Today in White Sox History: April 30
Beltin’ gets the call to Chicago, proceeds to not-belt
1922
White Sox pitcher Charlie Robertson fired a perfect game, beating the Tigers, 2-0, in Detroit. Robertson’s perfect game only took one hour and 55 minutes to complete. The 26-year-old rookie struck out six, in just the fourth start of his career. In the second inning, Earl Sheely drove in both Sox runs with a single.
As proof of Robertson’s mastery on this day, only eight of 14 balls in the air were popups in some form, an indication that Detroit wasn’t seeing the hurler well at all. The Tigers, for their part, accused Robertson of doctoring the ball with grease or oil; unsurprisingly, player-manager Ty Cobb was the most vocal in protest.
Robertson became the third pitcher of the 20th Century to throw a perfect game. It was the first perfect game in 14 seasons — and there wouldn’t be another regular season perfecto for more than 42 years (Jim Bunning, 1964). (Don Larsen threw a perfect game in the 1956 World Series.)
Robertson never had a winning record in eight seasons in Chicago, compiling a White Sox career of 49-80 and 4.44 ERA. However, he made quite a splash with the club, pitching 527 innings in his first two full seasons with the White Sox, compiling 7.6 WAR.
1929
In the top of the seventh of an 8-4 win at Comiskey Park, the White Sox pulled off a triple play against Cleveland. With runners on second and third, Carl Lind grounded out to shortstop, with White Sox first baseman Bud Clancy turning throwing home nab both runners at home plate.
The victory would draw the South Siders to 6-6 on the season, but the 1929 White Sox would finish at 59-93, the worst club in franchise history to that point.
Interestingly another triple play occurred on this same day, just seven years later, in ...
1936
When the White Sox turned another triple play, under completely different circumstances. Chicago was getting blown out, 16-4, at Fenway Park, when Oscar Melillo lined out to Luke Appling, catching runners at first and second too far off of the bags. The loss dropped the White Sox to 4-8, but the season itself was much sunnier than 1929, as the White Sox finished 81-70-2 — the best record put up by the club since 1920.
1951
Minnie Miñoso was acquired by the White Sox as part of a three-team deal involving Kansas City and Cleveland. The seven-player deal resulted in Miñoso becoming the team’s first Black ballplayer (Sam Hairston and Bob Boyd were Black players who were both signed before Miñoso, but Miñoso was the first Black player to appear in a game for the White Sox).
Miñoso used his blinding speed and power to become the American League Rookie of the Year for 1951 (from The Sporting News, but not the baseball writers) by hitting .324 with 10 home runs, 76 RBIs and 31 stolen bases. He’d be named to the All-Star team six times in his career representing the Sox. His No. 9 was retired by the club in 1983.
1962
A day after his 28th birthday, White Sox shortstop Luis Aparicio was shown sliding into a base on the cover of Sports Illustrated. The headline read, “The Players With Magic. Luis Aparicio of the White Sox.”
The future Hall-of-Famer would lead the American League in steals for nine consecutive years while playing remarkable defense.
1968
Bill Melton was called up to the majors for the first time, arriving from the Triple-A Hawaii Islanders on May 3. The young slugger’s first stint in the majors was a bust, as he slashed .204/.259/.265 with 19 strikeouts in 17 games/49 at-bats.
Melton was shipped back to the minors on May 22 and split time in Hawaii and Syracuse (on loan to the New York Yankees!). The future home-run champ returned to the big leagues for good with his second 17-game stint during roster expansion in September, when he crushed the ball at a .317/.373/.500 clip, including the first two of his 160 career dingers.