1st January 1887
The fans are still celebrating the MLB Championship Series win but are hoping the team can find the way towards further success during the off season. The owner decided to award GM Derek Carlson and Manager Fred Burbridge 5 year contract extensions as a reward for the title win.
There was also futher rewards for the team at the AL awards dinner.
Manager Fred Burbridge picked up the AL Manager of the Year award.
Charlie Geggus was awarded for his performances with the AL Pitcher of the Year Award.
Denny Lyons also represented the team to pick up his AL Rookie of the Year Award.
There were also awards for Jocko Milligan with a Golden Glove along with Bob Carruthers and Candy Nelson pickinh up Platinum Stick awards.
There were quite a few retirements from the team this year.
The first players to announce his retirement was Short Stop Frank Abercrombie. Abercrombie spent 16 years in the league but only made a minor number of appearances during that time. He did manage to win MLB Championship Series Medal this year to go with the one he picked up as a member of the 1877 Boston Beaneaters side. His stats were 43 games played with 10 hits from 35 at bats. He scored 6 runs with 9 RBI's and an average of .286 (real life stats 1 game with a 0 average)
Next up was Short Stop Denny Mack. Mack managed to gain 3 golden glove and 3 All Star appearances during his 16 year career. He Played for both the Baltimore Orioles and the White Sox and won an MLB Championship Medal in his time with the Orioles. He managed to claim 432 hits from 1693 at bats in 525 games. He scored 299 runs with 188 RBI's for an average of .255. (real life stats 373 games, 343 hits, 309 runs, 103 RBI's and an average of .228)
The third retiree is 35 year old short stop Mike McGeary. McGeary's career saw him spend 16 years in the league and pick up 2 golden gloves along with 2 All Star Appearances and an MLB Championship Medal from the 1877 Boston Beaneaters side. He played in 648 games to pick up 721 hits from 2604 at bats. He scored 403 runs with 290 RBI's for an average of .277. (Real life stats 547 games, 484 runs, 684 hits, 236 RBI's and an average of .276)
The next person to announce his retirement was Catcher David Lenz. Lenz was only a bit part player during his 15 year career. He managed 81 appearances with 63 hits from 226 at bats. He scored 37 runs with 32 RBI's on his way to an average of .279. (real life stats 4 games, 1 hit, 2 runs and an average of .083)
Pitcher U O'Rourke was the fifth White Sox to decide to hang up his glove. O'Rourke picked up 8 All Star Appearances and 1 MLB Championship Medal as a relief pitcher during his 14 year career. He pitched in 130 games with 14 starts with a record of 11 wins and 14 losses. He pitched 316.1 innings and gave up 159 earned runs for an ERA of 4.52. (real life stats 1 game, 9 innings, 6 earned runs for an ERA of 6.00)
Third Baseman Red Woodhead also decided his career in the professional league was over. He played only a few games with the big club as he made most of his career in the minors. That didn;t stop him picking up an MLB Championship Medal with the 1874 Baltimore Orioles though. He played in 51 games with 11 hits from 47 at bats. He scored 5 runs with 2 RBI's and an average of .234.(real life stats 35 games, 5 runs, 21 hits, 2 RBI's and an average of .154)
Catcher George Seward also bought an end to his 11 year career. Only 2 of these years were spent in the big time after the expansion draft. He played in 77 games and hit 62 times from 277 at bats. He scored 23 runs and 31 RBI's for an average of .224 (real life stats 64 games, 35 runs, 55 hits, 8 RBI's and an average of .226)
The final retiree, Left Fielder Tommy Johns, never made it to the major leagues and spent his career in the minors. (real life stats 1 game for an average of 0.00)
After winning the MLB Championship Series the White Sox were always going to have a low selection point in the first year player draft. With that they only picked 4 players. The first round pick was spent on Pitcher Mike Mattimore. The full draft log is given below
The team failed to sign 3rd round draft pick Bill Wright