Today in White Sox History: October 30
The South Siders sign up for some games on the far north side
1959
He was acquired before the start of the 1958 season, and part of the cost was trading the popular Minnie Miñoso, so pitcher Early Wynn didn’t start out on the right side of things with a lot of Sox fans. Compounding the issue was a mediocre season.
In 1959, however, Wynn turned back the clock, leading the major leagues with 22 wins with a 3.17 ERA. That won him the Cy Young, with 13 of the 16 votes. This was a time when only one award was given to the best pitcher in baseball, as opposed to today when the award is given to a pitcher from each league.
Sam Jones of the Giants got two votes, with Bob Shaw of the White Sox getting the final one. Wynn also led the league in starts, innings pitched and batters faced.
1967
The White Sox announced that nine regular season games in 1968 will be moved from Comiskey Park to County Stadium in Milwaukee. In nine dates in Milwaukee, the White Sox drew 265,552 fans, averaging 29,506. Meanwhile, attendance was just 538,203 in 72 games at Comiskey park — averaging 7,475!
In 1969, the second and last year of the experiment before the Seattle Pilots relocated to Milwaukee, the 105-loss White Sox drew 196,784 over 11 dates at County Stadium, averaging 17,889. At Comiskey Park in 70 games, the White Sox averaged just 5,611!
A franchise hadn’t played “home” games outside of its home park in the American League since 1905.
1990
White Sox manager Jeff Torborg was named Manager of the Year by the Baseball Writers Association of America after guiding the team to a record of 94-68.
The Sox shocked the baseball world after being picked to finish no higher than fourth place. Instead, they challenged the eventual AL champion Oakland A’s into September and were the only club in the league to have won the season series from them. Only the A’s and the Pittsburgh Pirates had better records during the season than the White Sox.
Torborg got 23 of 28 first-place votes, for 128 points. Oakland’s Tony La Russa, the former Sox skipper, picked up the other four first-place votes and finished up with 72 points. Joe Morgan of the Red Sox got the final first place vote, finishing third with 28 points.