1994 Chicago White Sox season

The 1994 Chicago White Sox season was the White Sox's 94th season in the major leagues, and their 95th season overall. They finished with a record 67-46, good enough for 1st place in the American League Central, 1 game ahead of the 2nd place Cleveland Indians.

Michael Jordan

After retiring from the National Basketball Association, Michael Jordan surprised the sports world by signing a minor league baseball contract with the Chicago White Sox. He reported to spring training and was assigned to the MLB team. He play 17 games with the White Sox before the organization sent him to the Birmingham Barons on March 31, 1994.^[1] Jordan has stated this decision was made to pursue the dream of his late father, who had always envisioned his son as a Major League Baseball player.^{[citation needed]}

Offseason

• October 13, 1993: George Bell was released by the Chicago White Sox.^[2]
• December 15, 1993: Julio Franco was signed as a Free Agent with the Chicago White Sox.^[3]
• December 22, 1993: Tim Raines signed as a Free Agent with the Chicago White Sox.^[4]
• December 28, 1993: Ron Coomer was traded by the Chicago White Sox to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Isidro Marquez.^[5]
• February 8, 1994: Carlos Lee was signed by the Chicago White Sox as an amateur free agent.^[6]
• January 26, 1994: Dane Johnson was signed as a Free Agent with the Chicago White Sox.^[7]
• March 1, 1994: Scott Sanderson was signed as a Free Agent with the Chicago White Sox.^[8]
• March 21, 1994: Paul Assenmacher was traded by the New York Yankees to the Chicago White Sox for Brian Boehringer.^[9]
• March 29, 1994: Mike Huff was traded by the Chicago White Sox to the Toronto Blue Jays for Domingo Martinez.^[10]

Regular season

• July 15, 1994: During a game against the White Sox, Indians outfielder Albert Belle's bat was confiscated by umpire Dave Phillips.^[11] It was the result of White Sox manager Gene Lamont believing that the bat was corked. During the game, Indians pitcher Jason Grimsley removed a ceiling tile in his manager’s office and clambered on top of an 18-inch-wide (460 mm) cinder block.^[12] He replaced the corked bat with a conventional bat but the bat had Paul Sorrento's name on it. Belle was suspended for seven games.^[11]

By Friday, August 12, the White Sox had compiled a 67-46 record through 113 games. They were leading the AL Central Division and had scored 633 runs (5.60 per game) and allowed 498 runs (4.41 per game).^[13]

Season standings

Opening Day lineup

• Tim Raines, lf
• Joey Cora, 2b
• Frank Thomas, 1b
• Julio Franco, dh
• Robin Ventura, 3b
• Bo Jackson, rf
• Lance Johnson, cf
• Ron Karkovice, c
• Ozzie Guillén, ss
• Jack McDowell, p

Notable transactions

• April 4, 1994: Pete Rose, Jr. was signed as a Free Agent with the Chicago White Sox.^[14]
• April 12, 1994: Atlee Hammaker was signed as a Free Agent with the Chicago White Sox.^[15]
• April 21, 1994: Steve Sax was Released by the Chicago White Sox.^[16]

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

Awards and records

• Lance Johnson, American League record, Led American League in triples for four consecutive seasons (1991–1994) ^[17]
• Frank Thomas, Silver Slugger Award

Farm system

^[18]

Notes

References

• 1994 Chicago White Sox at Baseball Reference