Today in White Sox History: October 24
Willy Miranda begins his South Side merry-go-round
1901
In possibly the first instance of crosstown movement, Cubs center fielder Danny Green signed for bigger money with the White Sox as one of scores of players ditching the National League for the more lucrative pastures of the American. Green was coming off of a very strong 1901 season, with a 3.9 WAR buoyed by 31 steals, a .313 batting average and 131 OPS+.
On the South Side, Green shifted to right field and didn’t miss a beat, slashing .312/.388/.391 with 3.3 WAR and a 122 OPS+ in 1902. He was even better in 1903 and 1904, with WARs of 4.3 and 4.2. In all, Green compiled 13.1 WAR in a South Side career that ran through 1905.
Green hurt his right (throwing) arm before the 1906 season and was demoted to the minors, never to make it back to the bigs. He died young, just turning 38, due to syphilis complications.
All told, per by WAR Green is tied for the 50th-best White Sox hitter of all time, and tied for the 85th-best overall player.
1951
The White Sox acquired shortstop Willy Miranda in trade from the Washington Senators for longtime South Side infielder Floyd Baker. Baker had just turned 35 and was at the end of a career that saw him play seven seasons on the South Side, mostly in a utility role (7.9 career WAR over 590 games).
With the White Sox, it seemed uncertain what role Miranda would be playing, with incumbent Chico Carrasquel (Miranda was the same age as Carrasquel, despite just breaking into the majors in 1951) manning shortstop. As if to confirm that, the Cuban native saw action in 12 games (13 plate appearances) before being dealt to the Browns in June.
HOWEVER, the story continues, as St. Louis waived Miranda and the end of June and the Sox brought him back — fortuitous given Carrasquel was battling injuries and broke his finger on July 9, sidelining him for much of the second half. On the strength of great defense, Miranda was a 0.3 WAR performer for the White Sox for his full 1952 duration (70 games).
After the season, you know it’s coming, Miranda was dealt back to St. Louis. He’d end up playing nine years and 824 games in the bigs, but 1952 was one of his only three positive-WAR seasons.
2000
Ken Williams was named the new White Sox GM, replacing the retiring Ron Schueler. Williams, a former Sox player, would bring passion and heart to the position. He also wasn’t afraid to take risks, and wasn’t afraid of failure. He eventually would create a World Series champion in 2005, his signature moment in the organization. After the 2012 season, he moved upstairs as one of the team’s executive vice presidents and ceded day-to-day management of the team to his assistant, Rick Hahn. He and Hahn were both fired in late August 2023, due to that disastrous season, and failed rebuild.
2005
The White Sox winning the pennant drew a small cover mention in Sports Illustrated. In the upper left corner was a photo of Paul Konerko swinging, with the headline, “At Last! The White Sox Are In The World Series.”
2020
Oakland A’s closer Liam Hendriks won the Mariano Rivera Award as the top reliever in the AL after saving 14 games with a 1.78 ERA in the 60-game pandemic season. His 1.4 rWAR projects to an extraordinary 3.8 over a full season. On Jan. 15, 2021, after some 11th hour drama and a bizarrely-structured fourth year added to his free agent offer, the White Sox inked Hendriks to anchor their pen on the South Side.