The 1989

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 ...

season was the White Sox's 90th season. They finished with a record of 69-92, good enough for 7th place in the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

, 29.5 games behind the 1st place Oakland Athletics.

Offseason

Potential move to Florida

In July 1988, legislators from the State of Illinois narrowly approved a proposal for a new state-financed stadium and a lease deal that would save the team $60 million and kept the White Sox from moving to

St. Petersburg, Florida St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the fifth-most populous city in Florida and the second-largest city in the Tampa Bay Area, after Tampa. It is the ...

.White Sox Are Safe at Home – New York Times
/ref> St. Petersburg had begun construction on an $80 million domed stadium. The club's principal owners,

Jerry Reinsdorf Jerry Michael Reinsdorf (born February 25, 1936) is the owner of the NBA's Chicago Bulls and MLB's Chicago White Sox. He started his professional life as a tax attorney with the Internal Revenue Service. He has been the owner of the White So ...

and

Eddie Einhorn Eddie Einhorn (January 3, 1936 – February 24, 2016) was minority owner and vice chairman of the Chicago White Sox. Biography Einhorn grew up in a Jewish family in Paterson, New Jersey, the son of Mae (née Lippman) and Harold B. Einhorn and resi ...

, had said the team would move to St. Petersburg, Florida, for the 1989 season if the stadium proposal were not approved. The State Senate in Springfield passed the stadium bill by a 30-26 vote about 20 minutes before midnight, then sent it on to the General Assembly, where Gov. James Thompson was involved in political maneuvering on the last day the Legislature was in session. The money for the ball park, would come from a 2 percent city hotel-motel tax, estimated to be worth at least $8 million a year. The city would add $5 million annually in revenue-sharing funds, and the state would contribute $5 million in hotel-motel tax revenues.

Notable transactions

* December 5, 1988:

Rich Amaral Richard Louis Amaral (born April 1, 1962) is a former Utility player#Baseball, utility player in Major League Baseball who played with the Seattle Mariners (-), and Baltimore Orioles (-). He batted and threw right-handed. He has been a Scout (spor ...

was drafted by the White Sox from the Chicago Cubs in the 1988 rule 5 draft. * December 12, 1988:

Mike Diaz Michael Anthony Diaz (born April 15, 1960) is a former professional baseball player. He played all or part of four seasons in Major League Baseball between 1983 and 1988, for the Chicago Cubs, Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago White Sox. He also play ...

was released by the White Sox. * February 10, 1989:

Jerry Willard Gerald Duane Willard (born March 14, 1960) is an American former professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1984 to 1994 for the Cleveland Indians, Oakland Athletics, Chicago White Sox, Atlanta Braves, Montreal Ex ...

was signed as a free agent with the White Sox. * March 23, 1989: Kenny Williams was traded by the White Sox to the Detroit Tigers for Eric King.

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

1989 Opening Day lineup

Ozzie Guillén Oswaldo José Guillén Barrios (; born January 20, 1964) is a former professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop for 16 seasons, primarily with the Chicago White Sox, from 1985 to 2000. During tha ...

, SS *

Dave Gallagher David Thomas Gallagher (born September 20, 1960) is an American former professional baseball journeyman outfielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for seven teams, during his nine-year big league career (–). Early life Gallagher w ...

, CF *

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 ...

, DH * Iván Calderón, RF * Greg Walker, 1B * Carlton Fisk, C *

Dan Pasqua Daniel Anthony Pasqua (born October 17, 1961) is an American professional baseball outfielder and first baseman who played in Major League Baseball for the New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox from 1985 through 1994. He works as a community repr ...

, LF * Steve Lyons, 2B * Eddie Williams, 3B *

Jerry Reuss Jerry Reuss (born June 19, 1949)—pronounced "royce"—is a former left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball, best known for his years with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Reuss played for eight teams in his major league career; along with the Dodge ...

, P

Notable transactions

* May 8, 1989: Domingo Jean was signed as an amateur free agent by the White Sox. * June 5, 1989: Frank Thomas was selected by the White Sox in the 1st round (7th pick) of the

1989 Major League Baseball draft First-round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1989 Major League Baseball draft on June 5. Supplemental first round selections Other notable players * Brian Hunter, 2nd round, 35th overall by the Houston Astros * Ti ...

. * July 1, 1989:

Richard Dotson Richard Elliott Dotson (born January 10, 1959) is a former right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball in the 1980s. He is best noted for his 22-7 performance of , helping the Chicago White Sox win the American League West Division championship ...

was signed as a free agent by the White Sox. * July 29, 1989:

and

Fred Manrique Fred Eloy Manrique Reyes an-RE-kay(born November 5, 1961) is a former Major League Baseball second baseman who played for the Toronto Blue Jays (1981, 1984), Montreal Expos (1985), St. Louis Cardinals (1986), Chicago White Sox (1987–89), Tex ...

were traded by the White Sox to the Texas Rangers for Sammy Sosa,

Wilson Álvarez Wilson Eduardo Álvarez Fuenmayor (born March 24, 1970) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher. During a thirteen-year baseball career, he pitched for the Texas Rangers, ...

, and Scott Fletcher.

Roster

Player stats

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''

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''

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Vancouver, Birmingham, South BendJohnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., ''The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball''. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997

References

External links

1989 Chicago White Sox at Baseball Reference
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Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

1980s in Chicago 1989 in Illinois