Yoán Moncada goes down — and out
1963
The start of the season found the White Sox in Detroit, and it was a highlight game for third baseman Pete Ward. Ward smacked a seventh-inning, three-run home run off of Jim Bunning to push the Sox into the lead, and in the ninth inning makes a clutch, barehanded pick up-and-throw out of a slow roller hit by Al Kaline. The Sox won, 7-5, and it would be the start of a brilliant rookie year for Ward. That year, he finishes at .295 with 22 home runs, 84 RBIs, 34 doubles and six triples.
1971
It was the biggest crowd for a home opener in years, as 43,253 fans poured into Comiskey Park to see the “New Look” White Sox under new player personnel director Roland Hemond and manager Chuck Tanner. The size of the crowd completely caught ownership with their pants down, as concession stands and vendors run out of items by mid-game!
The players didn’t leave fans hungry, however, as Rich McKinney’s two-out, ninth-inning single scored Rich Morales with the game-winning run in a 3-2 victory over Minnesota. Morales led off the inning with a single off Twins relief ace Ron Perranoski.
1976
Owner Bill Veeck was back, and 40,318 fans turned out to welcome him home on Opening Day. They got their money’s worth, as in a Bicentennial tribute Veeck, manager Paul Richards and front office executive Rudy Schaffer presented the colors dressed as the fife player, drummer and flag bearer of the Revolutionary War. The stunt was unannounced, coming as a last-minute brainstorm by Veeck — who along with GM Roland Hemond had to convince Richards to dress up!
In the game itself, Wilbur Wood tossed a complete game six-hitter and Jim Spencer has a two-run home run in a 4-0 win against Kansas City.
1977
The White Sox defeated the Blue Jays in Toronto, 3-2, for the franchise’s first-ever regular season win outside of the United States. Oscar Gamble’s home run in the fourth put the Sox on top to stay, and the team added two more runs in the fifth. Chris Knapp earned the win and Lerrin LaGrow his first save of what became the best season of his career (25 saves, 2.46 ERA).
1982
Francisco Barrios, the only pitcher to bridge the full second tenure of Bill Veeck’s White Sox ownership, died in Hermosillo, Mexico.
Barrios pitched his entire MLB career of seven seasons with the White Sox, leading the pitching staff of the 90-win South Side Hit Men (and finishing second on the team overall) with 4.4 WAR. His career totals were 38-38 with a 4.15 ERA/95 ERA+.
But Barrios fought drug and alcohol addiction, got into scrapes with teammates, and was arrested for cocaine possession. In 1981, when rosters expanded, the White Sox cut him loose. Over the winter, Barrios refocused enough to earn MVP honors in the Mexican Pacific League, with a 7-3 record and 1.65 ERA. Rumors circulated that the Milwaukee Brewers would be bringing him back to the majors, but before that could happen he passed away in his parents’ home, where he had been living.
Barrios died just 10 months after his final MLB game, on June 3, 1981.
1985
For future Hall-of-Famer Tom Seaver, it was his record 14th Opening Day start. For Ozzie Guillén, it was his debut in the major leagues. The pair combined to help the Sox beat Milwaukee, 4-2, at County Stadium. Guillén bunted for a single off of future Sox pitcher Ray Searage in the ninth inning for his first major-league hit. Seaver got the win, with 6 2⁄3 innings of work.
1990
In the last home opener at the original Comiskey Park, the Sox made it a good one in beating the Brewers, 2-1, before 40,008 fans who wait out a rain delay. In the seventh inning, Scott Fletcher’s sacrifice fly scored Sammy Sosa with what turned out to be the winning run. Barry Jones took the win, and Bobby Thigpen picked up the first of his record-setting 57 saves that season.
1993
During the home opener against the Yankees, Bo Jackson showed that the human spirit is simply amazing. Jackson, playing with an artificial hip, hammered a Neal Heaton pitch into the right-field seats for a home run. It was Jackson’s first at-bat since his hip replacement, caused by an injury he suffered during his days as an All-Pro running back for the Los Angeles Raiders.
In 1993 Bo would go on to hit 16 home runs, including one in late September against Seattle that would prove the game-winner in the Western Division title-clincher. He was the first athlete to have had hip replacement surgery and be able to return and play at the highest level.
As far as the baseball hit off Heaton, a fan returned it to Jackson and he later had it encased and welded to the headstone of his mother’s grave.
1997
Just 1,677 fans watched the Blue Jays knock off the White Sox, 5-0, in Chicago. Originally scheduled as a night game, extreme cold forced the start time into the afternoon, when it was still just 34° at first pitch. It was the smallest crowd at a White Sox game since 1970.
2024
When the White Sox sacrificed three seasons and underwent a rebuild, the hope was that of players acquired through various means, including Eloy Jiménez, Yoán Moncada and Luis Robert Jr. would be the key pieces to lead the franchise into a sustained period of success.
If there were any doubts about how that hope was foolish, a 10-day span at the start of the 2024 campaign ended any illusions.
Jiménez already had suffered a strained abductor muscle running to first and was put on the injured list. Robert likewise suffered a badly strained hip flexor muscle running to first, and was put on the injured list for months. On this day, in Cleveland, Moncada suffered a badly strained abductor muscle running to first and was out for the vast majority of the year.
The “Bust Brothers,” as some fans characterized them, simply could not stay healthy for any sustained period of time.