2015 Chicago White Sox season

The 2015 Chicago White Sox season was the club's 116th season in Chicago and 115th in the American League.

2015 Chicago White Sox
Major League affiliations
Location
Results
Record76–86 (.469)
Divisional place4th
Other information
Owner(s)Jerry Reinsdorf
General manager(s)Rick Hahn
Manager(s)Robin Ventura
Local televisionCSN Chicago
CSN+
WGN-TV
WPWR-TV[1]
(Ken Harrelson, Steve Stone, Chuck Swirsky)
Local radioWSCR
Chicago White Sox Radio Network
(Ed Farmer, Darrin Jackson)
WRTO-AM (Spanish)
(Hector Molina, Billy Russo)
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Offseason

The 2014 Chicago White Sox ended with a 73-89 record, a 10-game improvement over 2013.[2] General Manager Rick Hahn gave the season a "fail" grade, citing the lack of a championship.[3] The White Sox front office set up an "aggressive" offseason plan, focusing on improving a bullpen that blew 21 saves and had the 3rd-worst earned run average in baseball.[4] Despite losing 188 games the previous two seasons, Robin Ventura is set to remain as manager for the 2015 season.[5]

Roster changes

The White Sox offseason started at the end of October when Moises Sierra was claimed by the Kansas City Royals off waivers.[6] Shortly following this, the Sox declined Felipe Paulino's option for 2015, after going 0-2 in just four starts.[7] Reliever Matt Lindstrom also elected free agency at the end of the month after an ankle injury kept him off the mound for most of 2014.[8]

On November 3, the White Sox claimed outfielder J. B. Shuck off waivers from the Cleveland Indians.[9] Two weeks later, the team began its quest to improve the bullpen by signing free agent reliever Zach Duke to a three year/$15 million contract.[10] The rest of November included mostly minor league moves, until the White Sox signed free agent first baseman Adam LaRoche to a two year/$25 million contract on November 25.[11] The corresponding roster move was to designate pitcher Scott Carroll for assignment, who would later become a free agent.[12]

The 2014 Winter Meetings ran from December 7–11 in San Diego.[13] The White Sox' first move of the Winter Meetings was to claim catcher Rob Brantly of waivers from Miami.[14] Late that night, there were rumors that the White Sox were close to singing David Robertson from the New York Yankees as well as trading for Jeff Samardzija from the Oakland Athletics.[15] On December 9, the club officially announced a four-year, $46 million contract with Robertson and acquired pitchers Jeff Samardzija and Michael Ynoa from Oakland for infielders Marcus Semien and Rangel Ravelo, catcher Josh Phegley and pitcher Chris Bassitt.[16] They finished off the Winter Meetings by trading pitcher Andre Rienzo to Miami for pitcher Dan Jennings.[17]

On December 16, the White Sox announced the signing of outfielder Melky Cabrera to a three-year, $42 million contract.[18] The White Sox cited the increase in ticket sales following the Robertson and Samardzija signings as motivation for signing Cabrera.[19] On January 5, 2015, the club signed infielder Emilio Bonifacio to a one-year, $4 million contract. The last major move of the off-season was a surprise, as the White Sox signed infielder Gordon Beckham, whom they had traded to the Los Angeles Angels just a few months prior, to a one-year, $2 million contract and designated outfielder Dayán Viciedo for assignment.[20]

Events and news
Closer David Robertson.

On October 30, the Baseball Hall of Fame announced the 10 candidates for election via the Golden Era Committee. Among the candidates were White Sox legends Minnie Miñoso and Billy Pierce; Dick Allen, who won the 1972 American League Most Valuable Player award; and Jim Kaat, who played two and a half seasons with the White Sox.[21] On December 8, the Hall of Fame announced that none of the candidates earned the required 12 voters, with Allen earning 11 votes, Kaat earning 10, Minoso earning 8, and Pierce receiving less than 3.[22] White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf was "disappointed" in the results, particularly the rejection of 90-year-old Minoso, saying "I don't know what player out of the era of the 1950s and early '60s would be more deserving than Minnie."[23]

On December 7, the media reported that the White Sox had denied the Toronto Blue Jays permission to interview Executive Vice President Ken Williams for their opening at club President.[24] Reinsdorf was reportedly upset that the Blue Jays asked for permission during the Winter Meetings. When he talked to Williams about it, Williams said that Toronto had already contacted him, which is considered tampering under Major League Baseball rules.[25] The White Sox opted not to pursue recourse.

On February 19, the club released their 2015 broadcast schedule, with 106 games on Comcast SportsNet Chicago, 35 games on WGN-TV, and 20 games on WPWR-TV.[26] This is a change from previous seasons, where a small amount of WGN produced games were broadcast on WCIU-TV instead of WPWR. It had previously been announced that games on WGN-TV would no longer be simulcast nationally on WGN America, ending Major League Baseball's superstation era.[27] Spanish radio broadcasts switched from WEBG (formerly WNUA) back to 1200 WRTO-AM.

On March 1, White Sox legend Minnie Miñoso died early in the morning due to a heart-related issue.[28] Hundreds of Sox fans attended the funeral of "Mr. White Sox" on March 7.[29]

Regular season

Season standings

American League Central
AL Central W L Pct. GB Home Road
Kansas City Royals 9567 0.586 — 51–30 44–37
Minnesota Twins 8379 0.512 12 46–35 37–44
Cleveland Indians 8180 0.503 13½ 39–41 42–39
Chicago White Sox 7686 0.469 19 40–41 36–45
Detroit Tigers 7487 0.460 20½ 38–43 36–44

American League Wild Card
Division Leaders W L Pct.
Kansas City Royals 9567 0.586
Toronto Blue Jays 9369 0.574
Texas Rangers 8874 0.543


Wild Card teams
(Top 2 qualify for 1-game playoff)		 W L Pct. GB
New York Yankees 8775 0.537 +1
Houston Astros 8676 0.531 —
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 8577 0.525 1
Minnesota Twins 8379 0.512 3
Cleveland Indians 8180 0.503 4½
Baltimore Orioles 8181 0.500 5
Tampa Bay Rays 8082 0.494 6
Boston Red Sox 7884 0.481 8
Chicago White Sox 7686 0.469 10
Seattle Mariners 7686 0.469 10
Detroit Tigers 7487 0.460 11½
Oakland Athletics 6894 0.420 18

Record against opponents
2015 AL Records

Source: AL Standings Head-to-Head
Team BAL BOS CWS CLE DET HOU KC LAA MIN NYY OAK SEA TB TEX TOR NL
Baltimore —11–83–35–14–33–43–42–40–710–96–13–310–91–68–1112–8
Boston 8–11—3–42–44–22–44–32–52–58–115–14–39–102–510–913–7
Chicago 3–34–3—10–99–105–17–124–36–132–55–24–31–53–34–39–11
Cleveland 1–54–29–10—7–115–29–104–27–125–23–44–35–23–33–412–8
Detroit 3–42–410–911–7—3–49–101–611–82–52–44–33–32–52–49–11
Houston 4–34–21–52–54–3—4–210–93–34–310–912–72–56–134–316–4
Kansas City 4–33–412–710–910–92–4—6–112–72–45–14–26–13–43–413–7
Los Angeles 4–25–23–42–46–19–101–6—5–22–411–812–73–312–72–58–12
Minnesota 7–05–213–612–78–113–37–122–5—1–54–34–34–23–32–58–12
New York 9–1011–85–22–55–23–44–24–25–1—3–45–112–72–56–1311–9
Oakland 1–61–52–54–34–29–101–58–113–44–3—6–133–410–91–511–9
Seattle 3–33–43–43–43–47–122–47–123–41–513–6—4–312–74–28–12
Tampa Bay 9–1010–95–12–53–35–21–63–32–47–124–33–4—2–510–914–6
Texas 6–15–23–33–35–213–64–37–123–35–29–107–125–2—2–411–9
Toronto 11–89–103–44–34–23–44–35–25–213–65–12–49–104–2—12–8

Detailed records

Play
  • On April 29, the Sox lost to Baltimore 8–2 at Camden Yards in the only game in MLB history played without fans allowed to attend. The two previous games in the series had been postponed due to riots in Baltimore, but the third could not be so easily rescheduled or relocated, so the Orioles decided not to admit fans since the police were too busy maintaining order elsewhere in the city to provide adequate security at the game.

Game log
Legend
 White Sox win
 White Sox loss
 Postponement
BoldWhite Sox team member
2015 White Sox game log

Personnel

Opening Day lineup
Opening Day Starters[31]
Name Pos.
Adam Eaton CF
Melky Cabrera LF
Jose Abreu 1B
Adam LaRoche DH
Avisail García RF
Alexei Ramírez SS
Conor Gillaspie 3B
Tyler Flowers C
Micah Johnson 2B
Jeff Samardzija SP

Roster
2015 Chicago White Sox
Roster
Pitchers
  • 55 Carlos Rodon
 Catchers

Infielders

  • 64 Emilio Bonifacio
  •  5 Carlos Sánchez

Outfielders

  • 26 Avisail García
  • 20 J. B. Shuck
 Manager

Coaches

Statistics

Batting

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; BB = Base on balls; SO = Strikeouts; AVG = Batting average; SB = Stolen bases

Player G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG SB
José Abreu, 1B,DH 154 613 88 178 34 3 30 101 39 140 .290 0
Gordon Beckham, 3B,2B,SS 100 211 24 44 8 0 6 20 19 43 .209 0
Emilio Bonifacio, 2B,OF 47 78 5 13 2 0 0 4 2 27 .167 1
Rob Brantly, C 14 33 3 4 1 0 1 6 2 8 .121 0
Melky Cabrera, LF 158 629 70 172 36 2 12 77 40 88 .273 3
Adam Eaton, CF 153 610 98 175 28 9 14 56 58 131 .287 18
Tyler Flowers, C 112 331 21 79 12 0 9 39 21 104 .239 0
Avisail García, RF 148 553 66 142 17 2 13 59 36 141 .257 7
Leury García, OF,2B 18 14 0 3 0 0 0 1 1 7 .214 1
Conor Gillaspie, 3B 58 173 10 41 11 1 3 15 9 34 .237 0
Micah Johnson, 2B 36 100 10 23 4 0 0 4 9 30 .230 3
Adam LaRoche, DH,1B 127 429 41 89 21 0 12 44 49 133 .207 0
Mike Olt, 3B,1B 24 79 6 16 0 0 3 4 7 29 .203 0
José Quintana, P 32 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 .000 0
Alexei Ramírez, SS 154 583 54 145 33 0 10 62 31 68 .249 17
Carlos Rodon, P 26 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 0
Tyler Saladino, 3B,SS 68 236 33 53 6 4 4 20 12 51 .225 8
Chris Sale, P 31 9 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 4 .111 0
Jeff Samardzija, P 32 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .500 0
Carlos Sánchez, 2B 120 389 40 87 23 1 5 31 19 81 .224 2
J. B. Shuck, OF 79 143 15 38 8 2 0 15 16 16 .266 7
Geovany Soto, C 78 187 20 41 8 0 9 21 21 63 .219 0
Trayce Thompson, OF 44 122 17 36 8 3 5 16 13 26 .295 1

Pitching

Note: W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; SV = Saves; IP = Innings pitched; H = Hits allowed; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; HR = Home runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts

Player W L ERA G GS SV IP H R ER HR BB K
Matt Albers 2 0 1.21 30 0 0 37.1 31 6 5 3 9 28
Chris Beck 0 1 6.00 1 1 0 6.0 10 5 4 0 4 3
Scott Carroll 1 1 3.44 18 0 0 36.2 40 19 14 2 13 27
John Danks 7 15 4.71 30 30 0 177.2 195 104 93 24 56 124
Kyle Drabek 0 0 5.06 3 0 0 5.1 9 3 3 1 2 3
Zach Duke 3 6 3.41 71 0 1 60.2 47 26 23 9 32 66
Leury García 0 0 0.00 1 0 0 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 1
Javy Guerra 0 0 0.00 3 0 0 1.2 2 0 0 0 1 0
Junior Guerra 0 0 6.75 3 0 0 4.0 7 3 3 1 1 3
Dan Jennings 2 3 3.99 53 0 0 56.1 55 28 25 3 24 46
Erik Johnson 3 1 3.34 6 6 0 35.0 32 14 13 8 17 30
Nate Jones 2 2 3.32 19 0 0 19.0 12 7 7 5 6 27
Adam LaRoche 0 0 0.00 1 0 0 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Frankie Montas 0 2 4.80 7 2 0 15.0 14 8 8 1 9 20
Héctor Noesí 0 4 6.89 10 5 0 32.2 41 26 25 7 17 22
Jake Petricka 4 3 3.63 62 0 2 52.0 56 21 21 2 18 33
Zach Putnam 3 3 4.07 49 0 0 48.2 42 24 22 7 24 64
José Quintana 9 10 3.36 32 32 0 206.1 218 81 77 16 44 177
Alexei Ramírez 0 0 0.00 1 0 0 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0
David Robertson 6 5 3.41 60 0 34 63.1 46 27 24 7 13 86
Carlos Rodon 9 6 3.75 26 23 0 139.1 130 63 58 11 71 139
Chris Sale 13 11 3.41 31 31 0 208.2 185 88 77 23 42 274
Jeff Samardzija 10 13 4.96 32 32 0 214.0 228 122 118 29 49 163
Daniel Webb 1 0 6.30 27 0 0 30.0 41 26 21 3 22 22

Farm system
See also: Minor League Baseball
Level Team League Manager
AAA Charlotte Knights International League Joel Skinner
AA Birmingham Barons Southern League Julio Vinas
A-Advanced Winston-Salem Dash Carolina League Tim Esmay
A Kannapolis Intimidators South Atlantic League Tommy Thompson
Rookie Great Falls Voyagers Pioneer League Cole Armstrong
Rookie AZL White Sox Arizona League Mike Gellinger
Rookie DSL White Sox Dominican Summer League Julio Valdez

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: AZL White Sox[32]

References
  1. Just, David. "White Sox release 2015 broadcast schedule". Chicago Sun-Times. Sun-Times Media. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
  2. "2014 Chicago White Sox". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
  3. Van Schouwen, Daryl. "White Sox could pursue short-term fixes in offseason". Voices. Sun-Times Media. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
  4. Hayes, Dan. "White Sox to focus on bullpen this offseason". CSN Chicago. Comcast SportsNet Chicago. Archived from the original on May 12, 2015. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
  5. Gleeman, Aaron. "White Sox GM: Robin Ventura has done "an excellent job"". Hardball Talk. NBC Sports. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
  6. Kane, Colleen. "Royals claim Sox outfielder Sierra off waivers". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
  7. Padilla, Doug. "Sox officially sever ties with Paulino". ESPN Chicago. ESPN. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
  8. Forsha, Stephen. "Ankle injury hampered Matt Lindstrom's 2014 season". Southside Showdown. Fansided. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
  9. Bauman, Jason. "White Sox claim J.B. Shuck, reinstate Nate Jones from 60-day DL". The Baseball Kid. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
  10. Kane, Colleen. "White Sox sing lefty reliever Zach Duke". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
  11. Wagner, James. "Adam LaRoche agrees to two-year deal with Chicago White Sox". Washington Post. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
  12. Hayes, Dan. "White Sox trim 40-man roster to 39 after parting with Snodgress". CSN Chicago. Comcast SportsNet Chicago. Archived from the original on December 13, 2014. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
  13. "2014 Baseball Winter Meetings returns to San Diego after three decades". Minor League Baseball. 2014. Retrieved March 8, 2015.
  14. Gleeman, Aaron. "White Sox claim Rob Brantly off Waivers from Marlins". Hardball Talk. NBC Sports. Retrieved March 8, 2015.
  15. Oz, Mike. "Report: White Sox sign closer David Robertson for four years, $46M". Yahoo! Sports. Yahoo!. Retrieved March 8, 2015.
  16. Jaffe, Jay. "White Sox make splash by getting David Robertson, Jeff Samardzija". Sports Illustrated. Time Inc. Retrieved March 8, 2015.
  17. Todd, Jeff. "Marlins Acquire Andre Rienzo From White Sox For Dan Jennings". MLB Trade Rumors. MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved March 8, 2015.
  18. "Melky Cabrera Signs with White Sox". USA Today. Retrieved March 8, 2015.
  19. Gregor, Scott. "Cabrera Gives White Sox a legitimate No. 2 hitter". Chicago Daily Herald. Retrieved March 8, 2015.
  20. Gleeman, Aaron. "White Sox sign Gordon Beckham, designate Dayán Viciedo for assignment". Hardball Talk. NBC Sports Group. Retrieved March 8, 2015.
  21. Jaffe, Jay. "The Hall of Fame chances for 2014's Golden Era nominees (Part 1)". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved March 8, 2015.
  22. Oz, Mikw. "No new Hall of Famers elected in Golden Era Committee vote". Yahoo! Sports. Yahoo!. Retrieved March 8, 2015.
  23. Padilla, Doug. "Reinsdorf 'disappointed' over HOF vote". ESPN Chicago. ESPN. Retrieved March 8, 2015.
  24. Kane, Colleen. "White Sox denied Ken Williams permission to interview for Blue Jays job". Chicago Tribune. Tribune Media. Retrieved March 8, 2015.
  25. "Report: Reinsdorf thinks Jays tampered, won't pursue recourse". CSN Chicago. NBC Sports Group. Archived from the original on January 30, 2015. Retrieved March 8, 2015.
  26. Just, David. "White Sox release 2015 broadcast schedule". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved March 8, 2015.
  27. Feder, Robert. "WGN America comes home to Chicago". RobertFeder.com. Retrieved March 8, 2015.
  28. Balow, Adrienne. "White Sox great Minnie Minoso passes away". WGN-TV. Tribune Media. Retrieved March 8, 2015.
  29. "Hundreds pack funeral for White Sox great Minnie Minoso". USA Today. Retrieved March 8, 2015.
  30. Encina, Eduardo. "O's to play game closed to public Wednesday, will relocate weekend series to Trop". baltimoresun.com. The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved April 28, 2015.
  31. "2015 White Sox Batting Orders". Baseball Reference. Sport Reference. Retrieved April 21, 2015.
  32. Leventhal, Josh, ed. (2015). Baseball America 2016 Almanac. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-1-932391-60-2.
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