Here is at least one nugget — @soxnerd style — on every member of the 2023 White Sox:
*HANSER ALBERTO: The utilityman’s lone strikeout victim in his two mound appearances for the 2023 White Sox was Roberto Perez.
That’s the same Roberto Perez whom Carlos Rodon hit with a pitch to end his bid for a perfect game on April 14, 2021 at Guaranteed Rate Field.
Alberto whiffed Perez in the Sox 12-9 loss to the Giants on April 3rd, 719 days after Rodon clipped Perez with a backfoot slider after retiring 26 consecutive Cleveland batters.
Rodon went on to throw a no-hitter. Alberto went on to give up two singles before getting a fielder’s choice to end the ninth in a 12-3 loss in the home opener.
*TIM ANDERSON: Tim Anderson’s lone homer of 2023 was a game-starting shot on July 29th off Cleveland’s Logan Allen at Guaranteed Rate Field.
The last Sox player whose only homer of a season was a game-starter was Steve Sax in 1993.
Sax and Anderson — who had similarly underachieving campaigns in these respective seasons — are the only Sox players to accomplish this since 1950.
Prior to ‘50, other Sox who have accomplished this are Thurman Tucker in 1946, John Stoneham in 1933 and Bill Hunnefield in 1930.
Records from 1901 to 1950 are not complete in this area.
*TANNER BANKS: The left-hander emerged from 2023 as the toughest pitcher in White Sox history since at least 1974 against the second hitter in the lineup.
And it’s not even close really.
The University of Utah product has limited hitter No. 2 to a .082 average (4-for-28) the last two seasons.
The opponents average, on-base percentage (.179), slugging percentage (.163) and OPS (.342) vs. the second-place hitter are the lowest outputs in Sox history (minimum 49 at bats).
His opponents average is 41 points lower than No. 2 on the list (Octavio Dotel .123) while his OBP is one point lower than No. 2 Dotel’s, his slugging is one point lower than No. 2 Cisco Carlos’ and his OPS is 20 points lower than Carlos.
After holding No. 2 hitters hitless in 21 at bats in 2022, Banks limited those batters to a .143 average (4-for-28) in 2023.
*ANDREW BENINTENDI: While it certainly didn’t feel like it, Benintendi had one of the best seasons by a White Sox player in high leverage situations in the complete data era (since 1973).
These are higher pressure situations, where the outcome of the situation is more likely to reflect the outcome of the game, per baseballreference.com.
In 2023, Benintendi slashed .368/.473/.461 in those situations. The average was the highest by a Sox player (minimum 76 at bats) since Adam Eaton’s .390 and Conor Gillaspie’s .380 in 2014.
Benintendi’s OBP in this department/time frame is second to Frank Thomas’ .477 in 1997.
*AARON BUMMER: The lefty became the first pitcher in White Sox history to average at least 10.1 strikeouts per nine innings in four consecutive seasons in 2023.
Bummer averaged 12.0 Ks per nine in 2023 after averaging 10.1 in 2022, 12.0 in 2021 and 13.5 in 2020.
Bummer joins fellow reliever Nate Jones as the only Sox pitchers to average at least 10.1 strikeouts per nine innings in four seasons but Jones did it in 2013 and from 2015 to 2017.
*JAKE BURGER: The big slugger became the first player since Ron Kittle in 1990 to finish second on the White Sox in homers without finishing the season with the team.
Burger clubbed 25 homers to finish second on the team to Luis Robert Jr.’s 38 in 2023. Burger was sent to the Miami Marlins on Aug. 1 for minor league pitcher Jake Eder.
Kittle was the last player to be the Sox homer runner-up while not ending the season on the Southside. “Kitty” hit 16 homers that season before being dealt to Baltimore for Phil Bradley on July 30. He finished second to Carlton Fisk’s 18 that season.
*DYLAN CEASE: The righty posted a 0.79 ERA in 12.1 innings against reigning World Series champion Houston in 2023.
You have to go back to 1990 to find a Sox pitcher who had a lower ERA with more innings against the champs.
That year Eric King registered a 0.62 ERA in 14.2 innings while winning both of his starts against Oakland, which defeated the Giants in the 1989 Fall Classic.
*MIKE CLEVINGER: The right-hander did not allow a home run in 60 at bats against the fourth hitter of the lineup in 2023.
The last Sox pitcher to face a cleanup man at least 60 times in a season and not allow a homer was lefty Jose Quintana in 2013 (83 at bats).
The last Sox righty to do this was Jack McDowell in 1994, who did not allow a homer to a No. 4 hitter in 83 at bats.
In the complete records era (since 1950), the Sox pitcher who faced the most No. 4 hitters without yielding a homer was Ray Herbert in his All-Star season of 1962 (95 at bats).
*OSCAR COLAS: The 25-year old outfielder was the first White Sox player to hit safely in his first big league plate appearance as a pinch-hitter on Opening Day since Frenchy Bordagary in 1934.
Colas and Bordagary joined Jorge Orta (1972), George Wilson (1952), Guy Curtright (1943), Thurman Tucker (1942), Harry Steinbacher (1937), Frenchy Uhalt (1934) and Spence Harris (1925) as Sox players to make an MLB debut as a pinch-hitter on Opening Day.
—COLAS BONUS: Colas hit .349 with a .373 on-base percentage and .492 slugging percentage in innings eight and nine and in extra innings in 2023. In innings one through seven, Colas hit .170
Colas hit .303 in the ninth inning. Since 1980, the only Sox rookies with higher ninth inning averages are Eloy Jimenez in 2019, Yolmer Sanchez in 2015, Mike Caruso in 1998 and Tim Hulett in 1985
*ALEX COLOME: When Alex Colome rejoined the White Sox on May 2nd he owned 159 saves.
Only Craig Kimbrel with 371 in 2021, Dave Righetti with 252 in 1995, Sparky Lyle with 237 in 1982 and Joakim Soria with 204 in 2018 had more saves upon joining the Sox.
*GARRETT CROCHET: The lefty did his best work against teams that were .500 better in 2023. Crochet did not give up an earned in run in six outings covering 5.2 innings vs. teams above .500.
This was the Sox best performance in this situation since Donnie Veal’s 12 appearances in 2012.
In the live ball era, only Marte and Ray Searage (15 in 1986) logged more appearances in a season with no earned runs vs. teams .500 or better in a season.
This isn’t a fluke for Crochet.
His stats in 2023 shrank his ERA to 1.93 in 28 outings against squads with at least a .500 record.
*DECLAN CRONIN: On Aug. 8, 2023 the righty became just the 14th pitcher in White Sox history to fan five batters in relief within the first three games of his big league debut. Cronin is the only pitcher to accomplish this in just two innings.
*JAKE DIEKMAN: The reliever departed the White Sox as the franchise’s all-time leader among left-handers with an average of 11.4 strikeouts per nine innings (minimum 4.1 innings).
Diekman, released in May, struck out 39 batters in 30.2 innings in his 39 games with the Sox in 2022 and 2023.
*CLINT FRAZIER: At this moment in time, Clint Frazier is the only player in Major League history who has spent his entire exclusively with the White Sox, Cubs and Yankees.
The outfielder played with the Yanks from 2017 to 2021, the Cubs in 2022 and the Sox in 2023.
30 players have appeared in at least game for the Sox, Yanks and Cubs.
*DEIVI GARCIA: The right-hander became just the third pitcher in White Sox history to toss at least 2.2 perfect innings of relief in an interleague game.
On Sept. 27, Garcia retired all seven Diamondbacks he faced in a 3-0 loss to Arizona at Guaranteed Rate Field. He only faced seven men because began the outing by inducing an inning-ending double play ball.
He joins Reynaldo Lopez and Bill Simas as Sox relievers to throw at least 2.2 perfect innings of relief in an interleague contest. Lopez fired five perfect innings against the Cubs on Aug. 27, 2021 while Simas notched three perfect frames against the Cubs on June 9, 2000.
*LUCAS GIOLITO: The right-hander departed the White Sox third in franchise history with an average of 9.6 strikeouts per nine innings behind Dylan Cease (10.8) and Chris Sale (10.1).
Giolito also left seven strikeouts shy of becoming the 12th pitcher in White Sox history to reach 1,000 Ks. His 993 strikeouts are fifth among righties in Sox history.
*ROMY GONZALEZ: The middle infielder was a middle of the game kind of guy in 2023.
In innings four through six, Gonzalez slashed .387 (12-for-31)/.406/.742 with two homers in 2023. That meant in every other inning, Gonzalez slashed .098/.111/.197.
In the last 50 seasons, Gonzalez’s 2023 average in the middle three innings ranked sixth in team history while his slugging percentage ranked fourth (minimum 31 at bats).
*YASMANI GRANDAL: If it is the end for Yasmani Grandal and the White Sox, he departs as the franchise’s all-time leader among switch-hitting catchers with 44 home runs.
In fact he hit 14 more homers than all the other seven switch-hitting catchers in Sox history.
In addition, “Yaz” owns the top three and four of the top six homer seasons by Sox switch-hitting catchers.
*KENDALL GRAVEMAN: The right-hander’s eight saves in 2023 were the fewest to lead the Sox since the stat became official (1969).
The last time the Sox had a lower team-leading save total than 2023 was in 1962 when Turk Lown had six.
*BILLY HAMILTON: The speedster 11 steals are the most in White Sox history without getting caught. Hamilton was 9-for-9 in 2021 and 2-for-2 in 2023 on steal attempts in his Sox career.
*ADAM HASELEY: The journeyman outfielder saved his best for Sundays in 2023.
Haseley led the Sox with a .444 average (4-for-7) on Sundays. Coupled with his 2022 performance, Haseley owns a .389 average on Sundays but an .056 average on every other day.
*LIAM HENDRIKS: The right-hander is the White Sox all-time leader (minimum 133.2 innings) with an average of 13.5 strikeouts per nine innings.
Removing any innings limit, Hendriks ranks third in this category among the 887 players who have pitched for the Sox behind Romy Gonzalez (27.0) and Craig Kimbrel (14.1).
—HENDRIKS BONUS: A cancer survivor, Hendricks was recently named the Comeback Player of the Year on Thursday. He joins Jim Thome, Paul Konerko, Bo Jackson and Eric Soderholm as Sox players to win this award
*BRENT HONEYWELL: The right-hander is one of two big leaguers to attend Franklin County High School in Georgia.
The other one?
Ty Cobb. Ever heard of him?
*ELOY JIMENEZ: Maybe right field isn’t such bad idea for our boy Eloy.
Jimenez played the only 14 games of his career in right field in 2023 and thrived.
Playing the position exclusively between April 18 and July 16, Jimenez slashed .327/.382/.633 with four homers and 14 RBI.
Aside from Romy Gonzalez’s .364 average in four games, Jimenez was the Sox most productive right fielder in 2023.
Oh and the Sox were 8-6 in Eloy’s starts in right field.
*JOE KELLY: The right-hander’s average of 12.8 strikeouts per nine innings is the second-highest in Sox history among pitchers with at least 60 innings.
In addition, Kelly joins Aaron Bummer (3), Liam Hendriks (2) and David Robertson (2) a the only Sox pitchers to average 12 strikeouts per nine innings in more than one season.
*MICHAEL KOPECH: The right-hander fashioned two epic performances in a disappointing 2023:
—On May 19, he became the sixth Sox pitcher (seventh time) to fire at least eight one-hit innings with 10+ strikeouts
—On May 29, Kopech became the third Sox pitcher to log 10 strikeouts in 4.1 innings or less (Carlos Rodon, Dylan Cease)
*JIMMY LAMBERT: No matter what happens with Lambert, we will always have this:
*KOREY LEE: If we can extract one positive from Korey Lee’s season, it’s this:
Lee hit .077 in 2023, which isn’t as bad the .071 another Sox rookie catcher — Ron Karkovice — hit in 1987.
And “Karko” turned out OK.
One more … Lee was behind the plate for two of Andrew Vaughn’s 10 pitching performances at the University of California in 2017.
*REYNALDO LOPEZ: The righty probably wishes he could take Seby Zavala with him wherever he goes.
Lopez posted a 2.12 ERA (46.2 IP/11 ER) with a .198/.250/.299 slashline when he threw to Zavala from 2021 to 2023.
*LANCE LYNN: The right-hander departed the White Sox with 70 appearances, which were all starts.
The Sox pitchers with more starts and no relief appearances are John Danks (247), Jack McDowell (191), Lucas Giolito (162), Dylan Cease (123) and Freddy Garcia (119).
*JAKE MARISNICK: The journeyman outfielder is the position player who played the most games with the fewest plate appearances for the White Sox.
Marisnick totaled just two plate appearances in nine games for the 2023 Sox.
Prior to Marisnick, the Sox position player with the most games but the fewest plate appearances was Don Nicholas, who played in 10 games with three plate appearances between 1952 and 1954.
*KEYNAN MIDDLETON: The right-handed reliever became the second player in White Sox history to wear No. 99 and the first to do so since Manny Ramirez in 2010.
When Middleton joined the Yankees in 2023, he became the first “Bronx Bomber” to wear No. 93.
*YOAN MONCADA: The native of Cuba reached double figures in homers for the fifth time for the 2023 White Sox.
Among switch-hitters, only Ray Durham at 6 has more White Sox seasons of 10+ home runs than Moncada.
Among third basemen, only Robin Ventura at seven and Joe Crede and Bill Melton at six each have more White Sox seasons of 10+ home runs than Moncada.
*TYLER NAQUIN: The journeyman outfielder became the first Texas A & M product to play for the White Sox in 19 seasons in 2023.
Prior to Naquin the last Aggie to appear in a game for the Sox was pitcher Kelly Wunsch in 2004.
Naquin was the first position player from Texas A & M to play for the Sox since Bryan Little completed his two-year tenure on the Southside in 1986.
*EDGAR NAVARRO: The right-hander was flawless against non-playoff teams for the 2023 White Sox.
Against playoff teams … not so much.
In two appearances against 2023 playoff teams — one each against Texas and Baltimore — Navarro gave up seven runs on seven hits in two innings.
In six outings covering 5.2 innings against non-playoff teams, Navarro did not allow a run while yielding four hits and one walk.
*NICHOLAS PADILLA: At this moment in time, the righty is just one of 11 pitchers who has spent his entire career playing exclusively for the White Sox and Cubs.
Including non-pitchers, 21 players in MLB history have played exclusively for the Sox and Cubs.
*LUIS PATINO: The righty joined Orlando Cabrera (2008) and Jose Quintana (2012-17) as the only natives of Colombia to play for the White Sox.
*SAMMY PERALTA: The lefty became the first Sox pitcher to make his big league debut in the 12th inning in 57 years on May 4th.
Prior to Peralta, the last Sox hurler to debut in the 12th inning was Dennis Higgins, a cousin of Joe Crede’s, on April 12, 1966.
No Sox pitcher has made a big league debut in an inning later than the 12th.
*CARLOS PEREZ: Bryan Shaw may want to enlist Carlos Perez as his personal catcher.
Shaw posted a 1.00 ERA in nine appearances with Perez behind the plate. In addition, batters slashed only .107/.306/.143 against the Shaw-Perez battery.
The only player who has fared better while catching more Shaw games than Shaw is Chris Gimenez (0.47 in 19).
*YOHAN RAMIREZ: The right-hander became the first pitcher in 35 years to pitch for the White Sox and Pirates in the same season.
Prior to Ramirez, the last pitcher to toil for the Sox and Bucs in the same season was Barry Jones in 1988.
*LANE RAMSEY: The third-tallest player (6-9) in White Sox history behind 6-11 Jon Rauch and 6-10 Andy Sisco probably wants Yasmani Grandal to stick with the team.
Ramsey posted a 3.27 ERA with a .268/.304/.293 slashline in 11 games with Grandal behind the plate in 2023. In the 11 games with Korey Lee and Carlos Perez catching Ramsey posted a 9.00 ERA and a slashline of .359/.533/.513.
*ZACH REMILLARD: The utilityman hit .394 in June, which was the second-highest by a Sox rookie in the month behind Maurice Archdeacon’s .459 in 1924.
Remillard’s June average is the 12th highest in Sox history (minimum 33 at bars).
*LUIS ROBERT: The All-Star center fielder continued his assault on the Cubs during his bust-out campaign of 2023.
For example …
—Robert provided the Sox one of their few highlights of 2023 when he capped an eight-pitch at bat with a 422-foot go-ahead homer in a 5-3 win before 40,839 at Wrigley Field.
The blast featured a colorful exchange with Cubs fans behind the Sox on-deck circle and guaranteed the Sox would hold the all-time lead in the series with the Cubs into the 2025 season.
—Robert hit .313 against the Cubs in 2023 to “drop” his career average vs. the Northsiders to .380. The average is tops in Sox history vs. the Cubs and 20th all-time (minimum 50 at bats)
—Robert hit at least .313 vs. the Cubs for the fourth straight season. Sox players who have accomplished this: Jose Abreu (8), Gordon Beckham (4), Ray Durham (4), Adam Engel (4), Paul Konerko (7), Carlos Lee (4) and Alexei Ramirez (4).
—Robert extended his hitting streak to 10 games against the Cubs. Only Magglio Ordonez (12) and Beckham (11) have longer Sox streaks vs. the Cubs. Robert has slashed .436/.511/.769 during the skein.
—Robert continued to be the Sox best hitter vs. the Cubs at Guaranteed Rate Field in 2023. He emerged from the campaign hitting .429 against the Cubs in home games, which is tops in Sox history among players with 17 at bats.
*JOSE RODRIGUEZ: The 22-year old infielder scored a run in his only appearance for the 2023 White Sox.
At this moment in time, Rodriguez is one of three players (Bud Hafey and Bob Powell being the others) with a run but no plate appearances in their Sox career.
*JOSE RUIZ: The right-hander departed the White Sox with the most appearances (177) while making exactly one start.
*GREGORY SANTOS: The right-hander appeared in 60 games, which were the most by a Sox rookie since Jake Petricka’s 67 in 2014.
In addition, Santos’ 13 appearances in the season’s first month were tied for sixth-most in team history and tied for second among Sox rookies with Aaron Bummer (2018) and Donn Pall (1988) behind Kelly Wunsch’s 14 in 2000.
*JESSE SCHOLTENS: Only Harry Boyles (Aug 3, 1938), Joe Crede’s cousin Dennis Higgins (April 12, 1966) and Reb Russell (April 18, 1913) with five struck out more batters in relief in a big league debut for the White Sox than Scholtens (4) did on April 7.
*BRYAN SHAW: Bryan Shaw earned his first Sox save in his 764th big league appearance on Aug. 7.
The only pitcher to log his first Sox save with more appearances than Shaw was Sparky Lyle at 891 on Aug. 25, 1982 Shaw joined the Sox with 753 appearances.
Only Mike Jackson (960), Lyle (1982), Mike Myers (866) and Jeff Nelson (792) had more outings upon debuting for the Sox than Shaw.
*GAVIN SHEETS: No player in big league history has dominated the Pittsburgh Pirates like Gavin Sheets.
The left-handed hitter’s slashline of .750/.818/1.500 is the best ever against the Pirates with at least eight at bats vs. the club.
Sheets is 6-for-8 with two home runs in three games vs. Pittsburgh.
Sheets was 4-for-5 against the Pirates in 2023, which is tied for the sixth-highest season output vs. the team (minimum five at bats).
*LENYN SOSA: The infielder slashed .271/.290/.458 out of the eighth spot for the 2023 White Sox.
That means in every spot of the order Sosa slashed .162/.185/.286.
Sosa’s average and slugging percentage was tops among Sox players with at least six games in the eighth spot in 2023.
*TRAYCE THOMPSON: The veteran outfielder extended his White Sox errorless streak to 1,436 days — per the MLB calendar — in 2023.
Going by the calendar we all use, Thompson’s White Sox errorless streak stands at 2,980 days at this writing.
Thompson’s only Sox error came on Sept. 9, 2015.
*TOUKI TOUSSAINT: The right-hander yielded an average of 7.1 hits per nine innings, which lowest among Sox pitchers who threw at least 42.1 innings in 2023.
That figure ranked 10th-lowest in the AL among pitchers with 80 innings in 2023 (this includes his one start with Cleveland).
*JOSE URENA: The right-hander became the third pitcher to play for the White Sox and Rockies in the same season.
He joins Jose Contreras (2009) and Marvin Freeman (1996) on this short list.
The only position players to toil for the Sox and the Rox in the same season are Sandy Alomar Jr. in 2002 and Yonder Alonso in 2019.
*ANDREW VAUGHN: The first baseman hit at least 15 homers for the third consecutive season in 2023.
He joins Jose Abreu (9) Carlos Lee (7) and Alexei Ramirez (5) as the only Sox players to hit at least 15 homers in each of their first three Major League seasons.
*SEBY ZAVALA: The San Diego State product tied the big league record with two multi-homer games out of the ninth spot for the 2023 White Sox (June 6 and June 28).
In addition, Zavala departed as the only player in White Sox history with more than one multi-homer game out of the No. 9 spot (3).