lineup
Ralph Garr, lf
Alan Bannister, ss
Jorge Orta, 2b
Richie Zisk, rf
Jim Spencer, 1b
Oscar Gamble, dh
Eric Soderholm, 3b
Chet Lemon, cf
Ken Brett, p
[edit] Awards and Honors
- Gold Glove Jim Spencer
- All-Star Richie Zisk
[edit] Further Reading
- Dan Helpingstine and Leo Bauby (Photographer): South Side Hitmen: The Story of the 1977 Chicago White Sox, Images of Baseball, Arcadia Publishing, 2006.
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