Games People Play Presents: "83 Chi-Sox, Still Ugly After All These Years".
In 1982 the Chicago White Sox finished in third place of the American League Western division six games behind the California Angels. What followed the next season was somewhere between complete shock and utter fantasy as the team from the south side of Chicago blew everybody else out of the water by going 99-63, to take the division by an almost unheard of 20 games. The Pale Hose as they are referred to by their most ardent fans featured both Cy Young award winner Lamar Hoyt, who won two dozen games during that campaign and rookie of the year and local boy made great Ron Kittle. Kitty belted 35 dingers including two on the roof at old Comiskey as well as registering 100 RBI which seemed like a nice round number at the time. Only four and a half seasons into his first job as big league manager a career that would eventually see him enshrined in Cooperstown, Hall of Famer Tony LaRussa forged a club so fine that the experts thought they would tatter the American League East Champion Baltimore Orioles and after that tear down the Phillies in the World Series. Fellow Hall of Famer‘s Carlton Fisk and Harold Baines lead the way for that club drenched in talent that featured hitters like Tom Paciorek, and The Bull Greg Luzinski, heros to the largest Polish community in America in the greatest sports city in the world. It was very easy to cheer for the Law brothers Rudy and Vance, no relation. Richard Dotson went 22-7 that season to give the White Sox the top two finishers in the race for the Cy Young. Dot, Hoyt, and Floyd Banister spent that special season taking turns getting wins and we’re almost untouchable. My favorite player of the team Brett Burns and Jerry Koosman filled out the most impressive five man rotation in baseball. Disappointingly their bats fell silent starting with game two of the ALCS, and a base running gaffe in the 7th inning of game four sealed their ominous fate. Still 37 years later that team who’s play by play man might’ve had the wildest personality of anybody in that clubhouse deserved their own special show in a season that over 2 million fans watched live. Spend the next 90 minutes with the brand spanking new Games People Play Media Network and long-term Chicago sports radio fixture Harry Teinowitz as he welcomes that announcer Hawk Harrelson, the A.L. Rookie of the Year Ron Kittle, and the affable happy hitting 1st baseman, Tom Paciorek. Hopefully the 2020 version of the White Sox will give fans some thing to celebrate for decades to come . In the meantime as Hawk would say, “Sit back and strap it on!” This is, “Still Ugly After All These Years!”