Sox, Cubs, strong in first third

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By Woodrow Carroll

With a 3-1 victory over the visiting Baltimore Orioles Sunday and a split with host Cleveland Monday, the Chicago White Sox improved their season record to 33-21 exactly one-third into the this season. It will not be long before the Sox reach the 60 games.

Last season Major League Baseball (MLB) went with a 60-game schedule, and, with the specter of COVID-19 all around, a baseball season of any kind was most welcome.

The Sox were 9-6 in the 15 games through Monday, which included losing all three games to the New York Yankees, and a five-game win streak. The sox were 3.5 games ahead of Cleveland in the American League Central.

The Chicago Cubs were 30-23 through Monday, one-half game ahead of St. Louis and had won 12 of 15 games to include a six-game win-streak.

The 2020 White Sox closed out with a record of 35-25. The Sox made the playoffs for the first time since 2008 and with Jose Abreu was the American League MVP Award winner. A 2-8 finish consigned the Sox to the road for the playoffs. After beating the Oakland A’s in game one, the Sox were stopped in two straight to end their playoff run.

Last season Abreu ended up with 60 RBIs. The comes out to 162 RBI’s for a full 162-game schedule. Playing every game is asking a great deal, even as we honor the Gehrigs and Ripkins for their abilities to play game in and game out.

The all-time single-season RBI leader for the White Sox is Albert Belle who drove in 152 runs for the Sox in 1998. Belle’s production was vital to the Sox success in 1998.

Turns out, even with Belle’s production, the Sox finished with an 80-82 record. Even that final record fails to tell the whole story.

The 1998 White Sox season started slowly. The first half of the season, prior to the all-star break, the White Sox were 35-51. After the all-star break, the Sox were 45-31. Only with an 18-7 record in September did the Sox come close to a .500 finish.

Belle’s teammate, Frank Thomas, ended 1998 with 109 RBIs. By his lofty standards, Thomas had a bit of an off season. In 2000, Thomas drove in 143 runs. The Belle saga is a sad story. Three words come to mind: Controversy and legal issues!

Despite his 152 RBI’s for the Sox in 1998, Belle found himself with the Baltimore Orioles in 1999. It was a two-year stay with the Orioles. Belle drove in more than 100 runners each season.

Only 33 years old at the time, Belle’s 2000 season with Baltimore proved to be his last in MLB.. Risk and reward with Belle saw the needle falling on the risk side and Belle’s time was at an end.

From the neck down Belle had all the tools. For nine seasons, 1992-2000 with the Cleveland Indians, Belle drove in more than 100 runs each year.

Even in 1994, when the strike brought a sudden end to the season with Belle’s Indians at 66-47, he drove in 101 runs.

What a different picture Jose Abreu presents. Now 34 years old and in his eight season with the White Sox, Abreu shows no sign of slowing down. Last week, the Sox took two of three from the St. Louis Cardinals and swept the Orioles in four straight. The Sox had lost three straight in New York and the recovery against the Cardinals and Orioles was a welcome sign of team inner strength.

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