Record 76–86 (.469) Owner(s) Jerry Reinsdorf Manager(s) Robin Ventura | Divisional place 4th General manager(s) Rick Hahn | |
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Local television CSN Chicago
CSN+
WGN-TV
WPWR-TV
(Ken Harrelson, Steve Stone, Chuck Swirsky) | ||
The 2015 Chicago White Sox season was the club's 116th season in Chicago and 115th in the American League.
Contents
Offseason
The 2014 Chicago White Sox ended with a 73-89 record, a 10-game improvement over 2013. General Manager Rick Hahn gave the season a "fail" grade, citing the lack of a championship. The White Sox front office set up an "aggressive" offseason plan, focusing on improving a bullpen that blew 21 saves and had the 3rd-worst earned run average in baseball. Despite losing 188 games the previous two seasons, Robin Ventura is set to remain as manager for the 2015 season.
Roster changes
The White Sox offseason started at the end of October when Moises Sierra was claimed by the Kansas City Royals off waivers. Shortly following this, the Sox declined Felipe Paulino's option for 2015, after going 0-2 in just four starts. Reliever Matt Lindstrom also elected free agency at the end of the month after an ankle injury kept him off the mound for most of 2014.
On November 3, the White Sox claimed outfielder J. B. Shuck off waivers from the Cleveland Indians. Two weeks later, the team began its quest to improve the bullpen by signing free agent reliever Zach Duke to a three year/$15 million contract. The rest of November included mostly minor league moves, until the White Sox signed free agent first baseman Adam LaRoche to a two year/$25 million contract on November 25. The corresponding roster move was to designate pitcher Scott Carroll for assignment, who would later become a free agent.
The 2014 Winter Meetings ran from December 7–11 in San Diego. The White Sox' first move of the Winter Meetings was to claim catcher Rob Brantly of waivers from Miami. Late that night, there were rumors that the White Sox were close to singing David Robertson from the New York Yankees as well as trading for Jeff Samardzija from the Oakland Athletics. On December 9, the club officially announced a four-year, $46 million contract with Robertson and acquired pitchers Jeff Samardzija and Michael Ynoa from Oakland for infielders Marcus Semien and Rangel Ravelo, catcher Josh Phegley and pitcher Chris Bassitt. They finished off the Winter Meetings by trading pitcher Andre Rienzo to Miami for pitcher Dan Jennings.
On December 16, the White Sox announced the signing of outfielder Melky Cabrera to a three-year, $42 million contract. The White Sox cited the increase in ticket sales following the Robertson and Samardzija signings as motivation for signing Cabrera. On January 5, 2015, the club signed infielder Emilio Bonifacio to a one-year, $4 million contract. The last major move of the off-season was a surprise, as the White Sox signed infielder Gordon Beckham, whom they had traded to the Los Angeles Angels just a few months prior, to a one-year, $2 million contract and designated outfielder Dayán Viciedo for assignment.
Events and news
On October 30, the Baseball Hall of Fame announced the 10 candidates for election via the Golden Era Committee. Among the candidates were White Sox legends Minnie Miñoso and Billy Pierce; Dick Allen, who won the 1972 American League Most Valuable Player award; and Jim Kaat, who played two and a half seasons with the White Sox. On December 8, the Hall of Fame announced that none of the candidates earned the required 12 voters, with Allen earning 11 votes, Kaat earning 10, Minoso earning 8, and Pierce receiving less than 3. White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf was "disappointed" in the results, particularly the rejection of 90-year-old Minoso, saying "I don’t know what player out of the era of the 1950s and early ’60s would be more deserving than Minnie."
On December 7, the media reported that the White Sox had denied the Toronto Blue Jays permission to interview Executive Vice President Ken Williams for their opening at club President. Reinsdorf was reportedly upset that the Blue Jays asked for permission during the Winter Meetings. When he talked to Williams about it, Williams said that Toronto had already contacted him, which is considered tampering under Major League Baseball rules. The White Sox opted not to pursue recourse.
On February 19, the club released their 2015 broadcast schedule, with 106 games on Comcast SportsNet Chicago, 35 games on WGN-TV, and 20 games on WPWR-TV. This is a change from previous seasons, where a small amount of WGN produced games were broadcast on WCIU-TV instead of WPWR. It had previously been announced that games on WGN-TV would no longer be simulcast nationally on WGN America, ending Major League Baseball's superstation era. Spanish radio broadcasts switched from WEBG (formerly WNUA) back to 1200 WRTO-AM.
On March 1, White Sox legend Minnie Miñoso died early in the morning due to a heart-related issue. Hundreds of Sox fans attended the funeral of "Mr. White Sox" on March 7.
Batting
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; BB = Base on balls; SO = Strikeouts; AVG = Batting average; SB = Stolen bases
Pitching
Note: W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; SV = Saves; IP = Innings pitched; H = Hits allowed; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; HR = Home runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts
Farm system
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: AZL White Sox