Baby Fisk
03-20-2005, 11:15 AM
The White Sox Fan's Little Book of Wisdom - by Paul Whitfield (2004, 101 pp.)
Break out the churros, you pale hosers: we finally have a totally biased book review about a totally biased Sox book.
South Bend native and lifelong Sox fan Paul Whitfield has compiled a mini treasure chest of Sox facts, Sox quotes, Sox lore, and Sox love. It's all packed into a Gaedel-sized volume called The White Sox Fan's Little Book of Wisdom. You're gonna wanna go get it.
Each of this little white book's 101 pages contains a snippet of Chicago White Sox history worth knowing. For example...
Sox Fact:
On May 9, 1984, White Sox pitcher Tom Seaver got two wins in one day. The first game was a continuation of what turned out to be a 25-inning duel that had begun the day before. Seaver entered the game as a reliever when the Sox bullpen was depleted; he got the win when Harold Baines hit a home run to finish the eight-hour-and-six-minute game. Seaver started the second game and pitched 8 1/3 innings for his second win.
Sox Quote:
"Fans come to Comiskey Park to watch the game. They appreciate good baseball, and when you don't play good baseball, they'll let you know about that too. But most people go to Wrigley Field to see how many bars they can hit before and after the game. Wrigley Field is more of a tourist attraction than anything else." --Paul Konerko, 2001
Sox Lore:
Where to begin? How about that in 1901, the very first batter the White Stockings sent to the plate was a deaf-mute centerfielder named (oh dear) Dummy Hoy (http://www.dummyhoy.com/)? How about that in a 1982 Old Timers' Game at RFK Stadium, 75-YEAR-OLD former Sox shortstop Luke Appling hit a 250-foot home run off Warren Spahn? How about that in 1985 Sox catcher Carlton Fisk actually tagged not one but two idiotic New York Yankee baserunners out at home on the same play?
Yes, there's more than enough in this book to get any Sox fan's blood pumping as the South Siders prepare to embark on another season.
Whitfield's introductory testimonial of growing up a Sox fan in northern Indiana is something all Sox fans can relate to. Being a Sox fan is about loving the game and playing it right. It's about sticking with your team while shallow posers chase the media-hyped flavour of the month. It's about being faithful to your team, knowing its history, and never being satisfied with mediocrity. Whitfield beautifully puts those collective sentiments to paper.
He is also viciously funny. He recounts with scathing vitriol what it was like encountering local kids who were Yankee or Cub fans. His childhood caricatures are as accurate as they are wildly hilarious.
Forget about the Little Red Book and the Big Blue Media Machine, we now have The White Sox Fan's Little Book of Wisdom. So raise that churro to Paul Whitfield -- who also keeps a Sox blog at thesouthsider.com (http://thesouthsider.com/) -- for compiling this gem.
Okay, one more goodie to share with your friends and enemies:
Only four men in the history of baseball have recorded at least 20HRs, 100 RBIs, 100 runs and 100 walks in four consecutive seasons. They are Lou Gehrig, Ted Williams, Barry Bonds, and a certain dominating first baseman/DH who never took steroids, ever.
Frank Thomas... YES!
--Baby Fisk
Break out the churros, you pale hosers: we finally have a totally biased book review about a totally biased Sox book.
South Bend native and lifelong Sox fan Paul Whitfield has compiled a mini treasure chest of Sox facts, Sox quotes, Sox lore, and Sox love. It's all packed into a Gaedel-sized volume called The White Sox Fan's Little Book of Wisdom. You're gonna wanna go get it.
Each of this little white book's 101 pages contains a snippet of Chicago White Sox history worth knowing. For example...
Sox Fact:
On May 9, 1984, White Sox pitcher Tom Seaver got two wins in one day. The first game was a continuation of what turned out to be a 25-inning duel that had begun the day before. Seaver entered the game as a reliever when the Sox bullpen was depleted; he got the win when Harold Baines hit a home run to finish the eight-hour-and-six-minute game. Seaver started the second game and pitched 8 1/3 innings for his second win.
Sox Quote:
"Fans come to Comiskey Park to watch the game. They appreciate good baseball, and when you don't play good baseball, they'll let you know about that too. But most people go to Wrigley Field to see how many bars they can hit before and after the game. Wrigley Field is more of a tourist attraction than anything else." --Paul Konerko, 2001
Sox Lore:
Where to begin? How about that in 1901, the very first batter the White Stockings sent to the plate was a deaf-mute centerfielder named (oh dear) Dummy Hoy (http://www.dummyhoy.com/)? How about that in a 1982 Old Timers' Game at RFK Stadium, 75-YEAR-OLD former Sox shortstop Luke Appling hit a 250-foot home run off Warren Spahn? How about that in 1985 Sox catcher Carlton Fisk actually tagged not one but two idiotic New York Yankee baserunners out at home on the same play?
Yes, there's more than enough in this book to get any Sox fan's blood pumping as the South Siders prepare to embark on another season.
Whitfield's introductory testimonial of growing up a Sox fan in northern Indiana is something all Sox fans can relate to. Being a Sox fan is about loving the game and playing it right. It's about sticking with your team while shallow posers chase the media-hyped flavour of the month. It's about being faithful to your team, knowing its history, and never being satisfied with mediocrity. Whitfield beautifully puts those collective sentiments to paper.
He is also viciously funny. He recounts with scathing vitriol what it was like encountering local kids who were Yankee or Cub fans. His childhood caricatures are as accurate as they are wildly hilarious.
Forget about the Little Red Book and the Big Blue Media Machine, we now have The White Sox Fan's Little Book of Wisdom. So raise that churro to Paul Whitfield -- who also keeps a Sox blog at thesouthsider.com (http://thesouthsider.com/) -- for compiling this gem.
Okay, one more goodie to share with your friends and enemies:
Only four men in the history of baseball have recorded at least 20HRs, 100 RBIs, 100 runs and 100 walks in four consecutive seasons. They are Lou Gehrig, Ted Williams, Barry Bonds, and a certain dominating first baseman/DH who never took steroids, ever.
Frank Thomas... YES!
--Baby Fisk