Here’s a White Sox-focused look at today’s Hall-of-Fame inductees:
*ADRIAN BELTRE: The 5-time Gold Glove winner hit more homers (6) off Bartolo Colon but none occurred when Big Bart was with the Sox. Beltre was 0-for-6 vs. “Big Sexy” in Colon’s stints with the Sox in 2003 and 2009.
*JOE MAUER: The St. Paul, Minn., native was 0-for-3 with two strikeouts in the White Sox 1-0 win in the American League Central Division tiebreaker (aka “The Blackout”) game on Sept. 30, 2008 at U.S. Cellular Field. Batting third, Mauer struck out twice and bunted into an out against John Danks.
There is no way anyone could see Mauer flopping in that performance. After all, he was 7-for-10 with an RBI and two walks vs. Danks in their four previous meetings. In addition, Mauer was hitting .370 at U.S. Cellular Field heading into the game.
Here’s my blog on Mauer and the Sox https://soxnerd.wordpress.com/2018/11/24/joe-mauer-and-the-sox/
*TODD HELTON: Of the 29 teams Helton faced, the White Sox were the only team against which he did not homer. … Helton hit .172 (5-for-29) in eight games vs. the Sox, which was his lowest output against any opponent
*JIM LEYLAND: My blog on Leyland’s time with and connections to the Sox https://soxnerd.wordpress.com/2023/12/28/a-white-sox-centric-look-at-hall-of-famer-jim-leyland/