Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...
and the
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...
from October 5 to 8.
The Orioles won the series three games to one. Although the White Sox took Game 1 by a score of 2–1, the Orioles came back to win the last three games of the series. The Orioles went on to defeat the Philadelphia Phillies in five games in the
1983 World Series
The 1983 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1983 season. The 80th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League champion Baltimore Orioles and the National ...
. In the regular season the White Sox won the West Division by 20 games with a 99–63 record. The Orioles won the East Division by six games with a 98–64 record.
Background
"Winning Ugly" White Sox
In the early 1980s, the sports scene in Chicago was not pretty. The White Sox had not been to the post-season since losing the 1959 World Series, the Cubs had not been to a World Series since losing in
1945
1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which Nuclear weapon, nuclear weapons Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, have been used in combat.
Events
Below, ...
, the Blackhawks had not won a Stanley Cup since 1961, the
Bears
Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Nor ...
had not won a championship since
1963
Events January
* January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Co ...
, and the Bulls had moderate success with a defensive first approach under Dick Motta but they could never get over the hump against the more talented Lakers or Celtics -- they had also never won a championship.
By 1983, the city was starved for a winner of any kind. The 1983 White Sox AL West division crown was the city of Chicago's first baseball championship of any kind (division, league, or world) in twenty years. Their “win ugly” nickname was given to them by Texas Rangers manager Doug Rader. The club rattled off a modest win streak around the All-Star break, but according to Rader their success would be short-lived. "They're not playing that well. They're winning ugly." Behind manager
Tony La Russa
Anthony La Russa Jr. (; born October 4, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player, coach, and manager. His MLB career has spanned from 1963 to 2022, in several roles. He is the former manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, Oakland At ...
Harold Baines
Harold Douglas Baines (born March 15, 1959) is an American former right fielder and designated hitter (DH) in Major League Baseball who played for five American League (AL) teams from 1980 to 2001, and is best known for his three stints with th ...
, and designated hitter
Ron Kittle
Ronald Dale Kittle (born January 5, 1958) is an American former left fielder and designated hitter in Major League Baseball (MLB). He was known for his home run hitting power, and was named the 1983 AL Rookie of the Year. Kittle played for the Ch ...
, the "Winning Ugly" Sox finished the season 60-25.
Orioles
1983 was the Orioles' first in nearly 15 years without manager
Earl Weaver
Earl Sidney Weaver (August 14, 1930 – January 19, 2013) was an American professional baseball manager, author, and television broadcaster. After playing in minor league baseball, he retired without playing in Major League Baseball (MLB). He be ...
, who retired after the Orioles missed the playoffs in the final game of the 1982 season. The Orioles replaced Weaver with Joe Altobelli, who had been an Orioles manager in the Baltimore's farm system from 1971-1976. The Orioles went 58-31 from July through the end of the regular season, winning the AL East by 6 games over the Tigers.
Baltimore, Maryland
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
Playing in their first postseason game since the 1959 World Series, the White Sox jumped out to a 1–0 ALCS lead behind a complete-game victory by
LaMarr Hoyt
Dewey LaMarr Hoyt Jr. (January 1, 1955 – November 29, 2021) was an American professional baseball right-handed pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball for the Chicago White Sox and San Diego Padres from 1979 to 1986. He won the 1983 Americ ...
, the American League Cy Young Award winner. In the third, consecutive two out singles by Rudy Law, Carlton Fisk and Tom Paciorek off of Scott McGregor plated Chicago's first run. After a 42-minute rain delay in the fourth inning, the White Sox made it 2–0 when Paciorek walked to lead off the sixth, moved to third when
Greg Luzinski
Gregory Michael "The Bull" Luzinski (born November 22, 1950) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a left fielder from to , most prominently as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies where he wa ...
reached on an
Eddie Murray
Eddie Clarence Murray (born February 24, 1956), nicknamed "Steady Eddie," is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) first baseman, designated hitter, and coach. Spending most of his MLB career with the Baltimore Orioles, he ranks fourth ...
error and scored when Rookie of the Year
Ron Kittle
Ronald Dale Kittle (born January 5, 1958) is an American former left fielder and designated hitter in Major League Baseball (MLB). He was known for his home run hitting power, and was named the 1983 AL Rookie of the Year. Kittle played for the Ch ...
grounded into a double play. In the bottom of the ninth,
Dan Ford
Darnell Glenn Ford (born May 19, 1952) is a former professional baseball player. Nicknamed "Disco Dan", he played in the Major Leagues primarily as an outfielder from 1975 to 1985 for the Minnesota Twins, California Angels, and Baltimore Orioles. ...
doubled with two outs then Pinch Runner Tito Landrum scored as Cal Ripken Jr. denied Hoyt's shutout with an RBI single for the Orioles' only run.
Baltimore, Maryland
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
Mike Boddicker evened the series with a dominant performance, striking out 14 batters while allowing just five singles and three walks in a shutout victory. Gary Roenicke doubled to lead off the second off of
Floyd Bannister
Floyd Franklin Bannister (born June 10, 1955) is an American former professional baseball left-handed pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros (–), Seattle Mariners (–), Chicago White Sox (–), Kansas City Ro ...
, and then scored on Vance Law's throwing error on Ken Singleton's groundball. In the fourth, Roenicke walked with one out, then scored on Singleton's double. In the sixth,
Cal Ripken Jr
Calvin Edwin Ripken Jr. (born August 24, 1960), nicknamed " The Iron Man", is an American former baseball shortstop and third baseman who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles (1981–2001). One of his posit ...
. hit a lead off double off of the left field wall, moved to third on
Eddie Murray
Eddie Clarence Murray (born February 24, 1956), nicknamed "Steady Eddie," is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) first baseman, designated hitter, and coach. Spending most of his MLB career with the Baltimore Orioles, he ranks fourth ...
’s fly out to centerfield and then came home as Roenicke capped the game's scoring with a two-run home run to give the Orioles a 4–0 win.
Chicago, Illinois
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
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With the series shifting to Chicago, White Sox starter Rich Dotson was rocked for six runs, all earned, over five innings, as the Orioles pushed Chicago to the brink of elimination. In the top of the first with one out, Jim Dwyer doubled, Cal Ripken Jr. hit an infield single and
Eddie Murray
Eddie Clarence Murray (born February 24, 1956), nicknamed "Steady Eddie," is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) first baseman, designated hitter, and coach. Spending most of his MLB career with the Baltimore Orioles, he ranks fourth ...
belted a 2-0 pitch into the upper deck for a three-run homer to start the scoring. Next inning,
Rick Dempsey
John Rikard Dempsey (born September 13, 1949) is an American former professional baseball player.Al Bumbry's double. The White Sox scored their only run of the game in the bottom of the second off of Mike Flanagan when
Ron Kittle
Ronald Dale Kittle (born January 5, 1958) is an American former left fielder and designated hitter in Major League Baseball (MLB). He was known for his home run hitting power, and was named the 1983 AL Rookie of the Year. Kittle played for the Ch ...
hit a leadoff double and scored on Vance Law's single. In the fifth, Cal Ripken Jr. was hit by a pitch with two-out and then a subsequent walk to
Eddie Murray
Eddie Clarence Murray (born February 24, 1956), nicknamed "Steady Eddie," is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) first baseman, designated hitter, and coach. Spending most of his MLB career with the Baltimore Orioles, he ranks fourth ...
was followed by a two-run double by John Lowenstein who was thrown out trying for three to end the inning. During Murray's at bat in the 5th, the first pitch nearly hit him and led to the benches clearing with no punches being thrown. In the eighth,
Eddie Murray
Eddie Clarence Murray (born February 24, 1956), nicknamed "Steady Eddie," is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) first baseman, designated hitter, and coach. Spending most of his MLB career with the Baltimore Orioles, he ranks fourth ...
walked, stole second, advanced to third on Rich Dauer's flyout and then scored on
Todd Cruz
Todd Ruben Cruz (November 23, 1955 – September 2, 2008), was an American former professional baseball shortstop and third baseman, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) between and with the Philadelphia Phillies, Kansas City Royals, Cal ...
's RBI single with two out off of
Dick Tidrow
Richard William Tidrow (May 14, 1947 – July 10, 2021) was an American professional baseball pitcher and the senior vice president of player personnel and senior advisor to the general manager for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Basebal ...
to make it 7–1 Orioles. In the top of the ninth, a double by
Cal Ripken Jr
Calvin Edwin Ripken Jr. (born August 24, 1960), nicknamed " The Iron Man", is an American former baseball shortstop and third baseman who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles (1981–2001). One of his posit ...
Eddie Murray
Eddie Clarence Murray (born February 24, 1956), nicknamed "Steady Eddie," is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) first baseman, designated hitter, and coach. Spending most of his MLB career with the Baltimore Orioles, he ranks fourth ...
loaded the bases off of
Jerry Koosman
Jerome Martin Koosman (born December 23, 1942) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets, Minnesota Twins, Chicago White Sox, and Philadelphia Phillies between and . ...
Joe Nolan
Joseph William Nolan (born May 12, 1951) is an American former professional baseball catcher, who played for the New York Mets, Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, and Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball (MLB).
Minor Leagues
Selected in the ...
's fly ball allowed two more runs to score before Rich Dauer's sacrifice fly capped the scoring at 11–1 Orioles. Flanagan pitched five innings while Sammy Stewart pitched four shutout innings while allowing only one hit to close out the win.
Chicago, Illinois
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
With his team facing elimination, White Sox manager Tony LaRussa decided to save Hoyt for a potential game 5 start and went with Britt Burns instead. Burns pitched nine shutout innings, but the Sox could not push across a run. Chicago missed their best opportunity to score in the 7th. Greg Walker and Vance Law singled then Jerry Dybzinski attempted to bunt the runners over but the lead runner was forced at third. Then with one out and runners on first and second, Julio Cruz singled to left field. Third base coach Jim Leyland held the lead runner Vance Law at third but Dybzinski did not see that in time and got caught halfway between second and third. As Baltimore began to execute the run down, Law broke for home and was thrown out while barreling into
Rick Dempsey
John Rikard Dempsey (born September 13, 1949) is an American former professional baseball player.Tippy Martinez
Felix Anthony "Tippy" Martinez (born May 31, 1950), is an American retired professional baseball left-handed pitcher. He pitched 14 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1974 and 1988, primarily as a relief pitcher. The majority of his ca ...
balk moved the runners up, Rudy Law lined out to left field to end the inning. Baltimore then eliminated Chicago with a three-run outburst in the top of the 10th, advancing to the World Series for the first time since 1979. With one out in the 10th, Tito Landrum hit a 1-0 pitch into the left field upper deck, ending Burns' day. Then Salome Barojas in relief allowed three straight singles to
Cal Ripken Jr
Calvin Edwin Ripken Jr. (born August 24, 1960), nicknamed " The Iron Man", is an American former baseball shortstop and third baseman who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles (1981–2001). One of his posit ...
.,
Eddie Murray
Eddie Clarence Murray (born February 24, 1956), nicknamed "Steady Eddie," is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) first baseman, designated hitter, and coach. Spending most of his MLB career with the Baltimore Orioles, he ranks fourth ...
and Gary Roenicke, the last of which scored a run. Benny Ayala's sacrifice fly off of Juan Agosto capped the scoring at 3–0 Orioles.
Chicago scored one run in the final 31 innings of the series, hitting .211 as a team with no homers. Four of the team's starters,
Harold Baines
Harold Douglas Baines (born March 15, 1959) is an American former right fielder and designated hitter (DH) in Major League Baseball who played for five American League (AL) teams from 1980 to 2001, and is best known for his three stints with th ...
Greg Luzinski
Gregory Michael "The Bull" Luzinski (born November 22, 1950) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a left fielder from to , most prominently as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies where he wa ...
, hit below .200. Baltimore hit but .217 and had the same number of hits (28) as the White Sox did, but outscored them 19-3. The Orioles would go on to win the
1983 World Series
The 1983 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1983 season. The 80th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League champion Baltimore Orioles and the National ...
, while the White Sox would not make the playoffs again until
1993
File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...
. This would be the last postseason game in the Old Comiskey Park.
The 1983 ALCS was the first post-season series in the Orioles' history in which they lost the first game--in their 11 post-season series going back to 1966 the team had always won Game 1. Similarly the O's would lose Game 1 of the 1983 World Series before coming back to sweep the remaining four games.
This is the Orioles' most recent pennant to date.
Composite box
1983 ALCS (3–1):
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...
over
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...
Broadcasting
1983 marked the last time that local telecasts of League Championship Series games were allowed. In 1982, Major League Baseball recognized a problem with this due to the emergence of cable superstations such as WTBS in
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
. When TBS tried to petition for the right to do a "local" Braves broadcast of the 1982 NLCS, Major League Baseball got a Philadelphia federal court to ban them on the grounds that as a cable superstation, TBS couldn't have a nationwide telecast competing with ABC's.
Aftermath
The Orioles would finish off the job, beating a veteran Philadelphia Phillies ballclub in a competitive five games in the World Series. The Orioles never seriously contended in the AL East again until
1989
File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker runs ...
, and did not get back to the playoffs until after the realignment of 1994 created a three-division format and wild-card. As of 2022, the city still awaits a return to the World Series.
The 1983 White Sox success was also short-lived. The team did not win 90 games again until
1990
File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicist ...
nor make a playoff until 1993. By that time,
Tony La Russa
Anthony La Russa Jr. (; born October 4, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player, coach, and manager. His MLB career has spanned from 1963 to 2022, in several roles. He is the former manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, Oakland At ...
was winning pennants and a
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...
managing the Oakland Athletics, Carlton Fisk was 42 years old still playing at a high level with the team,
Harold Baines
Harold Douglas Baines (born March 15, 1959) is an American former right fielder and designated hitter (DH) in Major League Baseball who played for five American League (AL) teams from 1980 to 2001, and is best known for his three stints with th ...
was in Texas playing for the Rangers, and
Ron Kittle
Ronald Dale Kittle (born January 5, 1958) is an American former left fielder and designated hitter in Major League Baseball (MLB). He was known for his home run hitting power, and was named the 1983 AL Rookie of the Year. Kittle played for the Ch ...
finished the season in Baltimore. 1990 was also the team's last year playing at Comiskey Park. The White Sox success in 1983, coupled with their lack of success in the seasons preceding and following it, put them in the conversation of one of baseball's best one-season wonders.
34 years after being let go by the White Sox, Tony La Russa was hired to be the team's manager again in 2020 at the age 76 years old. In between those 34 years, La Russa won three World Series with the Oakland Athletics in
1989
File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker runs ...
and St. Louis Cardinals in 2006 and 2011. He was also inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2014, so his return made him the first manager in baseball history to manage a team after being elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. He managed two seasons with the club, winning a division title in 2021 before repeating himself in the 2021 American League Division Series that saw Chicago lose in four games.