Black Sox Beat Writer
Chicago Sports Online
The Black Sox this weekend marked the 70th anniversary of the Brewster Baseball Association this week by naming a special All-Franchise Team made up of great players from the team’s years in Chicago and Huntsville.
“As it turns out, this is the 70th anniversary of our franchise, as well, so we thought it only appropriate that we honor our past, present, and future by reminding fans of the great players who have worn the colors of the Chicago Black Sox and Huntsville Phantoms through the years,” said Benny Vitale, Sox GM.
The coaching staff and front office personnel chose the 19 players on the team, naming one for each field position, plus five starting pitchers and five relievers.
“We had just one ground rule: members of the All-Franchise Team had to have played at least five seasons for either the Sox or the Phantoms,” Vitale said. “As a result, some names on the team’s All-Time leader board are missing because they didn’t meet the longevity requirement. We didn’t feel it appropriate to name someone to the team who had just one or two seasons with our franchise.”
One curiosity: current Sox left-fielder Fernando Reyes made the team because, at it turns out, his five-year incumbency is the longest stretch at the position in Sox or Phantoms history.
A second curiosity: the voters decided to fill the DH position with a player from any position who they deemed deserving but wouldn’t otherwise make the team because they were blocked by another all-time great.
And, finally, a third curiosity: Bart Lavigne was named to the team as a right fielder, even though he spent most of his career in center. "He spent enough time in right that we felt comfortable putting Mr. Lavigne there. There was no way he would displace Resurrection Santos from center, but no one wanted to exclude Mr. Lavigne from the team," Vitale said. "Our team, our rules. Simple as that."
First-year manager Julián Negrete said he was thrilled to participate in the selection process.
“This was a fascinating exercise – especially for someone, like me, who’s new to the Sox organization,” he said. “It was a great way to steep myself in the history of our team.”
With no further ado, here are the members of the All-Time Black Sox/Phantoms Franchise Team:
All-Franchise Team
Pos | Player | Yrs | G | PA | R | H | HR | RBI | SB | BA | OBP | SLG | WAR |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
C | Washu Hakubi | 90-02 | 1,690 | 6,780 | 993 | 1,782 | 236 | 886 | 139 | .290 | .349 | .484 | 45.6 |
1B | Fernando Moreno | 23-32 | 1,333 | 5,911 | 871 | 1,387 | 382 | 957 | 6 | .279 | .385 | .547 | 58.2 |
2B | Chris Workman | 21-26 | 834 | 3,830 | 567 | 900 | 89 | 357 | 205 | .272 | .363 | .421 | 27.2 |
SS | Archie Ayrault | 83-89 | 1,352 | 5,580 | 837 | 1,344 | 223 | 753 | 83 | .283 | .383 | .497 | 36.2 |
3B | Gerardo Guzmán | 27-37 | 1,520 | 6,724 | 904 | 1,766 | 68 | 585 | 670 | .293 | .353 | .406 | 35.1 |
LF | Fernando Reyes | 37-41 | 669 | 2,711 | 356 | 697 | 149 | 441 | 1 | .280 | .333 | .527 | 11.8 |
CF | Resurrection Santos | 93-00 | 1,087 | 4,663 | 684 | 1,363 | 187 | 670 | 132 | .315 | .355 | .523 | 39.2 |
RF | Bart Lavigne | 07-19 | 1,579 | 7,069 | 835 | 1,811 | 15 | 569 | 224 | .293 | .368 | .365 | 26.3 |
DH | Hunter Eisenhower | 25-30 | 690 | 3,126 | 439 | 806 | 134 | 426 | 4 | .295 | .377 | .507 | 33.0 |
Pos | Pitcher | Yrs | W | L | SV | G | GS | IP | BB | K | ERA | FIP | WAR |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SP | Braggo Franco | 78-89 | 146 | 107 | 0 | 409 | 405 | 2,532.0 | 582 | 2,219 | 3.21 | 2.73 | 79.4 |
SP | Tom Madonald | 05-16 | 160 | 96 | 1 | 414 | 318 | 2,418.2 | 712 | 2,159 | 3.59 | 3.45 | 61.7 |
SP/RP | Heath Rockefeller | 85-94 | 129 | 59 | 90 | 506 | 231 | 1,776.1 | 229 | 1,568 | 2.40 | 2.40 | 60.5 |
SP | António Rodríguez | 09-20 | 147 | 129 | 0 | 373 | 373 | 2,357.2 | 488 | 1,466 | 3.86 | 3.64 | 50.5 |
SP | Jeff Kiplinger | 91-99 | 103 | 78 | 0 | 257 | 256 | 1,653.1 | 317 | 1,539 | 3.39 | 3.38 | 46.4 |
CL | Bob Sanderson | 22-33 | 62 | 47 | 430 | 754 | 0 | 805.2 | 235 | 934 | 2.93 | 2.90 | 15.3 |
RP | Jonathan Sorensen | 10-16 | 30 | 32 | 198 | 406 | 0 | 412.0 | 164 | 466 | 2.71 | 3.32 | 6.8 |
RP | Craig Murray | 12-19 | 39 | 20 | 150 | 437 | 0 | 537.0 | 168 | 732 | 1.84 | 2.15 | 16.0 |
RP | Richard Wasson | 92-98 | 42 | 32 | 112 | 555 | 0 | 592.1 | 140 | 462 | 3.37 | 3.32 | 8.1 |
RP | Daniel Marquette | 91-97 | 25 | 27 | 101 | 479 | 0 | 482.0191 | 440 | 3.45 | 3.48 | 5.3 |
"We wanted to get the list out in time for Opening Day," said Vitale. "We'll announce the list during the pre-game festivities at our newly-expanded Black Sox Park - just one of many 70th anniversary events we have planned for this season. There's never been a better time to buy Sox season tickets - we held the line on prices again this year! - and clear your schedule for fun at the ballpark."