The South Siders make a second hitting coach splash in a decade
1911
News broke early, in the Chicago Tribune, that Nixey Callahan would be returning as White Sox manager in 1912, replacing Hugh Duffy. Owner Charles Comiskey emphasized having a manager in Chicago year-round, to help with spring training arrangements and offseason moves — Callahan was a Chicago resident. (The official announcement was made on October 24.)
A unique aspect of the switch was that Duffy was supposed to (and indicated interest in) move into more of a player development role, taking over Comiskey’s recently-purchased Des Moines Boosters, which would serve as a feeder team for the White Sox in an era predating the modern farm system.
It was a solid enough plan — except Duffy changed his mind, instead taking a job managing the Milwaukee Brewers of the American Association, and also claiming that he resigned his job as manager of the White Sox after getting a lowball offer from Comiskey. Duffy would end up quitting as Brewers manager before the 1912 season ended.
Ironically, Callahan — the second manager in White Sox history (named player-manager for 1903 at age 29) — didn’t find much more success that Duffy did for those early 1910s White Sox. Duffy left with two years under his belt, with a 145-159-6 (.468) record, while Callahan’s three seasons in his second stint on the South Side landed him at 226-234-8 (.483).
1988
The White Sox made a second consecutive hitting coach-splash, wooing Walt Hriniak from the Red Sox with a five-year, $500,000 contract to become the South Side hitting coach. After a brief major league career and different coaching jobs since 1970, Hriniak had worked with Boston hitters — first in an unofficial capacity (Johnny Pesky was the hitting coach), then as a staff member; among Hriniak’s disciples were future Hall-of-Famers Carl Yastrzemski and Wade Boggs.
At that time, the White Sox already had their prize batting coach, the best in the game, Charley Lau. Lau passed away in 1984 of colon cancer, getting just two years with the club after signing the longest multiyear contract for a coach in baseball history. Hriniak was a Lau disciple, wearing Lau’s No. 6 in his honor.
Hriniak remained in the role until 1995, when he got off of the road to start his own hitting school. Frank Thomas was a devoted disciple, and Hriniak and Michael Jordan worked tirelessly together when the basketball legend attempted his baseball career with the Sox.
2005
Game 2 of the World Series ended in unexpected and dramatic fashion, as outfielder Scott Podsednik blasted a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth. The shot, off of Houston’s Brad Lidge, ended the game in a 7-6 White Sox win after the Astros had rallied to tie in the top of the inning against Sox closer Bobby Jenks.
It was the second monumental home run of the game for the White Sox; in the seventh inning, down 4-2, Paul Konerko drilled the first pitch he saw for a grand slam to turn the game around.
Konerko had blasted 40 homers in the regular season and two in the ALCS. Podsednik hit zero home runs in the 2005 season, one in the ALDS, and now clocked the biggest of his career to put the White Sox up in the Series, 2-0.
A post-renovation Sox Park record of 41,432 fans were there.
2012
After a 2011 season that was one of the worst in a century of Major League Baseball, Adam Dunn was named the American League winner of The Sporting News Comeback Player of the Year award.
Dunn bounced back to hit 41 home runs and drive in 96 runs for the Sox, who contended for the division crown until the final week of the season.
In 2011, Dunn only hit 11 home runs with 42 RBIs, and had a batting average of .159.
Also on this day, less than 13 months after leaving the White Sox with one year left on his contract, Ozzie Guillén was fired by the Miami Marlins. Guillén led the Marlins to a last-place finish at the end of a controversial year, and the club was so desperate to get rid of him he was fired with three years and $7.5 million remaining on his contract.